Call Us Tarheels

I think a tarheel is what they call someone from North Carolina. A couple of days ago we crossed the line from Georgia to NC. The picture is Giblet sitting on the border sign. (sorry got the wrong picture. The picture of Giblet is her sitting on the sign where the Chatahoochie River gets its start. "A way down yonder on the Chatahoochie, it gets hotter than a hootchie coochie." That is for you country music fans. The second picture is the red salamander, and the third is a picture of the trail.

At the risk of being repetitive we are having an absolute blast. We end each day with sore feet and weary knees, but a good hot bowl of Ramen Noodles and a nights sleep and we are ready to travel another 10 or so miles. We are two days ahead of our schedule and getting stronger every day.

Problems? We have had a few. The day after we reached NC Jennifer got sick. She woke up nauseated in the middle of the night and lost it all in the morning. We either had to stay there or attempt to move on, she chose to move on slowly. We only made about 5 miles that day and a couple of times I left her asleep by the trail and hiked ahead a ways, put my pack down and went back for her and her pack.

We reached a road where I figured we could eventually get a ride to town. There were three "trail angels" setting up shop. They were giving away cold drinks, sandwiches, moon pies, cookies, chips, and had lawn chairs set up to sit in. So I toasted a tortilla over a fire, obtained an orange soda from the angels and spread out the Bill Richard Honorary Tarp for her and she went to sleep. Late in the afternoon we hiked another mile to a shelter where we spent the night. The next morning she felt fine and we resumed our hike.

Night before last I had the strangest two dreams. In the first we were in a panic trying to get Grace White's wedding done. (Sorry Grace, I didn't ever see the grooms face) At the last minute Mrs. White had given me this elaborate ceremony she wanted done and I was scrambling trying to make it work. Then in the next dream I had three golf balls with funny faces on them I was trying to mail to Dan Walker. But the post office wouldn't mail them in the box I had and they didn't have a suitable box. So I waited until that night when we were all at dinner together and I gave one to Dan, one to Mark Soltice, and one to Milford Misner. (Milford is a pastor in New Mexico who has played golf with my dad quite a bit, but never with me.) Who understands dreams anyway.

Last night we spent in a Motel room in Franklin, North Carolina. This is the town famous for Eric Rudolf, the Atlanta Olympic bomber who avoided the law by hiding in these mountains we are hiking through. We heard some interesting stories about him yesterday.

Later today we are going to hit the trail and hope to make Wesser North Carolina on Friday. We have traveled 106.6 miles on the trail. Only 2068 to go. We have met a lot of interesting people, and are definitely getting a different perspective on American Culture.

We saw another squirrel yesterday, that makes the grand total of wildlife, 2 salamanders and 2 squirrels. Of course we are still walking through the winter woods, just that the temperature has been perfect since the first two nights. In front of us several hours day before yesterday some of the hikers saw a couple of bear cubs up a tree. They never saw the momma.

Better go, the trail beckons. God bless you all, and talk to you in a couple of days.

Flint & Jubilee

Greetings From Hiawasse Georgia

Well, 7 days hiking and we are enjoying ourselves immensly. The days consist of walking, uphill, downhill, and rarely, very rarely level. We are averaging about 45 minutes per mile overall. On gradual slopes we do about 30 minute miles.

The only disagreements we are having concern water. As soon as Jen takes two or three sips from her water, she starts worrying about where we are going to get water again. I tell her than any water left in the bag or in my bottles when we get to the next source is wasted energy, but she doesn't buy that. So we fill up a lot more than we probably need to.

After the first two days the weather has been tremendous. The first night it rained all night long. We actually stopped hiking about 3pm so we could set up before it rained. Thanks Bill R. for the tarp. We used it the very first night or we would have gone hungry.

The second night the shelter we aimed for was full of boy scouts so we had to press on. About dark we finally found a flat spot, but it was very, very, cold and windy. We used the tarp a second straight night. This time to block the wind so we could eat.

Since then, the weather has been perfect. We arrived here last night after a 15 mile hike, our first for that distance. Up to then we have done 5, 12, 9, 5, 9,11. We are feeling good except for some minor aches and pains. Last night i hitchhiked for the first time since I was in college.

Today is our first zero day, meaning "no hiking." We will stay here another night to let the bones rest, buy groceries, etc. The first day out from here we will cross our first state line and be in North Carolina.

