View from Charlie's Bunion looking towards Tennessee from North Carolina on the Appalachian Trail (my crude panorama with the editing program available to me)  

       Have you ever done something, that if you knew in advance what it would entail, you would never attempt it in the first place? Yet after accomplishing this feat, you were so enlightened and enriched by the experience you wouldn't give anything for having done it.

    My children don't realize it now, but they were treated to such an experience when they hiked the Appalachian Trail with my friend and me, her two children and one more "stray" child (smile).

      The day started uneventful for my children, who had never  been on a hike....EVER  (not even a sorta kinda hike anywhere).  I didn't have a clue either, but having a different mind set and being open to anything, the impact upon me from the days events, was of a different nature from that of the children's. As a young Marine, soon after I enlisted, I got used to the idea that when reveille sounded the day's activities were not of my volition.  This fostered for me, the ability to be flexible. I can handle most surprises and I am genuinely happy when unexpected opportunities materialize, for a personal challenge or adventure.  When my friend suggested a hike along an 8 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail (4  miles to Charlie's Bunion from Newfound Gap ~5,046 feet~ and then 4 miles back) I was excited. There was also the incentive of a photo op.  The fact that I was with my children made it even more special.  There are three categories of trails; easy, moderate and strenuous. 

 Under normal circumstances, this part of the trail was a moderate to strenuous hike, with narrow root exposed stretches, loose rock, large boulders, and at times moderate to steep inclines.    I say "under normal circumstances" which suggests that we eventually encountered unusual conditions.  We did...

The hike began with a quick pace and my friend Monica in the lead.  At times I thought her children had been transformed into mountain goats the way they scrambled and ran ahead. My Lily needed a lot of help and coaxing from my Monica. Because we only got to a little over 6,000 feet being well within the tree line (with a climb of approximately 1,000 feet from start) the trail was heavily wooded with underbrush.

Our goal was Charlie's Bunion,  an outcropping of rock with a spectacular view to the Tennessee Mountains. 

When we reached our destination, we took pictures, ate our lunch and enjoyed the beauty around us. The Bunion is comprised of two parts and in the photo taken by Caron, he is looking down at us  from the highest part of the Bunion.    

As you can see with the dark clouds in the  picture, things were  about to change quickly.   It had taken us a little over two hours to get to Charlie's Bunion and as we got ready to leave there was that drop....that single solitary drop of rain that signaled things would be getting even more difficult. For the whole way back, we hiked in pouring rain, on slippery boulders and steep descents.  

Though we were undercover of trees, we were soaked to the bone.  No pictures were taken of our treacherous hike back; the cameras had been safely tucked away in my friend Monica's waterproof backpack.  My daughter fell twice, so not only was her ego bruised, but as we saw a day later, the whole side of her leg as well. It took us almost 2 1/2 hours to get back to an empty parking lot. Not an inch of us was dry and as we stripped naked to our underwear, right there behind the truck, unknowingly, I dropped my prescription sunglasses on the asphalt. As the seven of us, one by one, climbed through the back of the truck and over the third seat into our assigned places, we wrapped ourselves in blankets that Monica had in her truck. Believe it or not the truck's heater was a welcome friend that last day of June, not only were we wet, but we were also chilled to the bone and happily warming our "underwear only clad" bodies. As we drove out of the parking lot I wasn't aware of the irony of the loss of the sunglasses, but I was aware that something felt different for me. The next day, while Lily and I were horseback riding on the Smokemont Trail, Monica went back to the parking area and asked a custodian if he had found a pair of sunglasses.  He replied, "Yes, but I swept them away to the trash, they were in many pieces, someone must have driven over them". By then, I didn't mind the loss of my glasses to the Appalachian Trail.  My vision of the world had changed in just a few short hours that afternoon.  I was refreshed with a new vision of my future and all the possibilities that still exist for me.

     When I was in high school 30 years ago, a friend took the summer between high school and college to hike the Appalachian Trail, and I thought at the time, "Wow, how cool is that?" But back then I was about to embark on my own adventure by joining the Marine Corps. That journey would bring me back to where I had started, almost full circle.

     Due to back surgery years ago, I had given up any chance of a hike on the Appalachian Trail. I had given up so many dreams. But now, even at 47, I see it is not over yet. After over 15 years of being out of the workforce, being a do it all (notice I didn't say know it all) stay at home unpaid, highly skilled Mom, I have registered at the local college and I am heading back to school to modify an associate's degree I once considered useless.

     I am looking forward to a brand new future, and doing things on my terms.  See, the kids do eventually grow up, and there's still room left to dream!

So please, please, leave a little room for dreaming, in every single day.

Love and hugs and air kisses!

Sheila