Day 266...Catch-up

Wow...a lot's happened in the past couple of weeks!

I headed south to spend Memorial Day weekend with my hunny. We had a great time, even though it rained the whole weekend. Ian and Krystal came down with the baby, so we got to see Harmony for the first time since her birthday. She's walking now, and was tearing around like crazy! It was so funny to watch her, she's so independent now. And sad, too, in a way, because it's another milestone she's passed that will never come again.

The Tuesday after Memorial Day was my birthday, and I have to say that I think it ranked right up there in the top 5, as far as birthdays go. First of all...it was the last birthday that either Alan or I will have to spend alone. Next year, he'll be home.
Second, I think everybody I know either called, wrote, sent cards, emailed or posted...with one glaring exception. And the funny thing is....I knew she hadn't forgotten. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, last Friday, a package came in the mail that contained the most beautiful silver celtic heart bracelet and pewter phoenix necklace. They were so perfect, I cried.

Reader, if you're one of the ones that remembered me that day....thank you for making my day so special.

So that left me with having to spend another 3 weekends at home before I can head south again. Faced with the prospect of having a beautiful Saturday on my hands last weekend, I decided it was time to go adventuring again. So adventuring I went! This time, I decided to head to Mt. Mitchell, in NC...the highest point east of the Mississippi River. (I've included a pic here of the Mighty Mountain in all its Glory, but trust me....you can't tell from this pic how Mighty it really is.) It's not that far from the house as the crow flies. Problem is....there ain't no roads the way the crow flies. Consequently, you can't get there from here.

The entrance is actually located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of Asheville, but after following some very misleading signs, I came in from the opposite direction. After winding all the way around my elbow to get to my thumb, I had finally arrived at the State Park, and proceeded to the summit. This park doesn't offer a lot in the way of recreation, except for a few small hiking trails, a picnic table or two, a restaurant, and a view....but OMG, what a view it is! 360 degrees worth, and so far out you can see the curvature of the earth. But I digress...

The ride up to the summit is largely shielded behind a lot of trees, but here and there you can sneak a peek of what's to come. Of course, my ears were popping all the way, but then, they had been for the past 30 minutes before I even GOT to the park. The first real view you get is from the parking lot at the base of the summit. The elevation here, according to the sign, is 6,578 feet.

There is a snack bar, small museum and gift shop located at the parking lot, but the main attraction still lies ahead...up a paved walkway. A very steep paved walkway. So steep, in fact, that they constantly run a golf cart back and forth from the parking lot to the observation deck at the summit for the benefit of the elderly and handicapped, which I thought extremely thoughtful, under the circumstances. Most of them would never have been able to make it, otherwise. But for someone in as magnificent shape as I was in...by virtue of my Runner's Status (in training for the Peachtree 10K, don'tcha know...)...I promptly pooh-poohed the thought and charged full-steam ahead, up that massive incline, determined to prove to myself just what excellent physical condition I had achieved.

Halfway up, I had to stop, literally gasping for air. No energy, no strength, no BREATH, for God's sake....what was wrong with me? Had all my training the past 5 months been for nothing? Just the thought had me panicking, thinking of trying to face that 10K in the broiling July Atlanta heat in such sad shape. While I was trying desperately to recover, I snapped this pic of the observation deck that was my objective, hanging still piteously far above my head, mocking me. Didn't occur to me until about 5 or 10 minutes later what the problem was. "Idiot," I said to myself. "Do you realize how high up you are? You can't breathe because there's no air up here. Airplanes fly this high, for God's sake, and you up here trying to run up the side of a mountain. Of course you're out of breath!" Feeling like a fool, I trudged ever onward, rounding the final curve only to come face to face with a....grave? Yep. The grave of one Rev. Elisha Mitchell, to be exact. Apparently, he was responsible for first measuring the elevation of the mountain, and laying the claim of it being the highest point. Contending that fact was his colleague, Thomas Clingman (of Clingman's Dome fame), who was claiming that HIS mountain was higher. The good Reverend was in the process of proving the virtue of his own claim when, crossing the top of a waterfall on the mountainside, he fell into the water below, and knocked unconscious by the fall, he drowned. He was found a week later by a local guide named Big Tom. Really. Now you know the REST of the story. :)

There is also an 'official' elevation sign here, as well, just to prove that you are standing 6, 684 feet above sea level. But the climb is not quite done...you still have to ascend the ramp to the observation deck, which you can see behind the grave. Once at the top, the view is absolutely...well, there are no words.

