Why Hello Again, Appalachian Trail!

Note: This started as a mere image post on our Tumblr, but became something more. As it became a full-fledged post, I figured I'd cross post it to here, as we've not had a post all week, and I kind of like it. My Hiking Training Plan recaps will return next week, unless a hectic work week pushes it off until the next week.

The picture is from my latest visit to the Appalachian Trail, at Newfound Gap looking Southbound across US 441. Sure, it's not exactly the hardest spot to reach, or the most strenuous of hikes, but it's still part of the trail. And also the first portion of which I ever visited, even though I'm pretty certain I wasn't aware of it at the time. I visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my family several times when I was growing up, many of which coming at a time when the Appalachian Trail was little more to me than a long winding red line going across several eastern states in the atlases I loved to read. On at least a few occasions we stopped at Newfound Gap, and at some point walked across the path of the Appalachian Trail as it crosses the large parking lot.

Since I've become an adult I've driven over Newfound Gap many times, and rarely have I done it without making a stop to view the sweeping vistas of the ancient mountains of Tennessee an North Carolina. Most of the time i make a point to walk to either the crosswalk heading south towards Springer, or the point where the pavement ends and the trails heads northbound on the much longer journey to Katahdin. Common sense has kept me from venturing forth in either direction without provisions, shelter, and proper hiking attire. Someday I fear it may fail, and I may find myself on an unexpected journey into the back of beyond.