Finally, we made it out to Camp Mikell, which is the conference center for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. I’ve been wanting to take the dogs there for the past six months or longer but just have not had time. That’s sad, especially since it’s located only about five miles away. The weather was perfect for a long walk. We even had an opportunity to get up close and personal with a few horses, too. Last week, we were in snow at Neel’s Gap; but today, we went hiking without jackets and drove home with the windows open.

This Saturday while driving to Cornelia we spotted this control burn being conducted by the Forest Service in the national forest that surrounds Toccoa. I have never been this close to a forest fire (controlled or otherwise) so I decided to take a couple of photos. The one below was taken a few yards off the highway on the fringe edges of the “burn.” Just the undergrowth was being burned away because in dry months this is what can really fuel forest fires.

Even in winter the mountains retain their beauty. And on sunny, warm days like this one, you hardly realize that spring is another two months away. No leaves on the trees but if you look close enough, you will see that there are plenty of buds.

Why is a shoe hanging from a tree on the Appalachian Trail? This sight usually has an entirely different meaning in a city, but here it is a sign that you have either packed too much stuff for the journey or you have the wrong kind of gear. Through hikers heading north usually stop at the Walasi Yi Center (billed as the only covered spot on the trail) located at Neel’s Gap to wash clothes, buy supplies for the long miles ahead, and dump unnecessary gear. It is here that many hikers throw their deeply valued hiking boots up into one of the hemlocks that blanket the gap. Center workers said one backpacker told them she had paid $600 for the pair of leather boots she was leaving behind! This “dumping” comes when hikers realize they have either too much of a good thing or simply the wrong equipment. In many cases it becomes a symbol of letting go of the old and of the “not needed” in order to reach a greater goal.

As I took this photo, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of us continue to carry unnecessary baggage through life—baggage that weights us down and prevents us from being all that we can be. Really, we need to be lean hikers—free of worry, anger, frustration, and bitterness—carrying only what is expedient for the trip—love, joy, and forgiveness. Most of the time this requires leaving some personal desire, demand, or “self perceived right” behind. Jesus basically told His disciples: carry only what you need for the journey that I have given you to walk. (Luke 10)

Okay, I confess I have fallen in love with mountain gates. I know, call me weird. Call me won over by Miss J’s mom. Gates rock, and if I could find a way to put one on my property, I would do it. Well, actually, I have been thinking and who knows . . . . gates are so cool and this one is totally “there.”