[at-l] Report from Stecoah Gap

[hopefl@juno.com]

This past Saturday we went to Stecoah Gap to pass out hot dogs. It seems
that the weather never changes there. We had rain, sunshine and wind,
lots of wind. Maybe all the wind in the world originates there. Anyway,
we finally had to move the truck into the lee of the hill in order to
keep things from blowing away. 

There seemed to be more hiker this year. We usually see about 20 and this
time there were 27 if I counter correctly. Folks were coming through the
gap earlier also. We generally arrive right at 10am and have everything
set up before any hiker come by. This year we met 4 just as we pulled
into the parking area. By middle of the afternoon, no more hikers were
coming down into the gap. Normally, we stay til about sundown but we left
about 4pm this year.

I guess the cold night got everybody going early. Many of them commented
that they were sleeping fretfully and just waiting for dawn because it
was so cold. The wind had howled all night also so the wind chill had to
be way on down there. 

There was only one person with an injury. That is about part I guess.
That person was doing fairly well. I was glad to see that. He plans to
take a little time off at Fontana so I'll bet he will be ok. Everybody
seemed to be in real good spirits, all were looking forward to all the in
between goals and experiences and friendships that form along the way.
One man who is about my age had adopted a whole family from among the
other hikers, a real trail family. The "son" was always picking on the
"daughter" and that was a ton of laughs. He told me he aimed to try and
trade his "little sister" for a puppy once he got to Hot Springs!! 

I have to admit that I sure am envious of them. Three years and counting.
  Hopeful

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