Back on the Trail...

This section of the Appalachian Trail has twisted from NC to TN and now I am looking forward to Virginia in a week's walk. I started out slow, while the heat has grown with humidity and my feet are badly torn up...and of course, it's been buggy!!

Trail gnats seem to directly dive for eyeballs or a way to the throat, like up your nose!! So in recollecting the past week's hike, you have a conditioned image, ha!! But the walks have had many highlights and there has been so much natural beauty to relish. Also, my knee has done a 180 and is feeling springy again! I started sprinting downhill when it is a nice, clear pine tree path... but in my boots which is why my feet are in poor shape. Luckily I found a mix matched pair of trail runners in a Hiker Free-Box. They seem to fit really well!

Fresh water sources have
 been a highlight of hiking.

Ok. I'd like to start by mentioning that I have met so many different, amazing hikers and there just happens to be a TON of people from, well Pinellas County! Even my hometown! Ha! I got to joking that we've gotten tired of the surf but it's really neat that so many Floridians get out to these woods.

Along a 2 mile
ridgeline on
Firescald Ridge
 in Tennessee

I met one USF graduate who was out hiking with her boyfriend and dogs. They live in Knoxville and she is a Watershed Scientist. She has had some cool research destinations! When I was up on Firescald Ridge I began to pass a Eagle Scout troop out of Tampa who were doing a week on the Appalachian Trail! 

Moving up in miles, I have walked over several PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs) but also some very sweet ups and downs (non-knee crunching) with great views!

Little Bald

Up on a meadow facing Big and Little Bald (my hike for the next day), I camped with an improvised lean-to made from my rain tarp wrapped over my trekking poles and my bug net. The night out in the stars was fantastic! I woke up at the right time to try and spot the comet (panSTARRS) in the sky right now. Before clouds rolled over I even saw a shooting star ☄ Now, does this even compare to the sight of the galactic night sky over Zambia? No way, but I'm happy to have so many elements of nature together in the woods!

A good morning meadow wake up!

Also, I must admit defeat over starting a fire in the ring on the meadow, though I'm not surprised with myself. I don't have a Ba Mayo (that'd be, my Zambian Host Mother - a strong woman) to come to my aid; plus, it's been fairly wet recently.

As I get into a day's walk I have enjoyed
listening to a podcast or some good hiking music - like the new Dave Matthews Band album! I'm a happy fan. Or Kenny Chesney's latest - Hey, I am pretty close to his hometown!

Anyway, I recently listened to a fantastic interview by Krista Tippet with a naturalist and author, Michael McCarthy, that made me ponder connections we draw everyday and contribute to our happiness, as well as the profoundess of Earth's annual rebirth. McCarthy describes his reverence for the places in Europe that sparked his philosophy on the power of nature to influence our direction (trees as honing beacon?). He also discusses the meaningfulmess of England's native butterflies in memory of his late mother. You can click the link below to download the episode. I would also recommend the episode of On Being interviewing Joanna Macy, entitled A Wild Love of the World.
https://onbeing.org/programs/nature-joy-and-human-becoming-may2018

I'll wrap up this post with a rare moment caught of my Zambian Host Mother cutting a rug with a smile she so often flashed up to her cheekbones.

Joy to the World, Brandi.