It’s day eight and we’ve passed mile 50. (This doesn’t include the Approach Trail since technically it’s not part of the AT. This means we’ve actually hiked about 60 miles at this point.) This past week has been full of firsts for us:
- Longest number of days hiking
- Longest distance hiked
- First trail name
- First time sleeping in a hostel
- First time riding in a train
- First time experiencing trail magic
It’s overwhelming almost to think about all the new things we’ve done and experienced in just the last couple of days… and I still can’t really believe that we’re actually out here or that we both had the courage to jump into this headfirst and something so crazy.
Along with all the new we experienced, it was also a good day of reunions. We met Happy and Cuss Mustard again (twice in one day!) and saw Swainie again for the first time since Hidden Pond.
As I was hiking down Blue Mountain, I found myself on the same pace with Chris, another hiker from Ohio. When we got close enough to Unicoi Gap to see the parking lot, I noticed a car parked, trunk open, and hikers scattered about. “Hey, is that trail magic?”
Chris followed my gaze. “I hope so! If you could have anything, what would you want?”
“An ice-cold Mountain Dew,” I said without hesitation. What do ya know? When I got down there, one Mountain Dew was left.
We also met Jess (finally! A girl our age!) and taught her the secrets of campsite (rather than shelter) camping. We found a beautiful spot on top of Rocky Mountain, without many other hikers, and we watched the sun set around us.
I wish you could see it. The mountains were shades of grey and dark blue. Above it was sky, a paling blue until you looked towards the sunset. The sun was fuzzy, a glorious burnt red that painted strips of orange and red shades across the horizon and melded into the rising peaks of the mountain range.
There’s no picture I could take that would do it justice. I’m not even going to limit your imagination with my lackluster attempt of a photo. (You should assume all my pictures are lackluster attempts at capturing the magnificence around us, but especially so with this sunset.)
We all stood together in the campsite, us, Jess, Chris and Rob, watching the sun slowly sink behind the mountains. “That was the best sunset I’ve seen on trail,” Jess whispered. I nodded mutely. It was.
Later that evening, tucked in our warm sleeping bags, what Psalm did we read but Psalm 8?
Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
Psalm 8:1, 3-4
When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?
Moxie was telling us about a river she forded in Maine. It was swollen, and she shouldn’t have attempted to cross it, but she did. The river rolled over her, pushed her down the bank. When she finally made it to the other side, she scrambled out, drenched, scared, and angry. It was still raining, and she cried as she hiked the remaining four miles to the shelter. “God,” she prayed. “I just need to know if You love me.” At that moment, the sky parted and a sunray fell right onto her. “There were so many other things He could have been thinking about… but in that moment, He was caring for me.”
It’s this same God who painted that sunset who looks down and cares for me and you, this same God who shaped the mountains, the valleys, the green patches of rhododendron, the small, blooming purple flowers, the creeks that keep us hydrated, the clouds, the heavens and everything below them.
This is the God who sees us, loves us, embraces us. This is the God who created us, saved us, redeemed us.
Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.
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