I recently received our favorite hiker's first few journal entries. :) It's amazing all the things that can happen in such a short period of time. To start off...her first few days of hiking have been a challenge with the weather being full of rain and hiking up some strenuous mountains! But our hiker endures and is pressing forward! Here's a summary of what she wrote:
Sonshine's first night at Stover Creek Shelter was in the company of 7 other hikers ranging from Israel to Michigan, New Hampshire to Roanoke, VA. It was a great time to get to know each other and stumble through finding water sources, locating bathrooms and decoding how bear cables work. ;) After a fitful night of sleep, she was on the trail by 0930 the following morning. The weather for the day was dominated by rain. Apparently many hikers are finding that their rain gear and pack covers are not exactly water proof! But praise God - her equipment is holding up well! Most of the people she's passed on the trail are heading north as she is. But there is the occasional family who are hiking for the day. Everyone has been most friendly and eager to share their story...why they are on the trail and where they are headed.
The second shelter she stayed at had considerably more people - a total of 30 between those in the shelter and those sleeping in their own tents...many of whom she had seen/met on the trail during the day. Some of the groups are friends or family who are helping another hiker start off by hiking with them for the first week or two. Most of them will be heading home while the main hiker will continue on. At this shelter - she met a group who were complete strangers that decided to hike the trail together through a thru-hiker website! What a way to get to know someone *real* quick! :) She also met a group of 3 guys from Finland who are hiking the AT for a animal rights fundraising group and have already raised $15k for the cause!
The nights seem to be perfect opportunities for her to spend lots of time in prayer over the trip. Praying for other hikers and thanking God for His many promises! It's good to hear Sonshine is remaining positive and praying everything with thanksgiving. ;)
The next day of hiking was the most challenging so far...hiking up two mountains that were "ok." Followed by Sassafrass Mtn...which took her 2 hrs to get up and over it! But after such a rough day - she spent her first night in a hostel. God wanted her to rest well after such a hard day! :) It's owned by a husband and wife, Josh and Leigh, who themselves have thru-hiked AT back in 2000. They make themselves available to the hikers and offer shuttles to and from the trail, Walmart, grocery stores, outfitting stores, airports, etc. Their hostel is a beautiful log cabin with a few rooms, bathrooms, laundry facilities, kitchen, computer (w/ internet!), tv's and games. There were 22 people at the hostel that night and she spent the night on an air mattress but was happy to be able to use facilities!! :) They even offered a hot breakfast full of fresh honey collected on the premises and eggs from their own chickens! One person she met there was from Michigan and he was hiking the AT as a fundraiser for a non-profit he started to bring fresh water to Guatemala. He went to Guatemala to take the first filter systems over a few months ago and has been raising funds since. Incredible!
Finally - Sonshine picked up her first mail drop!! She sends her thanks to the Wibles! :) While at the post office - she got to meet with some people who let her know about other ministries on AT! The first she heard about is Appalachian Trail Servants who are serving meals for 21 days in Neels Gap to hikers. She met with a pastor of AT Servants and got to hear about the challenge he felt from God to serve the hikers. Also - she heard about a hostel called Blueberry Patch that is run by a Christian couple. She is most eager to stop by when she gets there! :)
(** The following not specified by Sonshine but deduced from her entries **)
Prayer Requests:
* For the people she meets along the trail and the opportunity to share God's love.
* Sleeping - she's had a rough time sleeping at nights...sleeping for 10-15 minutes at a time and being awake for 20-30 minutes.
* Physical strength and endurance! :)
* Good weather
Praises:
* All the people she's met so far and hearing about their stories and reasons for hiking AT.
* Hearing about the other ministries on AT.
* Having good rain gear. :)
* Experiencing God in His greatest creations.
Also: I looked to see what I could find on the ministries she heard about. I couldn't find any websites on Blueberry Patch. But if you want to know more about AT Servants...check out their website at www.atservants.org.
Keep checking back for more updates!
~ Sonshine's blogger
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