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May 23, 1983: Yesterday afternoon’s long-awaited azure skies gave way to a glorious sunset before fading into nightfall. The stars appeared like sharp, bright promises of better days ahead. Before long, a brooding darkness appeared along the western fringe and slowly spread across the firmament, devouring those fragile lights one by one.
#backpacking #hiking #landscapephotography #NorthCarolina #mountains #Tennessee #AppalachianTrail
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Another morning dawned gray and dismal, shedding a chill misting rain upon the land as we made ready to set out.
The sun broke out from the clouds once again just as we left the shelter — a nice little symbolic flourish for our impending departure from the Great Smokies. The mile of trail into Davenport Gap was a breeze, but the ensuing mile-and-a-half stretch to the Big Pigeon River was tricky and difficult.
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The path frequently crossed the brook on rocky fords which were, of course, hopeless. Nothing spells fun like tiptoeing across the tips of mossy submerged rocks with a heavy pack on one’s back.
From my book Then the Hail Came (A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike). Available in paperback, audiobook and eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFG4ZR6
Then the Hail Came: A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike [Steffanos, George] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Then the Hail Came: A Humorous and Truthful Account of a 1983 Appalachian Trail Thru-hike
George Steffanos