The adventures of a cedar canoe
It started with an announcement in the local paper of US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra was speaking at the area government office in Hoofddorp. The Hubby and I laughed about attending the event. Really, after the month of my life being run by the US Government, in a round about way, I would maybe come unleashed on my highest representative of the US Government in The Netherlands, just one handshake away from the current US President.
©️ The Cedar Journal, 2020, all rights reserved.
On the last day of my trip to Georgia, I spent the day doing the things that make my travel easier, downsizing my things to one carry on, and laundry. The dreaded laundry! I did find time to make a visit to the Etowah Indian Mounds just outside the town limits of Cartersville.
Failure is not something I make part of my life. When road blocks of failure present themselves to me I just find another way. Sometimes that is pushing my way through by brut force and sometimes it is just by looking at things from a different angle. This hike to Springer Mountain, the terminus of the AT trail, had already shown me, I was not mentally or physically ready for a 15 mile strenuous hike in cold weather. My plan now was to visit the park visitor center and then head back to my cabin in Cartersville with my head hung in defeat.
Sometimes, the universe has other plans for me.
I had not planned what I was about to accomplish, hiking the Appalachian Trail (aka AT) but my internal clock was ticking. The month of unexpected changes to my pretty dull life had me thinking I had better just go, try to hike the five miles into and out of Springer Mountain. I have always admired the few who have attempted the grueling thru-hike from Georgia to Maine. A six to nine month commitment of lightweight wilderness backpacking along the longest footpath in the world. But, I was inching my way towards another birthday in two weeks and I did not know if this opportunity would ever be possible again in the future.
