Tag: Appalachian Trail

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Finishing Well

Last week I told you about the first part of our attempt to hike for a week in Tennessee. I didn’t count the cost, so we adjusted our plans and decided to end our trip after four days (instead of seven).

After we made the decision to quit, we still had to get through two cold nights and a day and a half of difficult hiking (mostly uphill).

On Tuesday morning we set out at daybreak. It felt like every time I looked up there was another set of stairs we had to climb. I would go for a while and then stop and lean on my hiking poles while I let my heart rate slow back down. Then I’d take a deep breath and tackle the next hill.

We were still only going an average of about a mile an hour, and my attitude soon leaned toward despair. As I hiked, I started to let out a little whimper with almost every step. I knew I was being pathetic, but I just couldn’t seem to help it.

We finally got to Derrick Knob Shelter at 1:50. We sat and rested a while, then got back on the trail. We still had six miles to go and we knew we were going to have to hike in the dark if we kept up the same pace. Gary had given me a little pep talk during our break. “You look like a really tough hiker chick,” he encouraged me. “You can do this.”

I didn’t believe that I looked like a great hiker, but I chose to think that way. I hiked to the rhythm of a short, punchy phrase for a while, but it included a naughty word and I didn’t feel right about it. (Pastors’ wives never swear, do they?) So I changed it. God’s glorious hiker chick. God’s glorious hiker chick. It was silly, but it worked. With every word I stabbed my poles down in front of me. When the trail flattened out, I tried to go as fast as I could. When it went up again, I tried to go farther before I stopped to rest.

We talked to a southbound hiker who asked where we were headed. “Silas Bald Shelter,” we answered. He looked shocked. “Some people have big, audacious goals,” he muttered as he hiked away.

I kept up my hiking mantra. My I-can’t-do-this whimper disappeared and my attitude changed. It was still hard, but I became even more determined to get to our next campsite before dark. We enjoyed a few spots with beautiful views of the Smoky Mountains, but most of the trail was surrounded by trees. We did make it to the shelter before dark!

Wednesday we hiked the last five miles, finally leaving the woods and merging with the groups of tourists walking to Clingmans Dome on the paved road. We noticed that they all kept their distance from us (even more than six feet!). Guess not showering for a few days bothers some people.

We sat at the foot of the observation tower for a while, then climbed it (leaving our packs at the bottom). We hiked down the road to the parking lot and found a spot to lie down and wait for my parents to get there and pick us up.

We were tired, but proud of ourselves for making it as far as we did. We had challenged ourselves, pushed our limits, and finished well. I hope I can do the same in the rest of life.

I want to challenge myself to do great things. Even if I have to alter my plans once in a while, I’ll keep moving forward with an I-can-do-it attitude.

I want to push my limits. I don’t do that very often because it’s uncomfortable, but I know I’ll grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually when I do something that’s outside my comfort zone.

I want to finish well. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and wish I had accomplished more, loved better, and enjoyed life more. I’m God’s glorious hiker chick and I’m going to finish the race, giving glory to the God who loves me and is with me every step of the way!

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24 NIV)

How are you traveling through life? Do you think “I can’t do this”? How can focusing on God help you to finish life well, whatever lies ahead?

Here are some more pictures of our Appalachian Trail adventure:

A nice view of the Smoky Mountains (Tennessee)
Rockytop – we enjoyed a good break here.
Good to see the white blaze and know we were still on the right trail.
Another view of the Smokies.
We made it to our destination – but we didn’t dare ask anyone to take our picture together.
Gary made it, too! (A scruffy husband is a happy husband.)
Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the AT (6643 feet)

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Counting the Cost

“Let’s hike on the Appalachian Trail when we go to Tennessee in September!”

That was my suggestion earlier this summer. My husband was a bit skeptical, but I was excited. We made our plans, filled our backpacks, and told all our friends and family about our plan to hike seventy miles through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Appalachian Trail.

Never mind the fact that we had never hiked more than two or three days before, and this would be six nights in a tent in the mountains. I was sure it would be fun to camp out.

Never mind the fact that I wasn’t in peak physical shape. I started walking up and down our basement stairs and I strapped on my pack the week before we left and walked five miles with it one day.

Never mind the fact that there are lots of black bears in the Smoky Mountains and we heard disturbing stories about some bear encounters. We picked up a can of bear spray on the way to Tennessee.

We spent a day with my parents, and then my dad drove us over to Fontana Dam where we would start our adventure.

Don’t we look excited? What could possibly go wrong?

Gary had wisely suggested we start our first day with six miles.

