Lunch on the Bunion

As a follow up to Fr. Christian's post, I'd like to say that one aspect that I consider crucial to hiking is going with friends! At least, for the Humdinger Project, the more the merrier.

FC and I have been way behind on hikes, but I'm glad we picked Charlie's Bunion to restart the project. It is a fun trail that offers several spots where you can take a "beauty break" and soak up all the awesome. Since the hike to Charlie's Bunion is on the Appalachian Trail, I can finally be christened with a trail name.

Starting off in the Newfound Gap parking lot offers you a chance to people-watch, if you're into that. Newfound Gap is a popular GSMNP tourist/drive-by/stop and take the traditional picture spot. Some people are adventurous enough to walk along the trail for a bit, but most turn back before they even get a 1/2 mile in. Basically after the first mile traffic clears up. If you're a peepee princess like me, you'll love having bathrooms right at the trailhead.

On the way to the trailhead, we drove out of the cloud bank. There was something like a 60% chance of spotty showers the day we went hiking, so we all packed our rain gear. Luckily, we didn't have to don the rain gear and were able to see the sights along the trail.

Hiking to Charlie's Bunion and back is a total of 8.1 miles. For some reason, I didn't notice the elevation change as much on the way to the Bunion as I did on the way back, and if you look at the elevation profile on Hiking in the Smokys (they totally spelled it wrong), I'm sure you can see why. I'm a weenie, but I'm also way out of shape. I felt the burn, but it's always a good burn. So if you're a brave tourist looking for a great view, I would suggest this trail. If you don't regularly hike and/or walk or whatever, you may find it a bit difficult.

If I remember correctly, we did the entire hike in almost 4 hours. Of course, hiking with Fr. David Boettner and Fr. Christian means the pace is faster than most normal people, but I love them anyway. Hope Feist and I did eventually take the lead and slowed things down. But hey, we all made it back to Knoxville and Lenoir City in time for the beginning of the Holy Week liturgies.

We all ate our subs and chips while sitting on the Bunion, and I've got to tell you, it was awesome. Simply beautiful! I feel like hiking to Charlie's Bunion and eating lunch there should be on someone's bucket list. Eating lunch on the Bunion may very well have been my favorite part of the entire hike. I even made a new friend.

For me, this hike was a chance to hang out with people I love who I don't see very often. It was also a chance to be outside and enjoy a gorgeous day that was supposed to be rainy. The hike to Charlie's Bunion was also a nice reminder of how good it feels to just go outside and walk, I mean, really walk.

Charlie's Bunion

Yesterday was the perfect spring day for a hike. My friend Ashley and I have been away from the Humdinger Project since September, but it is far from forgotten. Warmer weather should lead to more hikes in the near future. Here is a great picture from Charlie's Bunion, looking out at the clouds below.

Here are the highlights of this hike for me. First, I was able to spend time with three people that I love. Later in the evening Fr. David and I both celebrated the beginning of the Holy Week liturgies with our hiking partners Ashley and Hope serving as incense bearers. The day began with hiking and ended with prayer. That is always a good combination for me. Perhaps the best thing about the day, however, was meeting two thruhikers who were looking for a way to town. We strapped their packs to the top of Fr. David's car and took a short detour to get them into town. This is trail magic at it's best. I wish the two of them luck as they make their way north towards Mt. Katahdin.

Stay tuned for more updates on humdinger hikes soon!

Finding a Trail Name

In a recent comment on this blog, my partner Ashley inquired whether she had been given the trail name "Gimpy" as a result of our first hike. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term "trail name", it is a term used frequently among hikers of the Appalachian Trail. They are typically names that sum up your personality on the trail and are given by others. The idea is that the correct name will find you when the time is right. If I were a complete purist when it cam to hiking, I would tell Ashley that her trail name would have to wait until we are hiking on the 70 miles of the AT that runs through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Not being a person who has ever felt the need to follow the absolute letter of the law, however, makes me think her trail name could come about at any point during the Humdinger Project. So to answer the question, "Is Gimpy my trail name?" we will have to hike a bit further to see. If sprained joints become a regular part of hiking with Ashley, then Gimpy might be the name that has chosen her, but my hunch is that her trail name is still out there looking for her.

It took several hundred miles on the AT for the name "Worst Case Scenario" to be given to me, but I must say as fitting as that trail name is for me, I prefer the name given to my other hiking partner Fr. David and I when we hike together. It was while hiking on the AT in the Smokies toward Fontana Dam that three ladies dubbed us "The Karma Police". My favorite quickly acquired trail names are "Lost and Found" and "Longshot". Fr. David and I met both hikers on our first section hike down in North Georgia. "Lost and Found" got his name after having discovered that he had left his jacket on the trail seven miles back. He walked all the way back to retrieve it. "Longshot" was an older man from Florida who had decided to take on the challenge of the 2,000 mile thruhike. When his friends dropped him off they simply looked at him and said, "You're definitely a longshot." Some trail names come as easily as that. We will have to wait for Ashley's to make its appearance.

How My Priest Made Me A Cripple

In my previous post, I mentioned my bum leg resulting from the Rainbow Falls/Bull Head/Old Sugarlands hike.

The motto of the hike, in my perspective, was "it's mind over matter." That is true to a point, yes. However I did not fully explain the driving force that kept me going. So here it goes...

When I unfortunately realized that something had gone awry with my right leg, I stopped. Excuse the inaccurate medical terminology, but I'm no doctor. Anyway, it felt like my femur or "hip" (yes, I know, your hip can't pop out) had popped out of the socket or something. Obviously, that was not the case as I could still walk on it, albeit gingerly.

I told Fr. Christian about the recent development. He said, "Try and put it back in place." Much to my amusement, and his, I tried to put whatever it was that had popped out of place back into place. Nothing worked. We walked for a few more minutes when I finally decided that I could not go on. "I don't think I can make it!" cried poor little Ashley.

Fr. Christian, my priest and dear friend, made me a cripple with the following statement, "Yes you can! It's mind over matter." Begrudgingly, I trudged along in the back of the group for the rest of the hike. I was never given the option of turning around. Thinking back, I would not have wanted to turn around and not finish the hike. If it were not for FC, I would not have found the motivation to keep going. He's a good friend to have the faith that I would finish and to believe in me. Still...

Walking uphill hurt like hell. Each step was painful, especially when I would hoist myself up a rather large rock with the wrong leg. Even better though, was my uncanny ability to trip over every damn rock and tree root on the trails.

We finished our hike around 6 that Friday night. On Sunday afternoon, I finally decided that I should have my leg checked out. I went to the emergency room. The x-ray was all good, said the doctor. He believed that the pain came from a ligament between my pelvis and femur that was all wonky. I'll believe that.

The discharge report said, "You have a sprained joint. This means there is a tear in the ligaments that hold the joint together. Severe sprains often need 3-6 weeks to heal completely."

For obvious reasons, Fr. Christian and I won't be having a hike for a few weeks. Once my bum leg gets better, we'll be back out on the trails.

My leg doesn't hurt that much anymore. I know that hiking comes with the added risks of injury. Fr. Christian and our friend Fr. David have told me about their numerous aches and pains during their Appalachian Trail hikes. After this incident and upon hearing stories of far worse injuries, I feel that I am better prepared to embrace any future injuries while hiking.

I just never figured that my priest would make me a cripple on our first hike. To that, all I can say is lol.

Stay tuned!