What do you have for blood, boy? Antifreeze?!!

   By this time in 1980 I was passing through Wesser, North Carolina. It brought back memories. One of my first backpacking trips was in this particular area. I was in high school and went with Wall Woffard and one other friend from school. Those early trips helped me learn about backpacking and also inspired me to hike the entire trail.
   Wesser is right on the Nantahala River. After crossing the river, the trail has a very steep climb. On my first trip that section of trail was called the "jump up" because it was so steep. By 1980 the trail was improved, but it was still a long, long climb up. I was trying to make it to Sassafras Gap shelter by nightfall. I was hiking in my shorts and stopped to put on my jacket. Daylight was fading by the time I finally rolled into Sassafras Gap. Two other hikers were there, all bundled up in heavy coats because of the cold. They took one look at me, hiking in shorts and said, "what do you have for blood, boy? Antifreeze?!!!"
   That night I took a look at the register in the shelter (a simple spiral bound notebook where hikers would sign in). There I learned that the shelter had a lot of mice. One hiker a few nights ago set his mouse trap with a raisin coated in peanut butter. He killed about a dozen mice (most of them with the same raisin). I hung my pack from the rafters and prayed that the surviving mice didn't know how to climb!
   I was happy to be making progress. I even wrote a song "If it is to be, it's up to me". I admit that it was probably one of the worst songs you have ever heard (the kind where you get kicked out of the auditions at American Idol!) But it was an expression of my determination. Most of the words are lost in my memory, but one phrase still sticks out "I'm going to walk it with God." I knew that I was not walking alone, that God was with me (which is a neat feeling).
   I'm making progress in my current project. Easter dinner yesterday was huge and I ate too much. I had a big salad for supper. This morning I weighed in at 183.4 pounds = progress! I went for a jog this morning too, but didn't need any antifreeze!