[at-l] RE-cycled memories...

[David Addleton]

ya SEE what I mean?!

On 12/26/06, Felix J <athiker at smithville.net> wrote:
>
> Eight years ago night before last...it cleared enough for it to get
> cold. Freezing cold. I woke up the next morning, eight years ago
> yesterday, Christmas Day, and headed
> up a crunching, frozen Trail. I was glad. Crunching is better than
> sloshing. The sky was actually clear above, and the valleys below were
> full of the 'smoke' that is the namesake of these mountains. At one
> point I saw what I thought were bobcat prints. I don't know if there are
> bobcats here or not. It could have been a fox. I don't know if there are
> foxes here or not.
>
> I made really good time this day. I was surprised to find the Trail
> crowded from Icewater Spring to Newfound Gap. It was a beautiful day.
> Mid-twenties and clear. I got to Mt. Collins shelter a little before 5.
> That shelter is a beautiful place just before sunset on a crisp, cold
> Christmas evening. The fire the two boys from Cincinnati had built was a
> beautiful thing, too. I'll never forget the one who looked at me and
> said "That fire'd cost you $8,000 if you bought the wood at a
> convenience store." I laffed then. I laff now.
>
> I had an enjoyable evening with these two guys. They didn't necessarily
> practice some of the LNT techniques the way I'd have liked for them to.
> But, they were harmless, overall. They gave me my first-ever drink of
> Jaegermeister. Nyquil from the liquor store. They also gave me
> hair-covered cheese and salami. In the dark, it all tastes the same. I
> smoked a cigar.
>
> My sheltermates were sleeping in their tents
> inside the Shelter when I left between 8 and 9. It  was a crisp
> 18º. The sky was clear and the trees roared with high winds dancing with
> the branches. I made good time (too cold to stop) to Clingman's Dome.
> Climbing the tower was a very satisfying thing. The highest point on the
> Trail, one of my favorite places on Earth, another landmark
> 'accomplished' and what I thought an ironic song in my head (John
> Mellencamp's "Your Life is Now". It was the first time I'd ever heard
> the song, and thought it odd that John was telling me that, perhaps,
> this moment was what it had all been about. Wasn't it?) The wind chill
> on that cement top had to be below zero. I didn't spend much time
> hanging around. I headed back to the Trail with a nice little adrenaline
> rush. I kissed the sign. I always kiss that sign.
>
> Once I got  to lower elevations, the winds died down and the day was
> beautiful. Mid to upper 20's with plenty of sunshine. My favorite hiking
> conditions. I stopped at Derrick Knob for a snack and found a note from
> my  friend Albatross. I had missed him by minutes somewhere along the
> way. I hiked
> on. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. I was cruising along and having
> the best time of my life.
>
> The sun was starting to set as I climbed Thunderhead. I picked up the
> pace a bit to see if I could get to the summit in time to see any of it.
> See it I did. As I hiked through the rhododendron maze that makes up the
> summit of Thunderhead, I noticed the powder-blue sky was clear and
> beautiful. I had no idea what else there was. I got to the pile of rocks
> at summit-proper. I put my right foot on top of the pile and balanced
> myself with my ski poles. As I lift myself up, raising my head above the
> rhododendrons, I was. That, I believe, was the defining moment of my
> life. That was, I believe, the most, and possibly the only, religious
> moment of my life. It was, without doubt, the most incredible single
> moment of my life. I said "Yes!" I said it again.
>
> I enjoyed things from the pile of rocks for but a few minutes. When I
> stepped off that pile of rocks, I was invincible. I hiked away from that
> pile of rocks feeling like my feet were inches off the ground. What an
> emotional high. I got to Spence Field S. with the plan of stopping if
> someone else was there. It was still light enough to see the new
> bear-bag cables as approached the shelter. No people, no firewood, no
> Felix. As I got back to the AT, as I was making my first steps south,
> toward Russell Field, "Got You Where I Want You" (the song of the hike)
> began. "Yes", I said again. I got to Russell Field feeling good. I took
> my pack off and ate some M&M's while getting things ready for the night.
> "Yo! Felix!" I said to my ownself. "What are you doing? You don't want
> to stop. Hike on. " And, I did. Hiking after dark in the Smokys, running
> on adrenaline and emotion, is an incredible thing. Incredible, indeed.
> When I laid down at Mollies Ridge, at 9:30, I was still wound up. I'd
> love to read my register entry for that day. The best day of my life. A
> day I saw no other human.
>
> --
> Felix J. McGillicuddy
> ME-->GA '98
> "Your Move"
> ALT '03 KT '03
> http://Felixhikes.tripod.com/
>
>
>
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