Dad and Daughter on the AT

After a couple days of delays, the hiking began in earnest today (Wed.) for Curtis and Laura. I road up the forest service road to Springer Mountain with them once again.  It was still COLD and there was snow on the ground, but today the sun finally made an appearance and it cheered us all to finally be rid of the winter weather.  We took the necessary photos at the appropriate places and then I watched Curtis and Laura disappear into the woods, after observing their faces. There was a mixture of excitement and apprehension as they donned their packs in the very cold morning air. I headed north to drive back home to West Virginia - - a nine-hour trip. I didn't see another car for miles and miles on the dirt backroad I was on. But I did my best to absorb as many details as possible as I drove down the mountain. I knew I was seeing a little of what hikers were encountering. The road was sometimes lined by huge rocks with two-foot long icicles. The forests were still cloaked in winter brown, with the occasional green of a stubby pine, or the mountain laurel. A lone wood thrush would fly up into the brush, his flute-like song making the woods more magical once spring really arrives.  For nine hours I drove through some of the beautiful mountains of the eastern states. I am eager to hear of the finer details of these mountains as Curtis and Laura journey through them over the next several months.
~ Theresa ~