#001 Introduction:
Start here to get a feel for future the stories of Sprawl: An Accidentail Section Hiker. Join me for regularly scheduled posts beginning 8-14-21. Thanks for stopping by.
Life is full of seasons made up of good days.
Life is full of seasons made up of hard days.
Most of us strive to live our best lives every day.
Sometimes uninvited events show up that do great damage.
Sometimes the damage cuts so deep that we are forever scared.
Sometimes small pieces of us are severed, never to return.
Today is a good day here in Eastern NC. The sky is clear. The sun is hanging low in the sky. Peaceful piano music flows from my desk speakers. A comfortable breeze blows through my office window. I am at my desk writing.. My wife, Becky, nears the last lap of her daily walk on the park’s track behind our home. I worked earlier today then when to the gym for a light workout. 2020 is nearing its end. I’m sure you are as ready as I am to see it go.
I’ve been working half days lately at my nine-to-five job in hopes of finishing book one in the spring. My wife and I will most likely eat dinner while watching a Christmas movie later this evening.
Our twenty-one-year-old son called from our hometown in Kentucky earlier to see if he could borrow some money for groceries and gas. It’s a phone call most parents with kids that age are accustomed to receiving from time to time. Everyone needs an occasional boost. It was good to hear from him.
All in all, today is a good day.
This is a good period of life. I might even go so far as to say that it is a great period in life—if I weren’t still mentally unraveling from the aftermath of the traumatic events in Autumn of 2018.
Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a story about section hiking on the Appalachian Trail???
Yes. Well, mostly. We’ll get there in due time. I promise.
A few back stories are needed to help lay out events that lead me to my accidental section hike in lieu of a planned 2018 through hike on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.).
I promise there will be dozens of short stories from the trail. Stories that are full of friendship and wonder and danger and struggles and bears.
There will also be stories from life. Stories that full of laughter and adventure and changes and heavy burdens, burdens which I wish I never had to bear.
* The Trail chapters will be daily accounts from my A.T. section hikes from the beginning, to present day, (665 miles complete) with future stories being added as I travel up the trail.
* For consistency, all A.T. distances in my stories are based on David “Awol” Miller’s 2020 A.T. Guidebook. Each location will be referred to as “ATMM” (Appalachian Trail Mile Marker).
*Springer Mountain in GA is the beginning of the trail, so it is labeled ATMM 0.0.
*Damascus VA is 470.7 miles in so it is labeled ATMM 470.4., and so on.
Thanks for taking time to read the Intro and I hope you enjoy the trail stories.
Find out how the story of Sprawl: An Accidental Section Hiker, Struggles and Triumphs On and Off The Trail unfolds by subscribing.
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The ad below my say either Travelin’ Slow OR Sprawl: An Accidental Section Hiker. I changed the name to Sprawl a few months after it’s creation. It is the same site. I’m still working to make everything uniform. Thank You.