Thanks for looking in, we will keep you posted. I would post a picture but I can't get this computer to read my camera. If you email us, use rodger.russell@gmail.com. I can't seem to check the other one.

ps. Giblet is a rubber chicken making her way to maine with us as a stand in for Tina who wishes she was going. Pictures later.

Jen and Rodger's Excellent Adventure

Well, we are off. At least we are leaving Salt Lake City today. All the planning and preparation are over, it is time to walk. We begin the trail tomorrow, hopefully we will be hiking by 11am.

Adventure? We have been enthralled by accounts of adventure. The great adventures of others has been a reading staple of mine since I was a kid. Too late to try being a mountain man, or traveling the Santa Fe or Oregon trail, I was fascinated by Lewis and Clark. From The Longest Walk, (check it out), “Walk Across America” to stories about Shackleton, Everest, Texas, Alaska, etc., I have enjoyed reading about people who set out to conquer their portion of earth. This is our great adventure.

Our gratitude goes out to all of you who have helped in some way to get us on the road. There are a couple of things I would like to ask you pray for as we leave.

1. Pray that we will enjoy. The number one reason people quit the trail is that they discover they are not having a good time.

2. Pray for our health. Specifically, pray for Jen’s bones and my knees. Even though I am carrying 15 pounds more than Jen, she is carrying almost ¼ of her weight. I am only carrying 1/6 of my weight.

3. Pray for our safety. While I am not concerned about anything in particular there are some hazards of the trail. Falls are the most prominent hazard. Others are bears, rattlesnakes, weather, ticks with lyme disease, and humans with evil intentions. Pray that we will stay aware and safe.

We will post our progress when we can.

So in the words of that famous Rodger, Roy, Happy Trails to You.

Flint (Rodger), Jubilee (Jennifer), & Giblet

Chasing Katahdin

Here is a picture of Mount Katahdin. It is located in Baxter State Park in central Maine. On its summit is the Northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. There is our destination. 2174 miles of trail separate it from our starting place on the trail, Springer Mountain, Georgia.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 people will start the journey this spring intending to walk the entire distance before winter. Less than 400 will succeed, 12-13 percent. The odds are stacked heavily against us. As a matter of fact it is almost absurd that two 57 year olds who will turn 58 a month into the journey think they can succeed where so many so younger fail.

Jennifer thinks that we have to take the first step thinking of Katahdin. If we want to finish we have to keep that goal in mind. On the hard days, on the cold days, on the rainy days, we have to remember our destination is a mountain in Maine. For one as disciplined as she is that is probably a good strategy.

I, on the other hand, think the answer to success lies in keeping our thoughts on the journey. Enjoy the walk. Enjoy every day. Don’t spend too much time thinking of Katahdin, it is 6-7 months away. Think about the next place to buy a hamburger. It seems so much more relevant to say, “it is 28 miles to hamburger,” rather than “it is 1700 miles to Katahdin.”

But whether your thoughts are “keep focused on the end,” or “keep your eyes on the journey,” there are some important things to remember. 1.) Pare the pack. Keep the weight of the pack as low as possible. We are learning to be fanatical about what we plan to carry and what we plan to leave home. That reminds me of Hebrews 12:1-2. Look it up. Could the extra pounds be compared to the “Sin which so easily besets us” 2.) Pamper your feet. Those puppies have to carry us every step of the way. We need to keep them clean and dry.

We know that in the 2000+ miles we are bound to have rainy days. The questions are, “how can we run our stove in the rain,” and “how can we set up our tent in the rain and keep the inside dry?” It might help you to know that the tent itself is mainly mesh. It won’t hold out a drop of rain. It is made for ventilation when the weather turns warm. The rain is kept off by a rain fly.

Today I put the rain fly up first, then crawled underneath and put down the footprint, (the tarp that keeps the tent itself off of the ground) and then the tent. That worked great, in the living room, with no wind nor rain. The answer to the stove question is to carry another tarp of some kind to string up to cover the cooking area.

Option one. A sheet of plastic, cut from a roll, that weighs 8 oz but may not be strong enough to hold up for very long. It is free, I cut it off a roll in my garage.

Option two. A 6 x 8 silicone impregnated tarp sold for this purpose. It weighs 9.2 oz. It sells for $54.99.

Option three. A 6 x 8 Polyethylene Tarp. It weighs 13 oz. It sells for 3.99.

Option four. Just plan to eat cold foods on meals that must take place while it is raining.

Vote today! Which do you think is the right choice, and why?