Ascending the Low Gap trail from Cosby campground to the Appalachian Trail. This is a surprisingly steep trail. Andy will misplace the necklace on the last day of this weeklong backpacking trip. Photo by Duane.
--April 11, 2021 at 12:29 PM.
The week-long backpacking was done but the trip wasn’t over. Andy had mislaid his wooden necklace somewhere south of Siler’s Bald Shelter. He has worn the necklace on every trip (to my knowledge) for decades. He bought it as a young adult and it is therefore important to him on many levels. