First Day On The Trail
/I started hiking as soon as Nathan dropped me off at the Sam’s Gap trailhead and was immediately surprised at the long continuous steep climb, no switchbacks, no warm-up, no easing into it, just straight up the mountain trail stairs, and then straight down the mountain on the other side. I expected more level ground when I set a goal for ten miles per day.
In retrospect, ten miles per day was overly optimistic for me even for level ground, but I was captured by this epic journey. I intended to hike on the North Carolina / Tennessee border portion of the Appalachian Trail for eight days, and I’d been planning the route and sorting gear for weeks.
It was exhausting and, as always on the first days of a backpacking trip, my hips began to ache. Everything is hard when you just get started. So to make it up the mountain I started counting steps, one-to-hundred, then stopped to lean over both trekking poles and counted recovery breaths, one-to-fifty. Repeat, over and over, until I cleared the top.
I finally reached Hogback Ridge Shelter about an hour before sundown and decided to camp there. It was getting darker and cooler, and I knew I didn’t have enough daylight left to make Flat Gap, my original goal for the first night. I hiked down to a small creek and filled all three water containers, then back to the shelter to set up among the tent village of thru-hikers.
During those afternoon hours on the trail I traveled through all the thoughts: Is this the end of my backpacking career, or the beginning of my next phase? I’m certainly feeling my age, but maybe I’m supposed to. Is counting my steps and stopping to breathe a picture of my future? Is setting goals based on time (8 days) rather than distance (70 miles) what I have to look forward to? Even so, settling for what I can do rather than being disappointed for what I can’t do doesn’t mean settling for less, but embracing the new life God has for me going forward.
Those weren’t my only thoughts. I also appreciated how fortunate I was to do this hike, how beautiful it was walking in countryside that’s green in every direction, and how blessed I am to have the desire and health to stay on the trail for eight days. On the outside I was wheezing; but on the inside I was smiling in gratitude. Many of the most gratifying experiences in my life have also been the most demanding. They seem to go hand-in-hand.
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One night I texted Cyndi: “Only a 6.7 mile day, but probably the longest and steepest trail of the entire trip. It rained with cold wind today. It’s cold now, at 6:50 pm. Colder than I expected or packed for. I’m now in my tent curled up in my sleeping bag.”
My text should have been clearer because to Cyndi it sounded like I was miserable, and she worried about me. But I meant to say I was safe in my tent and had figured out how to relax and stay warm. Overcoming discomfort is the fun part. I was never miserable or sad to be there, even in the cold wet wind, or going up and down those trail steps.
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My basic assumption going into almost everything is: I can figure a way to make this work. I may not be the best or fastest but I will make it work.
Too often that assumption turns out not to be true, but that’s always where I start. I trust my ability to discover solutions and workarounds. I believe I can work it out, solve the problems, or develop a hack that works for me.
But even as I was hiking up the mountain God reminded me that His promise was not, “Berry can do all things by himself alone,” but, “Berry can do all things through Christ who strengthens.” I need these difficult uphill trails through life to remind me where real strength lies.
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Cyndi said if I do something like this again, she wanted me to have someone with me. I pointed out, “It would still be hard, cold, and windy,” and she said, “But you’d have a friend. Besides, I don’t want you to take someone else for your own benefit, but for mine, so I can worry less.” Fair enough. She’s a very smart woman.
And so, I’ve already started dreaming of a weeklong backpacking trip on the Colorado Trail next summer (June 2026) with a group of men. Write to me at berry@stonefoot.org if you’d like to be part of the discussion.
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“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32
