It’s Amazing Who You’ll Meet On The Trail
September 21, 2010 by fatherjeff
Filed under The Hiking Priest (Fr. Jeff's Blog)
Today, I was getting ready to go on my weekly hike and wondered if I really wanted to go. These are the mind-games I play with myself every week before I go hiking. I love hiking, I feel great after I hike, and I even feel closer to God when I hike. Yet my mind keeps telling me it’s too hot outside, it’s too much work to go hiking, and I’ve got way too much to do in the office. But the better half of my mind won out, and I got up to the Fox Den parking lot earlier than usual.
I decided to only hike about 4 miles of the Long Leaf Loop, which took me to about mile 8 on the Pine Mountain Trail. Once I was on the trail, I was exceedingly happy. My thoughts were clear, I was making good time, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I might meet someone on the trail. I figured it would be Jesus, as I’ve been reading the novel The Shack by William P. Young for our Sunday morning adult class. I rarely ever see anyone on the trail, especially on a Monday morning. I once met one of Molly’s high school teachers on the trail in an interesting meeting. But I was in for a huge surprise today. Read more
The Hiking Preacher Part 10
December 23, 2009 by fatherjeff
Filed under The Hiking Priest (Fr. Jeff's Blog)
Wolfden Loop Part 2
WJSP Tower Parking Lot to Mile Marker 20 and back: 6 miles, 3 hours 15 minutes
This is the tenth in a series of posts about my weekly hikes on the Pine Mountain Trail.
I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that this is my last Hiking Preacher post. The good news is that I’ve gotten such a great response to it, that I decided to rename my blog The Hiking Priest! I changed it to “priest” because, even though I am a preacher, priest encapsulates more of who I am. This will definitely not be my last post about hiking, however, as I will continue my weekly hikes in preparation for my sermons. Today concluded my second trip on the PMT, and it’s definitely become part of my spiritual discipline. In fact, I can always tell if I’m having a bad week and directly connect it to the fact that I didn’t spend time with God on the trails.
The Hiking Preacher Part 7
November 19, 2009 by fatherjeff
Filed under The Hiking Priest (Fr. Jeff's Blog)
Rocky Point Parking Lot to Dowdell Knob intersection and back
Approx. 3.2 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes
This is the seventh in a series of posts about my weekly hikes on the Pine Mountain Trail.
I fully intended to do the Dowdell Knob loop today and what a beautiful day it would have been to be on that trail! I was disappointed, however, to find that the gate was locked, even though it was after 9:00 a.m. (the sign says it opens at 8:00). So I skipped ahead to the next hike, which was the connecting part of the PMT between the Dowdell Knob Loop and the Wolfden Loop. It’s not a very long hike, so doing a back-and-forth doesn’t take very long. The easiest way to approach this part is by starting at the Rocky Point parking lot and heading west.
Let me tell you, though, they don’t call this “Rocky Point” for nothing! Read more
The Hiking Preacher Part 6
October 26, 2009 by fatherjeff
Filed under The Hiking Priest (Fr. Jeff's Blog)
Big Poplar Loop Part 2-Sawtooth Trail
5.4 miles, 2 hours 15 minutes
This is the sixth in a series of posts about my weekly hikes on the Pine Mountain Trail.
Back on the trail again after another brief hiatus. Last week I had a meeting that I couldn’t miss, and planned to hike in the afternoon, but was just feeling lousy, so I took the week off. I’ve been fighting off some mysterious malady the last few weeks, but decided not hiking would only make me feel worse, so I went out on a perfect day, temperature-wise, in the mid-60s. I decided to go back and finish that piece of trail on the Big Poplar Loop that I missed, which is technically called the Sawtooth Trail. It’s only 2.7 miles from Fox Den to Mollyhugger Hill, so it’s not a bad hike on which to backtrack so you can avoid having to call in a pickup. Read more
The Hiking Preacher Part 4
September 29, 2009 by fatherjeff
Filed under The Hiking Priest (Fr. Jeff's Blog)
Big Poplar Loop Part 1
This is the fourth in a series of posts about my weekly hikes on the Pine Mountain Trail.
I got a late start today on the trail because Molly had a dentist appointment. So I ended up getting up to Fox Den Cove around 10:30 a.m. on a truly perfect day for hiking. This is the first of my two-part hike on the Big Poplar Loop, which stretches from Fox Den Cove to Mollyhugger Hill. Big Poplar is the longest loop of the PMT at 7.8 miles. Included is the 5.1 mile section of the PMT and the 2.7 miles of the Sawtooth Trail. My next hike will be the Sawtooth. Today, I did the 5.1 stretch which was really great. Read more
