As I walked through the Green Mountains of Vermont I spent a lot of time in reflection. I had not finished the entire trail, but the end was less than a month away. I was back on schedule and making good time. My foot rarely hurt any more. I had picked up my red rain parka at my last mail drop (several weeks without carrying that extra two pounds made a difference).
One morning I woke up in a shelter and looked out to see thick fog. It rained very often in the Green Mountains (that's why they are green!) After a good breakfast, I packed up my stuff and started down the trail. the fog lay like a thick blanket over everything. Sounds were muffled and absorbed by the fog. The silence was only broken by the sound of my boots on the trail, the clatter of my hiking staff on the rocks, and some tiny rattles from items inside my pack.
I approached a place where the trail bent sharply to the right. As I walked forward, I saw something in the distance. What was that thing? The closer I got, the more I realized that it was a deer. His head was framed by some tree branches and his body was hidden by the fog. I walked slowly forward, watching the deer. He didn't see me, and the fog kept him from hearing me. Eventually I got so close that he turned and sniffed...he smelled me. He gave a snort and bounded off into the woods and the fog.
Before long the sun began to melt away the fog. Within a couple of hours I was walking in wonderful sunshine. The birds had been silent in the fog, but now they burst forth with their songs. It was amazing! I sang many songs while hiking the trail. I even wrote one (very cheesy) song when I was in North Carolina, but it wasn't anything to write home about. But on this day in Vermont I was overcome with my memories of the trail, the deer I had seen, the singing of the birds, and the absolute beauty of the mountains.
Suddenly words began to come to me. I found myself singing a few phrases. Before long I had to stop and write them down. As I walked, more words came, and more, and more. Within a couple of hours I was singing a new song. I originally called it "And Of The Sky", but later changed the name to "The Long, Long Trail". The name fit, since the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail were actually together at this point (the Long Trail extends the length of Vermont from South to North). I later changed some of the words to past tense when I finished hiking. Here is what I wrote:
I was leaving it all behind me
To go out and see the world
To see the peaceful mountains
And learn their mysteries of old
Now I left the city behind me
I left my friends and my home
I left my school and my family
To head for points unknown.
(Chorus)
And I was walking that long, long trail from Georgia
Headed on that path that leads ever northward
And inbetween the lines I saw the goodness and the beauty
Of the earth, and of the sky!
Now the people of the mountains
They know how to live
They know what calmness and patience means
They live their lives to give
They know what it means to stand alone
On a peaceful mountain top
To see the wind chase the clouds away
Or feel the sun at dawn!
(Chorus)
Now when my walk met it's lonesome end
And I stood on Katahdin's top
I could see all the miles and the people I'd met
And I knew that I'd learned a lot.
I learned how to smile when the sun breaks through
On a cloudy, misty day
Where the deer run wild and the birds sing free
It's a happy day!
(Chorus Twice)
It's a song that I have been singing ever since. The hike in 1980 changed me. It gave me memories that will last a lifetime. It gave me confidence in God and in myself. I'll never forget that long, long trail!
2011 update: This morning I weighed in at 169.0 pounds. Over the last several days I have weighed in sometimes more and sometimes less than 169. My goal is 165 pounds by September 4th. That means I need to lose four more pounds in a little more than three weeks. I have continued to jog (almost every day). Today I had a big salad for lunch. Right now I am eating a bowl of beans and cornbread for supper. A week from tomorrow I am running in another 5K road race. This time I am in much better shape and hope to do well!
