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)

Isn’t this one of the smoothest winter roads you have seen? We passed it on our way down from Neel’s Gap this past weekend. I could have gone down it with the four-wheel drive but decided just to photograph it instead.

I really wanted to drop down to another level to take this photo, but I couldn’t. A small deer had fallen from the top of the falls and died. “He probably slipped on the ice,” one lady told me. Cocoa was at my side and immediately knew something was very wrong. She is such a sweet dog. I grabbed this photo and left vowing to come back in the summer under happier circumstances. There are several really nice waterfalls in the  Pisgah National Forrest. Most of the hikes are short and not extreme.

We didn’t even have to inch along this road though it looks like that is what we had to do. But when you are with someone who knows how to drive on snow and ice, you just travel along. Denny knew what he was doing, and he never complained about having to stop repeatedly for me and others to take photos.

Basically, we just had lots of fun over vacation in PA. The first day that we were back from Lake Erie, Joy took us to Wendell August Forge. The company is America’s oldest and largest forge, producing hand-wrought ornamental metalware and elegant giftware in aluminum and other metals since 1923. The furnace in this photo dates back to the 1930′s when the founder Wendell McMinn August. who was in the coal industry asked, Ottone “Tony” Pisoni, a blacksmith in his coal mine, to hand-forge door latches for his home.

“Admiring the low cost and high quality of Pisoni’s work, August was inspired to start a decorative ironware business. Pisoni was joined by three more blacksmiths who handcrafted the first product line, including one-of- a-kind fireplace andirons, candlesticks, lighting standards, doorknockers, latches, railings, and grilles for windows and doors.”

Two designers currently work on all the designs created at the forge. This is one of their offices.

A really cool clock from the past.