It took us six hours to get to Birch Spring Tentsite. We set up camp, hung our food bag on the bear cable, then set up camp again after we found a better spot. We got all snug in our sleeping bags…

And then we froze!

It was the oddest sensation. First I got sweaty and then I would start to shiver violently. I lay on one side for a while, then I would turn to my back, then I would wiggle onto my other side. We had condensation on the inside of the tent, so every time I got close to the wall I would get a little water on my face or in my hair. It was so annoying!

We got up before dawn and packed up our things so we were ready to start hiking when it got light.

It took us from 7:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to go the 11.4 miles to the Spence Field Trail Shelter. We were averaging about one mile per hour.

As we hiked, I was thinking about the rest of our week. The daily miles for the remainder of our hike were 11.8 on Tuesday, 15.3 on Wednesday, 12.6 on Thursday, and 14.6 on Friday (and then just a couple of miles to the pick up point on Saturday).

I couldn’t do it! One mile an hour meant we’d have to hike in the dark part of the time. And five more nights of freezing cold misery? No way! If we could have, we would have gotten off the trail right then and there, but we figured out that we had to either go back twelve miles or forge ahead seventeen miles to a good pickup spot.

We called my parents after we got our tent set up. “Umm, Dad, do you think you could pick us up at Clingman’s Dome on Wednesday?”

Mom and Dad laughed. They had been expecting a call because they had heard it was going to rain on Thursday and Friday (something we hadn’t realized). They also knew it had gotten down into the thirties on Sunday night. They agreed to pick us up.

I hadn’t truly counted the cost of hiking in the mountains. I had thought I was prepared, but I was miserably unprepared for the ups and downs of the trail. I thought I was in good enough shape, but I should have been training harder for our experience.

I think we do this with our faith at times. My Life Application Study Bible has a challenging note about Luke 14:28–30: We must carefully count the cost of becoming Christ’s disciples so that we will know what we are getting into and won’t be tempted later to turn back.

We have to count the cost and be all in as we follow the Lord. No turning back.

I’m glad we had the option of getting off the trail after we figured out that we weren’t ready for an entire week in the Smokies.

We still had to endure two cold nights and a day and a half of tough hiking before we finished. I’ll tell you more about that next week.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14:28–30, 33 NIV)

Have you ever neglected to count the cost before you attempted something? How did it turn out? How can focusing on God help you to keep going as you follow him?

Here are a few pictures of our first day on the trail:

I’m pointing out the white blazes we would follow along the AT.
A timber rattler. We never would have seen it if some other
hikers hadn’t told us to watch for it.
The view from Shuckstack fire tower. Worth the climb!
Almost to our first campsite.
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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Using Our Time Wisely

Gary and I spent some time this week getting ready for a trip that seemed far off on Monday.

At first, my attitude was pretty noncommital (dare I say even a bit annoyed?).

My husband wanted me to look into distances, shelters, and more of the details for our trip in a few weeks. We’re going to hike about seventy miles of the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. We love hiking, but we’ve never hiked for a whole week. He was right, we needed to figure things out, but I didn’t want to do it yet.

We sat down one night and mapped out how far we plan to hike each day and where we can stay each night. We called my parents to make sure they could drop us off and pick us up at the end. We started making a list of things we need to buy.

This afternoon Gary made me dig out my hiking pants and other gear. We spent some time trying things on and figuring out what we needed to wear. Our extra bedroom now has two neat piles of clothes next to the rest of the supplies we have so far.

It suddenly dawned on me today that we have just a little over two weeks before we hit the trail. That’s not much time! I’m so glad my husband is a planner and he talked me into doing some planning and preparation as we’re looking forward to this adventure.

Left on my own, my tendency is to put things off until the last minute, rush around in a frenzy trying to get something done, and inevitably forget something in my haste. That’s not good when you’re going to be miles from civilization.

I want to practice living more like Gary in other areas of my life, too. Keeping track of what’s ahead on my schedule and doing a little bit at a time to get ready for those events and projects will help me feel more peace.

It’s stressful to put things off. Deadlines get missed, late fees get added, pressure builds up, and anxiety skyrockets.

I think our spiritual lives suffer, too, when we don’t use our time wisely. We can feel guilt and shame because we’re wasting time instead of working on something important.

We can’t be working every minute of every day, but we do need to think about how we’re spending our time. The Holy Spirit will help us find balance and show us how to make the very best use of the time we have.

That’s the way I want to live, even if I fail sometimes. We can start over whenever we want to and determine to use our time wisely.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV)

Do you waste too much time? How can focusing on God help you to work hard and use your time wisely?