This past weekend I was at Vogel State Park with the dogs and while it was as beautiful as always, there was something missing. I think it was the people, those who camp and swim and relax in the little boats while floating lazily out across the water.

Wow! Here’s another lakeside view.

Here is a quick photo of Hog Pen Gap, which is located on the Appalachian Trail. Just a short distance south of this point is the Walasi-Yi Center at Neel’s Gap where the trail crosses the mountains. In fact, the center’s breezeway contains the familiar white blaze that marks the AT. The trail actually runs through the structure. It’s the only building that actually sits on the trail. It’s here that thru hikers stop, repack, and unload items they realize they won’t use. I’ve written this before but I have found out new information.

The Mountain Crossings Center at Walasi-yi was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936 and completed in 1937. It was originally an inn and restaurant for the brave souls, who ventured this far into the wilderness. This is the oldest part of the AT. A hundred years before the trail was constructed, the Cherokee Indians had a path in this area. It was a major trade route and settlers often wrote about Frogtown Gap, the original name for Neel’s Gap.

The remains of the original Cherokee town are below the Walasi-yi Center. This portion of the AT climbs 800 feet in a mile and a half to the breath-taking vista on Hogpen Mountain.

I love visiting Neel’s Gap any time of the year. I always take the dogs but we did not go far this year along the AT. I’ll write more about that on the next post.

Isn’t this a cool looking structure and it’s located flat on the AT.

It always amazes me how many shoes are left behind at Neel’s Gap. Hikers who don’t have the right gear to hike the trail usually know it by the time they reach this point and shed the things that just don’t work. In the case of “shoes,” hikers leave their old ones behind (some toss them up in the generous oak that borders the center) and purchase new ones at the Mountain Crossings Walasi-Yi Center.

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)