Red Creek CS to Scherr; Distance = 15.5 Miles; People Met = 6
Our hike out of Red Creek CS was through the last bit of wilderness we will encounter on the ADT. Part of me lamented that fact. We stopped several times just to look around and soak in the panoramic splendor. I thought about how Dolly Sods would be a fitting end to a long journey, similar to Mt. Katahdin being a fitting end to hiking the Appalachian Trail. Yet I know now from many long hikes that it is the journey that counts, not the destination or the goal. The journey is where the learning and discovery occurs; who knows what further learning lay ahead for us on this journey of kindness?
A last glimpse of the Dolly Sods Wilderness
For example, if we ended the journey at Dolly Sods in the morning we would not have met Pastor Mike Humprhey around lunch time. Mike actually hosted Jerry and Karen two years previous, two ADT travelers whose names we’ve heard often. You could tell Mike would have liked to host us, but his family was preparing for a trip to Richmond and we still had miles to go for that day. Mike invited us in for lunch instead, where we met his wife Estee and sister Sabrina. Mike also called ahead to a friend who lived in the neighborhood of where we wanted to end up that day.
Pastor Mike Humphrey
So it was that we ended up staying in the backyard of Leonard and Jeanie Carr. The Carrs invited us in for both supper and breakfast and, along with all that, some fine conversation. When I was a young pup hiking in crazy ways and building up crazy appetites I might have focused more on the kindness of a meal. Now I so much more enjoy the kindness of conversation over a meal, or just simply in the kitchen where conversations most occur.
Leonard and Jeanie Carr
To be frank, I don’t think the Carrs will ever be back east to visit us, and it’s not likely we will be on that rural stretch of road in West Virginia again. I will just have to hold onto that memory of conversing with the Carrs, along with the memory of bumping into Pastor Mike; two of many such memories that make up this journey; memories that would never happen if we deemed Dolly Sods a great destination or goal for ending a journey.
Other Photos
Not for long
Fortunately, we did not make this turn
Does this tree have an agenda?
Pastor Mike has also met Jeff and Kristin on the trail in 2010. A day later, Jeff, Kristin and I went to their house; Pastor Mike has not there but I met Estte, his wife.
Greetings Jim,
Small world, isn’t it?
Kirk