Round 2

Well...sometimes nostalgia can be rather short-lived. A day or two after my previous post we were hit with another foot of snow. It mirrored the first drop almost exactly and much of it still sits on my mountaintop to this day. Reflection quickly turned into more hiking, driving down the mountain in reverse, food rationing, and hitching rides to work.

The snow drop was followed by an ice storm that coated everything in sight and knocked out power to much of the area. I was blessed to maintain it as we received a few more days of snow. We then had a wind storm that brought gusts between 40 and 50 mph. Once again, many lost power and this time I was included. Fortunately it was restored after 24 hours which meant only one day of urinating outside in freezing temperatures (the trick is to get it on the first grab and not let go!) only to return to a trailer that was 52 degrees inside and dropping.

I do have to say that I was more spiritually, mentally and physically prepared for Round 2 than I was the first round which was a completely new experience at the time. Don't get wrong, there were still times that I felt like the lost, forgotten member of the Donner party. The day I lost power did strain my faith and left me feeling a little broken despite staying focused on God. I did find myself oft lamenting The Beginning of Sorrows...but overall I maintained my peace and joy, dealt with the given hand, and trusted God much better than the first time around.

We've had a warm couple of days now with no snow in the immediate forecast and much of the remaining snow is finally melting. The present challenge/difficulty is mud. Where snow and ice have set for two months on our dirt road we now have deep expanses of muddy sludge that at times prove completely impassable. I still have to abandon my car near the bottom of the mountain, gird my loins, and trek uphill on my daily pilgrimage through the Blue Ridge. With early mornings and late nights at work I've grown completely comfortable hiking alone through the woods in the pitch black. I find myself not even using my flashlight anymore. Even without the moon I traverse through the mountains like an old hound dog. I can still only bring a few groceries home at a time due to the hike, but the important thing is I can get to food and I'm not starving.

I have no idea how long mud is going to be an issue, but with the grace of God I'll continue to deal with the challenge and inconvenience of it. I can say this for sure. When the Japanese designed and built the Avalon I'm certain that in their wildest dreams they never imagined the scenarios I'm putting my car through. It wouldn't surprise Ford or Chevy, but this backwoods off-roading is a long way from the neat streets of Tokyo. Well at least the mud is good for one thing. It's doing wonders for my pores.