Sunday, April 24, 2011

oh, those prayers

roarrr. y'all pray for swayze please. her pack is rubbing her and she's really tired. i gave her some pain meds tonight, but i'm out of duct tape and athletic tape just isn't cutting it. maybe i'll trade somebody a few feet of duct tape for a few snickers tomorrow.

happy easter, y'all. today was a gorgeous hiking day. it was hot and i got sunburned but i'll take sunshine over rain anyday. i'm exhausted, though. since swayze's having trouble with her pack, i let her slackpack (go without a pack) a few times on the uphills. i'm sure she loved it, but i weighed MY pack the other day at the hostel and it weighed 43 lbs. adding her pack to mine today probably put me in the neighborhood of 50. needless to say, i'll be knocking myself out with a hydrocodone here in a few minutes. i'm too tired to even eat tonight.

thank all y'all for any prayers y'all are sending our way. you know, it's absolutely amazing, but all of my prayers have been answered on this trip thus far. God rocks. :) in reverse order, i was really prayin' there'd be a trail angel in the parking lot when i came off a mountain today. a trail angel is anyone who helps a hiker out, whether it's food or shelter or a ride into town. swayze and i came down the mountain today and there was a couple sitting in a car. they rolled the windows down and asked if we needed a ride into town, but i don't really need a resupply just yet and i'm still kinda skeptical of hitching (even though just about everybody on the trail does it), so i told them i was fine, thanked them, then swayze and i sat down in the shade to have lunch. right as they were leaving, the lady called out to me and offered me some lemon cookies and half a root beer. yes, ma'am... i'll take that. swayze was a fan as well. :)

one of my absolute pet peeves is a sparsely-marked trail. yesterday we pretty much hiked alone all day, and when we got to the last four miles or so, the blazes became few and far between. i was tired and hungry and all i could think of was, "Lord, just show me a blaze. let me know i'm goin in the right direction." and sure enough, every time i'd ask, there would be a blaze soon after. also last night, i was praying that there'd either be a familiar face or no one at all at the shelter. when i got there, there were two people from our "group" and two new people. i breathed a huge sigh of relief. the same exact thing happened again tonight. when i got to the campsite, it was just me and a guy i haven't seen yet. i specifically asked for someone in our group to show up, and not half an hour later, i heard a familar voice.

there've also been two instances where it's poured down rain at night and i've laid there in my tent and said, "God, just please let it be gone by daylight," and it quits at sunrise. :)

so whatever y'all have been praying, keep doing it 'cause it's working. thank y'all so much. maybe we should start working on a big, fat, juicy hamburger with lettuce and tomato and pickles and ketchup with a really ginormous glass of sweet tea and some salt & vinegar chips. at this point, that'd basically be heaven on earth.

4 comments:

  1. I sent a text to Charynne, Ramona and Aunt Darlene for prayers for both you and Swayze. You know how I'm a firm beliver in prayer. I still have those white gloves for Wink and Bunk to wear to fold the flag at Jack's funeral. I guess they'll be dry-rotted by the time Jack dies!! LOL Just don't push my grand-daughter too much. She'll be eating everything but fish when y'all get home!

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  2. Sounds like things are going well for you Angie...except for Swayze having some problems. 50 pounds is a pretty hefty load for you but you can handle it. I hike more in colder weather and need warmer gear and sometimes have 60 to 65 pounds on my back. Vicodins (Hydrocodone) usually doesn't put me to sleep.Instead sometimes it actually hypes me up but it is good for mild pain.

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  3. Oh Angie...You mentioned hitch hiking..sooner or later you may have a choice to either walk a long ways on a road ( not the same as in the woods) or hitch hike. Just follow your "gut feelings". If you feel uneasy about a ride pass it up, and follow Swayze's instincts too. Seriously. I met a guy while I was hitch hiking in New Mexico 30 years ago who had a German Shepard with him. He told me once that he had a ride offer and Clyde (the dog) sat there with his ears laid back staring at the driver and refused to get in the car even though Stretch had already gotten in. Clyde "sensed" something so if Swayze acts nervous about a ride..don't take that one. I truly believe some times that animals have a sense that humans don't have..

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  4. YAY!! Go Angie!!

    You'll have a package from me waiting for you in Hot Springs so make sure you check in there.

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