On Mar 20, 2015, at 6:55 PM Friends and family, I leave tomorrow (Saturday) for my first of two Appalachian Trail adventures in 2015. I’m writing to let you know that I’ll be out of the office for ten days, and to offer… if you are interested… to keep you in the loop with my trail log as I progress up the trail. This spring I am headed to Hot Springs, NC. In 1975 my family hiked the 179 mile segment from Hot Springs, NC, to Damascus, VA, while I worked as a research diver in Central America, diving in…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #1
On Mar 23, 2015, at 6:30 AM Good morning! I am ready to hit the trail for Day 2 after a glorious first day on the trail. I left Huntsville at 8 PM on Saturday and drove until 1 AM Sunday to reach the interstate exit prior to Hot Springs, NC. A short night in the Holiday Inn and my last bath for a while had me on the road early and at Trailside at 9:30. I am parked in the Public Parking at Hot Springs, NC, a tiny quaint trail town on the French Broad River. The day was…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #2
On Mar 25, 2015, at 7:42 AM Good morning! With no cellular service for the past two days I am sending more than one update this morning. Monday started cold and clear after a night of rain. I rose before the sun and said goodbye to “Bo” and “Dude,” setting out for what I hoped would be a 19-mile day. It did not work out as planned. Early that morning, walking in a Rhododendron tunnel, I happened upon a man in the midst of his morning constitutional. His wife was as surprised at my arrival as I was. I stopped…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #3 – The Story of Einstein
On Mar 25, 2015, at 8:22 AM This story deserves to be told standing alone, so impactful was it for my new friend and for me. I hope that you will share this story with others who pray. For me, it was a “Pilgrims Progress” experience. I met a man on the side of Camp Creek Bald, resting against the mountainside and leaning on a long hand-whittled walking stick. As I climbed up the slope, he called out a greeting, then added “You can’t be too proud on this mountain!” I will long remember that greeting, sage words that sparked…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 – #4
On Mar 26, 2015, at 6:48 AM Thank you all for your heart-warming and inspirational responses to “The Story of Einstein” in yesterday’s log. Please continue to pray for my new friend and that new believer. This trail log is for Tuesday, March 24th. I rose before the others in the Jerry Cabin shelter, disturbed as we had been by “Good Knight’s” noisy arrival just a few hours earlier. He was gracious, though, and rose at 6 with the rest of us. It’s very hard to eat and pack noiselessly in the dark. I said goodbye to my new trail…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #5 – The Story of the Fence
On Mar 26, 2015, at 7:30 AM Last night, half of me slept in Tennessee and the other half snoozed in North Carolina. A silver marker, delineating the state line, protruded from the ground at the head of my tent. The border ran down the middle of my body, and I think I can say that I definitely slept better on my North Carolina side than on my Tennessee side. The marker is part of a ridge top boundary between Tennessee and North Carolina that I have followed for over thirty miles during the past three days. Winding along the…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #6
On Mar 26, 2015, at 1:37 PM This log is for yesterday Wednesday, March 25th. Cellular service is spotty and I send these updates when I can! I rose later than usual, very tired from yesterday and the fast 19 miles (plus some unknown wandering miles in the woods when I got turned around). It was probably more than 20 miles overall. The camp spot on a ridge next to the spring was beautiful… but a strong east wind howled all night, and the forest was a symphony of creaking and groaning trees. The wind blew so hard all morning…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #7
On Mar 27, 2015, at 9:00 AM This trail log is for Thursday, March 26th. My day began in the silent rhododendron glade of Spivey Gap. The night brought rain and the morning brought clear skies. As I packed my camp, “Dow” and “K2” came walking through headed for Erwin, TN, and Uncle Johnnie’s Hiker Hostel and Outfitter. The world seemed to be converging on that place. I had the same plans. I smelled bad and needed a bath something awful. The morning began with a brief hard climb, always a tough thing to do on a full stomach and…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #8 – The Story of Uncle Johnnie
On Mar 27, 2015, at 9:32 AM When my family emerged from the woods at Erwin, TN 40 years ago, after 8 days on the trail in need of food, lodging and a good bath, they encountered a town hostile to hikers. They were denied rooms at a local motel despite the flashing “Vacancy” sign, and mostly ignored by motorists when in obvious need of a ride into town. To this day, Erwin, TN has been known in the Boyd family as the one place that represents the antithesis of hospitality. If there was one place in the world you…
Austin’s Appalachian Trail Log 2015 #9
On Mar 28, 2015, at 1:10 AM Friends, Late this afternoon I learned that my wife’s brother, Bob, has been tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. I have, through God’s grace, been helped out of the wilderness and will meet my sister-in-law in NC to handle arrangements in a few hours. There are important trail stories left to tell but for now I need to be there for Tina and for all of my wife’s family. Please be in prayer for Bob’s wife, Tina Murphy, driving all night from Georgia to join me in Robbinsville, NC, near the Smoky Mountains;…