A Day with FDR

I planned to spend New Year’s Eve hiking at F D Roosevelt State Park. I had made one prior trip there, and found it to be one of the best hiking spots in Georgia. I was concerned when I awoke to a forecast of heavy fog. Initially, worried about whether the long trip was worthwhile in such fog, but then I remembered my hiking rule #1:

It’s about the hike, stupid!

For me, hiking is about pushing my body physically, and the time I spend in quiet reflection. Any scenery is just a bonus, and in this case, it proved to be a big bonus!

I said a quick prayer about the weather, and set out. The fog was pea soup all the way there, about as bad as I have ever seen it. When I hit the entrance to the park, amazingly, the fog suddenly lifted, and God presented me with a beautiful and surprisingly warm day.

I had decided in advance to do three individual loops, all connected to the Pine Mountain Trail, a 23 mile trail running along the ridge of Pine Mountain. I began with the Overlook Loop (3.4 mi, Climb: ***, Terrain: ***, Interest: ***), which ended at the Callaway Gardens Country Store. Since breakfast was at 5:30, I decided to eat at the store after the loop (food fair, service not quite as fair).

During lunch, I was reading from Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. The chapter I read was discussing the eyes of the heart, about recognizing the unseen. In this chapter, the author mentions three eternal truths:

1) Things are not what they seem
2) A battle us under way
3) We have a crucial role to play

Something to ponder for the balance of my hike.

After lunch, I hiked the Mountain Creek Nature (3.2 mi, Climb: **, Terrain: **, Interest: **). I finished the day with the Dowdell Knob Loop (4.3 mi, Climb: ***, Terrain: ***, Interest: ****). This hike had some amazing views, and was historically one of FDR’s favorite spots. I did a total of 11 miles and 4 hours.

During the last part of the hike (done at a quickened pace to make sure I got out before the gate was locked at 5 PM), I was thinking about the 3rd eternal truth from the book in the context of the problems my company is currently experiencing due to the real estate upheaval. God took me from a stressful 30+ year career in Information Technology to the financial world, which I had hoped would reduce my stress level, but was proving otherwise. I began thinking about why God put me there, and came to realize that the staff was looking in part to me for strength during the time of uncertainty. This is a heavy responsibility.

Dowdell’s Knob Loop was well blazed with fresh paint, and the blazes could often be seen from ¼ mile away or more, in contrast to knowing God’s will in this life, where it is hard to see beyond today, which is fuzzy enough itself. I am not sure what God has in store at work beyond today, but I know he wants me to trust him for tomorrow, and to model that for the staff. I guess this is part of my “crucial role”.

Introduction

My love for hiking is actually just over a year old, but is has become a serious pastime (and maybe a passion) in that short time. The impetus for it however is a bit older.

I have been a non-athlete all of my life. I have never been sedentary in any sense, but have never engaged in sports or formal exercise of any sort. Two years ago, for a number of reasons, I began an aggressive workout program, and got myself in pretty good shape. At the same time, I had just read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, which really puts an emphasis on spending time in the woods away from all distraction, and the importance of challenging one’s self physically. The author makes the case that this is not only important for ones masculine development, but is a great way to hear God speaking to you. I loved the book, but rejected the idea of getting out in the woods completely.

Flash forward to Thanksgiving 2006. I spent the weekend with my bother and family in the North Georgia Mountains. Since I did not have access to a gym to keep up with my exercise program, I decided to try one of the nearby nature trails, accompanied by my 10 year old nephew. I surprised myself at how much endurance I had, and more importantly, I began to discover a sense of adventure I never realized I had.

The idea of hiking was put on the shelf until the following September, which I was on vacation in Sarasota, FL. My family likes the beach, which I hate. I decided to try hiking one day while they went to the beach. I picked a 6 mile trail at a state park well outside of Sarasota. Although I ran into one obstacle after another, I stuck with it, and arrived at the trailhead. I was as far out in the woods as I had been in my life, and did not encounter a single soul the entire time. It was scary in many ways, and at the same time one of the most satisfying things I had ever done in my life. I discovered that day that the sense of adventure I never knew I had was very strong. I also found a unique way to related to God – just he and I with no other distractions. At that point, I was hooked.

Having a 30 plus year career in technology, I found I could not separate one from the other. As such, I spent considerable time on the Internet researching trails in my area, and the necessary (and nice but not essential) gear. I discovered REI, and equipped myself as follows:

REI Hydration pack
Inexpensive hiking boots (which I would later regret)
Garmin etrex Vista HCX GPS
US Topo Map CD
SPOT Satellite Messenger (not recommended due to unreliability)

The latter was a concession to my boss, who was uncomfortable with me being alone in the woods. With the above, I was off, and have rarely missed a Saturday since.

The purpose of this blog is twofold: to document my experiences with different trails in the hope that the information may help other hikers; and to relay any insights that God chooses to provide to me in the process.