Month: August 2019

By Chappy Jack

Location: West Hartford, Vermont

Miles: 1740

Miles to go: 452

Isaiah 40:26: Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

With less than 500 miles to go in this incredible journey, I still at times can’t believe that I have this opportunity to accomplish this dream. I continue to find the trail quite difficult at times, however, I also can’t believe how beautiful the trail is. Every day I see a vista, stream, forest setting, or even a tiny bug, butterfly, animal, or insect that is overwhelmingly beautiful.

Usually at night, I am either in a shelter or my tent and the stars are blocked by the trees of the forest. Two nights ago, I was in my tent and had a clear view of the cloudless night. Of course, there was no artificial light for miles and the stars were breathtaking. I even got to see a falling star!

Heavenly Father, I praise you as the Creator of all things! You are an awesome God!

By Chappy Jack

July 30, 2019

Location: Manchester Center, Vermont

Mile: 1652

Miles to go: 540

“Heavenly Sunshine, Heavenly Sunshine! Flooding my soul with glory Divine! Heavenly Sunshine, Heavenly Sunshine, Hallelujah Jesus is mine.”

While hiking this week, this hymm that I can remember from my early childhood, came flooding back to memory. This hymm describes my mood as I am feeling refreshed physically, mentally, and spiritually, due to the answered prayers of so many wonderful people. I can’t wait to see so many places between here and Katahdin, Maine, that I have heard and read about. As my Grandmother used to say, “Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!”

Another thing that helped to rejuvenate me was to spend a little time at New Hope United Methodist Church of North Adams, Massachusetts. My hiking buddy and I spent the night in their extra parsonage, and were invited to speak at their children’s Ready Set Serve program. As I continue to be bombarded with kindness from total strangers along my journey, it was easy to speak to their project S.P.A.R.K. (Seeing People And Responding With Kindness).