God Answers Prayers...here's an example

We spoke with Adam this afternoon, all is well. He called Dad to say his camera wasn't working, we got the Canon Tech Specialist on the phone and found out what was wrong...cool weather solidifying camera grease...nothing a little knock on the side couldn't fix and all seems to be working now! He was on top of Frosty Mountain, and had another call coming in, so said goodbye. A short while later, Adam called Mom, filled her in on some things and then told her that on Saturday night they had a real close call, and came within a matter of inches of serious injury or worse. Adam said they arrived at the shelter, and it was very windy. While setting up the tents, he remembered Dad saying to look up and make sure there were no loose or dead branches hanging, which he did and everything looked fine.

About 8:30pm, Adam was in Dori & Kat's tent playing cards, when all of a sudden a huge wind came up and a tree about 40 feet tall and 8-10 inches in diameter fell on the tent, just grazing Adam's arm, and after it hit the ground, it rolled over on the tent! He said just a few inches one way or the other and it could have been disastrous for all three of them. Thankfully, no one was injured, and the tent did not tear nor did the poles break!!! After they shook off the shock, they got out and moved it off of the tent. It also landed on one of the packs, bending a cook pot, which they bent back into shape (well, almost!).

We have only one thing to say - praise God who is sovereign and hears the prayers of his people. Thank you to many who are praying for Adam, Dori and Kat's safety. God does answer prayers, so please continue to pray faithfully for their safety, protection and strength.

Tonight they are staying at Hogback Ridge Shelter. They are making good time each day, and the sunshine was a welcomed sight today. Stay tuned!

Hogback Ridge Shelter

Northward to Boone, NC!

The Crew is headed to Boone, NC now, but will first pass through the Erwin, TN area (eastern Tennessee) and cross over the famous Nolichucky River. North Carolina has been good to the Crew, with several Trail Angel experiences along the way. Most recently, the Crew was visited by Mom & Dad Palmer, bringing Mosey back to the trail, along with some welcomed Arby's Roast Beef sandwiches (15 of them to be exact). Check out the photos and videos:

Best Friends Re-united

Visiting the Crew at Davenport Gap

Approaching Charlies Bunion - rock outlook

Adam on Charlies Bunion

Bob & Adam at Charlie Bunion - October 1994

Back on the trail

Message from Dori


Message from Adam



Bob & Adam - Pigeon River Bridge - April 1995

Bob & Adam - same bridge March 2009!
Bob & Adam - Hot Springs - October 1995

Adam - Hot Springs - March 2009!

Scenes from the Trail

A good rest for the Crew in Hot Springs, spoke with Adam and all is well. He made it to the library to complete a quick post yesterday, and everyone's spirits are great. They only had a brief bit of rain, and are hoping to leave early on Saturday morning to beat the severe weather headed into the Carolina's.
Here are a few photos from the hike through the Smokies up to Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail - 6,643 feet high, check out some interesting Clingman's Dome facts here: http://www.clingmansdome.com/...enjoy the photos!

Adam at Cheoah Bald

Spider Web on the Trail Cheoah Bald Shelter

Fontana Dam Shelter (also known as the Fontana Hilton because it's so large compared to other shelters..

Adam & Whitney - happy reunion at Newfound Gap

View from firetower near Little Shuckstack Mountain

View of Fontana Lake from firetower

Having a blast!

Adam, the Master Fire Maker!

Clingman's Dome

Dori at Clingman's Dome

One happy hiker!

Oh Hot Springs, you cater so well...

Sitting in Hot Springs on our zero day. Got in after 18.8 miles from Roaring Fork shelter, yes, the beers were still in my hiding spot. Surprisingly, we made it in about 7 1/2 hours and even took bout an hour worths of breaks. Proud to say that we feel great today, and tomorrow we head off to the trail again. Got a chance to soak in the "mineral hot spring" which is basically a hot tub pumped with the "mineral water." It was worth the dollar it cost to get a towel, cuz until April 1, if you stay at the campground, you get a free hour of relaxation. Today we woke up early out of habit now and went to the Diner to get some breakfast, it put me right back to sleep. This library is chillin and we have this new thing called the internet. Keep us in your thoughts, we should be arriving in Boonetown on April 6, monday, after a 15 or so mile day into town. We are gonna be grabbing the bull by the horns these next ten or so days and look forward to the comfort of good people in a great town. Until then, the Moseyin Mountaineers are lovin every minute of our hike and big ups to Mom and Dad for fattening up the Big Ol over his trail break. Lovin and Livin
From Hot Spring, NC

The Smokies are history now!!!

Many good things have happened since Sunday’s post, most notably is the Crew completed their hike through the Smokies, unscathed, happy and thankful. For the most part, the weather was terrific, and finding that many of the shelters had been retro-fitted was an added bonus. The last shelter the Crew stayed in was Cosby Knob Shelter, and as it turned out, Adam said he had a very vivid memory of staying at the shelter close to 15 years ago. He told me that during the night he had to get up and make a pit stop, and when he walked out of the shelter the sky was so dark, and the stars so bright that he could almost reach out and touch them. He said it was at that very moment he remembered being at the shelter years earlier, and getting up in the middle of the night, and seeing the magnificence of the sky in the exact same way….how cool is that!

