My Son's Progress on the Appalachian Trail

My son the adventurer

Nantahala National Forest to the north of Franklin, NC

The view from Fontana Dam

I received the first e-mail from my son earlier today as he works his way northward on the Appalachian Trail. He has covered 120 miles so far and was in Franklin, North Carolina, where he and some fellow hikers had checked into a motel for a respite from the bad weather. He says they have had seven (7) days of fog which has obscured much of the views.

He will then be headed for Fontana Dam, the highest dam east of the Rocky Mountains, as he continues north. As he goes north, he will pass unfortuantely to the west of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, where I went one time with my oldest daughter for a figure skating invitational competition. For a tiny and picturesque town (the Blue Ridge Parkway runs near the town), Spruce Pine had a fabulous ice rink that had been built by a multi-millionaire who had dreamed of having his own ice hockey team and built a training facility in Spruce Pine. The team did not last, but the town now has a great facility. My daughter still has a souvenir from that trip: a an emerald - 1.2 carats after being cut - that her mother found in a bucket of mine tailings which I had mounted in a ring (Mitchell County is a gem center).

As for my son, from the tone of the e-mail, he is having a great time and no doubt having many interesting experiences that he will remember his whole life. I am proud of his courage and sense of adventure, yet as a parent I cannot help but worry. :)