October 22, 2013
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Leaving, Part 3
October 7, 2013:
As I mentioned, I had all of Monday to myself, which was good and bad. Freedom, alone time, no restrictions...good. No food, unfamiliar surroundings, having to drive up and down a mountain in my car...bad. Luckily, I have a pretty decent sense of adventure, so I made the most out of it. If I haven't mentioned the view, it really was great. In the morning, you could look out the back and see a small little town off in the distance. The town occasionally disappeared in the morning mist as it swirled in the hills. I Googled the nearest grocery store and didn't have much trouble finding it. After returning the groceries, I decided I'd go for a hike. Terry told me that there were miles and miles of hiking trails, so I got a map from the lady at the front gate and made my way to the toughest one on the list.
In retrospect, I was not prepared to hike. I didn't bring a backpack, and I was wearing athletic shorts with no pockets. So, here I am, wearing an Under Armor shirt, blue shorts, and carrying my phone, my keys, and a bottle of water in one hand. I honestly didn't think about how long I'd be hiking, so I didn't think my setup would be burdensome for long. Had I stayed on the trail the whole time, I don't think it would have been, but I did a little wandering, lost the trail, and had a bit of fun "bushwhacking." Sometimes the best spots are off the beaten path...
I lost the trail, so I decided to just follow the stream up. I thought I remembers the trail saying it went to the top of something, so up I went. The farther I went, the more I started to realize that I didn't really know where I was going or what I was looking for. Luckily I had my phone with me, so after hiking half a mile uphill with some direction, I was able to find a nearby road. The funny thing about it was, after I'd walked down the road a bit, I ended up finding the original trail. I didn't really have anything else to do, so I decided to go ahead and try to make it to the end of it.
To be honest, I wanted to give up about half way up. I'd been hiking off trail for an hour or so before finding my way again, and from the map by the road I found, this trail just more difficult the farther it went. I did want to give up. Most of the water in my bottle was gone. Because of the mountain, it felt later in the day than it really was, so I couldn't really tell how much daylight I was going to have left. But, I kept going. The trail was beautiful. Big Canoe is an older community, and I seriously doubt anyone had walked that trail in a long time. I'm sure I could have built a little cabin off to the side, and no one would have ever noticed me. It was secluded and peaceful and pristine, and that kept me going. I finally made it to the top, which, ironically, ended along a road on the very top of the peak there. I just set my things down, drank what little water I had left, laid down, placed the empty bottle behind my head, and looked up at the sky for a while. It was warmer because the sun was hitting me unlike being down in the valley. I could see that it wasn't really that late, so I lingered a bit. There isn't much that could have made that moment any better. Going down was alot easier. I had to watch myself because at times I wanted to go to fast. I finally made it back to my car, and having worked up an appetite, I was ready for dinner.
Monday Night Football was on, and I bought a couple of steaks to pan fry. Mr. Hurley showed me his special closet where he kept all his adult beverages. He had some type of high end margarita drink that I ended up finishing off. There was probably about three glasses left of it. I can't even remember who was playing that night. No one I had any interest in, but the reception was terrible up there, and it was the only thing interested on. After the game was over, I wasn't quite tired enough to go to bed, so I just sat in the moment for a while.
My reflections from the weekend: I'm very fortunate to have the relationships that I have. It was a blessing to be able to be in that place. I would have love to have shared that weekend with a significant other. I wish I would have gone to north Georgia sooner. I realized that either a) I just love being in the mountains or b) I'd had been way too long since I'd really taken the time to enjoy nature.
