Chris Welch Times Entertainment Staff

Even greenhorns can appreciate beauty, simplicity BRYSON CITY, N.C. -

Have you ever been serenaded to sleep by an orchestra of thousands of frogs, crickets and other bugs?

Sipped ice-cold water from a running spring?

Stood on a cliff and viewed your own breathtaking picture postcard?

Had a delicious spaghetti dinner ... in a bag?

Slept under the stars in pitch-black darkness?

Hiked the Appalachian Trail?

Many probably have, but before a trip in July, I'd never been camping, set up a tent, cooked a meal from boiling water or gone to the bathroom in the woods (well ...).

You know what?

I loved it.

Chris Holden, who does a hiking ministry called Born Wild Adventures, organized the trip for 12 members of Cove United Methodist Church. His normal clientele is guys, but he decided to try a family trip. It included his wife and two kids; Bobby Pannone, his wife and twin boys; Darrell Martin and his son; and me and my college-bound, 18-year-old-daughter, Abbie.

We drove five hours to North Carolina to the Nantahala National Forest, started hiking at a spot called Tellico Cap and over three days hiked about 10 miles. We hiked about two miles that first day, and after checking out the amazing view from the Wesser Bald Firetower, set up camp near the Wesser Bald shelter.

A couple of friends loaned me basically all I needed - backpacks, stove and eating utensils, sleeping bag and a tent. The thing that kept me from camping before was the expense of the equipment, but Holden's hikes allow you to borrow most of the equipment, a big plus. So, Abbie and I set up a two-person tent, unraveled the sleeping bags and made dinner - with a tiny propane stove, water and some freeze-dried food. It didn't look too appetizing in the package, but the cup of boiling water did wonders and made it pretty tasting and filling.

For water, we located a designated spring on the trail and filled our bottles using a filtering system we'd brought with us. After dinner, we sat around the campfire as Holden gave a chat about risk and reward, work and payoff - both physically and spiritually.

We sacked out pretty early, and unfortunately I left a bed pad I'd borrowed at home. Bad decision. The ground is hard and cold, and I didn't get great sleep that night. Still, I was excited for the next day of hiking after having some oatmeal, which my daughter and I agreed was really good.

We loaded up our backpacks - did I mention those babies are heavy? - but when you strap them evenly on your back, amazingly it distributes the weight in a manageable way.

Into the woods

So, we began our descent into the Nantahala Gorge - one of the steepest sections of the southern Appalachian Trail. This was our biggest challenge of the weekend, hiking about six miles to the Rufus Morgan Shelter. About midway we stopped at a rocky outcropping called the Jump-off with a beautiful view, and I lunched on cold chicken in a tortilla, which was surprisingly good (especially when you're hungry).

The six miles were challenging, and about a mile or two from the end I got stung by a bee. It hurt, but I found a cold stream at the shelter, and that seemed to douse the pain. Surprisingly, we didn't see that much wildlife, but Chris' daughter Mattie and wife Jann did see a small snake. Holden made sure we knew that this was the animals' kingdom and that most of the wildlife, including snakes, wanted to avoid us as much as we wanted to avoid them.

After we reached camp, we again got water, fired up our stove - I had chicken and rice and Abbie had a tasty macaroni and cheese - and enjoyed another night in the wild.

The following morning, we got up to a steady rain, the only real drag during the trip. We had to pack our gear and tents while getting soaked, but we eventually made it out of there. We had a short mile or so hike to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, where our reward was a rafting trip down the ice-cold water of the Nantahala River. It is class II-III whitewater and a popular spot for kayaking, and we had a blast. Abbie and I decided to jump off a short cliff into the water, and boy, were we in for a shock. The water was teeth-chattering, let's-get-out-of-here cold.

After the rafting trip, we had warm showers - 25 cents a minute, a bargain - at the park and ate a great lunch at the River's Edge Restaurant. I think many people, especially women, are worried about the bathroom facilities, or lack of. There was actually a privy at one of the shelters - basically an outhouse - and the woods. Not many of us had to dig a hole, which is sometimes required, and I'm sure that was a relief to the ladies.

Walking through nature, working together with other members of the team, trying a new adventure in the wild, and doing it on the Appalachian Trail were unlike any experiences I've had. Already, Bobby and I plan to go back to where the trail starts in Georgia and, who knows, maybe tackle the 25-year plan for the 2,000-plus mile trail.

Back to Testimonials...