The concrete floor of the deck has a compass inlaid in it, in the shape of the state of NC, which is really cool, but so freakin' big, I couldn't get it all in a pic. But I'm sure you'll get the idea, anyway. If you will look on the left side of the map, you can see a little dark circle. I saw it too, and wondered if it was another survey pin, like the one I had found on top of Grandfather Mtn. To my delight, it was, so I took a pic of that, too! That made me think that maybe there's one on top of Roan Mtn. that I haven't seen yet...maybe on Roan High Knob, which is my next big adventure....and I can start 'collecting' these pins. What a cool thought! Anyway...

There is an iron railing all the way around the deck, and along this railing they have posted sketches of the mountain line, and named the summits that you see, so you can tell what you're looking at. I won't post all the pics I took of the view, because there are just too many, and the pics don't do the view any favors, anyway, but I will post two of note:

The first is a pic of Roan Mtn., which lay slightly to the NE. It will be the second peak from the right, in the very back. It looks shorter than the ones in front, only by virtue of the fact that it's actually a great deal farther away than the others. It's also a very humbling experience seeing that, and knowing that I have stood there. Not on the summit yet...but I will. And soon.

The second is a pic of Grandfather Mtn., which was more due north. This one is harder to see, but it's pretty much just above the little white spot in the dead center of the picture, off in the distance. You can get a good sense of just how high I was by looking at the clouds. I was almost dead level with the bottom of them, and that was a very eerie sensation, I can tell you.

I spent quite a bit of time up there before I left. It was very windy...there is a weather station up there, too, and you can see the readings in the museum...and unbelievably cold. Down at the base, the temperature was in the 80's that day, but at the summit...a chilly 50 degrees. Quite a difference, and it had me wishing for a jacket. Apparently, that's quite the norm up there, so if you should ever decide to go (which I highly recommend), bring a jacket just in case. You'll be verra glad you did.

Finally, it was time to go. After the requisite spin through the museum and gift shop, I made my final stop of the day at the snack bar, where I begged the nice ranger behind the counter for his largest cup of coffee. Alas, the largest was a small, but it got me down the mountain... :)

Heading back north on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was finally able to relax and enjoy the views. It truly was a spectacularly beautiful day, very much different than the last time I was on it during a heavy downpour, and I stopped at one of the many overlooks to get a shot of the view. The Parkway is truly a road to be experienced, but it can get a little taxing to do it often, because it is very limited access, and the 'exits' can be 30 or 40 miles apart. But well worth doing, at least once. These pics really don't do it justice in the least, but you can maybe get a small idea, anyway. For the most part, you will be traversing the side of a mountain, which will be on one side, with a spectacular view on the other...with an occasional tunnel or two thrown in for good measure.

I cannot even begin to explain the exhilaration of standing atop the world. There is nothing that even comes close to it. Alan told me once about a time when he lived in AK and some of his buddies took him snowmobiling. They wound up on a ridge, and when they had come to a stop, one of the guys motioned to him to look around. He did....to a world of white, where he could see whole mountain ranges spread out in the distance, and the curvature of the earth was displayed in all its grand magnificence. I thought I understood. I thought I did. Until now.

Brings to mind a line of a favorite quote from Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon: "Now I stood with him again upon the summit of life, and could not contemplate descent."

Oh, to have that feeling with Alan by my side....and I will, soon. Believe it.