Genesis Chapters 26 -50
I read the 2nd half of Genesis today, following the story of Abraham’s descendants from Issac through Jacob who became Israel, and finally to Jacob and his 11 brothers. These 12 eventually became the12 tribes of the nation of Israel, but for most of these chapters, the brothers were not very good people. The story of Joseph and his triumphant success in Egypt always seems to me like a bad soap opera. I guess it’s reassuring that as messed up as society is today, mankind was messing things up from the start. Those folks, just like today, were really in need of a Redeemer.
For day 2 on the trail, Overnight at our campsite, we got several hours of steady downpour, soaking the tents and ground. Fortunately everything in my tent remained dry. The lows only dropped into the mid forties or so, and it was a comfortable night.
Packing up in the wet conditions wasn’t much fun, and I had to put my tent away wet. We headed out around 8:30 after a cold breakfast, with only 8.3 miles to cover. We had rain on and off all morning, but our rain jackets and pack covers kept us and our gear relatively dry. Lots more PUDs today, taking us over 1/2 dozen or so “small” mountains. We stopped at Cooper Gap and had lunch, at mile marker 12.2 on the AT.
While hiking this morning we were joined for a while by Evan, a 21 year old from Connecticut that we’d run into a few time since Amicalola. He works seasonally at a private campground in CT, and winter is his off season. He hikes at a quicker pace so he soon left us behind. As pace goes, Rick hikes significantly faster than I do, particularly on the uphill grades. I attribute this to his longer legs and the significant 3 year age difference. After 2 and a half days, our routine is for him to hike ahead at his pace, and take a breather while I catch up. So far, I haven’t had any real issues with overall fatigue on the trail, I just have to proceed slowly on the climbs.
Saw some incredible views, crossed several streams on rocks and some wood log bridges, and generally enjoyed the day. No slips or falls today. After a final water stop to fill and filter, we pulled into Gooch Mountain Shelter about 2:30. Already about 8 tents and 5 in the shelter. We picked a site down the hill from the shelter and privy and pitched our tents. Evan was already there and welcomed us. Some reading and a short nap followed before dinner. A ridge runner (volunteer AT ambassador) we had seen earlier that day stopped by to check on us old guys, and shared some info on the next section.
After dinner (leftover Taco Rice, mashed potatoes and beef jerky), we were done for the day and turned in before 7. Interestingly, we could hear the sound of automatic rifles and mortar fire in the distance, as Army Rangers apparently train near here. Kind of surreal to be in the wilderness and hear those sounds.
So, for the day we covered 8.4 trail miles, ascended 1927 feet, and I got in 19,674 steps (and 192 flights of stairs). Total AT miles after the 2nd official day on the trail is 15.6 miles.
Until next time...
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