Read on…this is even more unbelievable. As many of you know, Adam and I have hiked all but 108 miles of the trail, but what you might not know is that I have a journal entry for every single day we have hiked over the past 18 years. After he told me what happened on Wednesday night at Cosby Shelter, I looked back in my journal to when we stayed at Cosby Knob Shelter (which was Saturday night, October 29, 1994) and here is what I wrote: “We made one final climb and descent to Cosby Shelter. Once at the shelter, we met 5 guys from the Asheville area, all believers and we had a great time with them. Sang songs, laughed, shared stories and enjoyed the evening. The stars were great, Adam and I watched them for a while, even saw a shooting star, what a night, Praise God for a great day. The clear blue sky, so clean and pure, what a world up here.” I’m still in amazement, and I’m still thankful for the Creator of the universe and that He still upholds all things by the word of His power! (Hebrews 1:3)

'Old' Cosby Knob Shelter

'New' Cosby Knob Shelter

Over the past several days, I’ve gone back into the archives and pulled out a few pictures of when Adam and I hiked this section. Check them out, and the dates they were taken…you’ll see the ‘younger’ Bob and Adam!

April 1991 - First day on the trail, resting on Dad's pack - Adam is 5 1/2 years old here!

October 18, 1991 - Blood Mountain

Adam gets his first pack - October 1993

Nantahala Outdoor Center - April 1994 (Adam is 8 years old here)

Cheoah Bald - one of my favorite places on the trail - April 1994 (Me, Adam and Michael Dixon) Look at the rock we are standing on, and then watch this video...Adam has an amazing memory!

The Crew made it to Davenport Gap Tuesday afternoon, 3/24, and walked under Interstate 40 at the NC/TN border for their official exit from the Smoky Mountain National Park. Great job guys! Check back tomorrow for some photos from their trek through the Smokies.

Movin' On in the Smokies

Another great day for the Crew in the Smokies. Received a call from Adam around 10am this morning, they were at Newfound Gap (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/nfg.htm), a nice tourist rest stop with great views, and even greater traffic, car and bus fumes and too many people with cameras. This spot can be quite a shock for hikers coming out of the quiet and serene woods. Looks like they are spending the night at Pecks Corner Shelter...check it out.

The 'old' Pecks Corner Shelter










The renovated Pecks Corner Shelter

A Quiet Night at the old Mt. Collins Shelter

Talked to Adam earlier today, the hiking has been great, sun and blue sky all around. Everyone is feeling fine, had a nice night at Derrick Knob Shelter, he said the renovations were nice and he wasn't quite sure about no chain link fence around to keep the bears at bay....nevertheless, a quiet night.

Today they hiked to Mt. Collins Shelter, as you can see, this one hasn't been renovated! A nice fireplace and hopefully a good night rest. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday night when we bring Mosey back to the trail....as you can see, he's ready to go!

Derrick Knob Shelter - Smoky Mountains

Kudo's to the Spot Satellite Tracker (a favorite of Les Stroud, Suvivorman) which lets us know that the Crew is at Derrick Knob Shelter. If you do a quick Google search (and then click Images at the top) on these shelters in the Smoky Mountains, you'll find photos of the old and new shelters. Many have been retrofitted from 15 years ago when Adam and I were hiking this section. Some real nice improvements. One thing surprised me, no more chain link fencing around the shelters to protect hikers from bears....I guess they figure by now the hikers smell worse than the bears!

Derrick Knob Shelter - the old



Derrick Knob Shelter - the improved

Back on the Trail

Adam and Crew got back on the trail today after a brief 36 hour break in Asheville. Everyone had a good time visiting family, significant others and friends, but it's back to business now.

Hiking right across the top of Fontana Dam (see photo) they entered the southern entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. For those movie buffs, Fontana Dam is very close to Cheoah Dam, where the movie 'The Fugitive' with Harrison Ford (1993) was filmed! Check out the trailer, Harrison jumps off Cheoah Dam (well, maybe not for real). (Thanks for the clarification Jeffy boy - aka 'Casper') http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3153199385/

Today's hike is fairly strenuous hike up to Mollies Ridge Shelter (see photo) where they will spend the night. Bob and Mar (Adam's parents) will meet the Crew at the northern entrance of the National Park on Tuesday night to return Mosey to his best friend! Keep checking for updates.

If you want to see where they are tonight, check the link on the right tool bar >>>>>>

Mosey Celebrates St. Patty's Day Too!

While his owner (Adam) is strenuously hiking from pub to pub in Asheville on a scheduled 'day off', Mosey enjoys a relaxing St. Patty's Day at home with his favorite home brew - Pop's Irish Red Ale!

So its St Patty's Day, hope Mosey is enjoying his ice cold beer. I'm celebrating in Asheville with Dweezle and friends, Dori and Kat are with their respective peoples, heading to STS9 tonight to have fun and then tomorrow spending some time with Katy, Whitney and her family and who ever else wants to join the Asheville - first zero day - crew. Love to all, we are doing great - Adam.

Trail Magic at A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

Just a few pictures of hikers, food and fun!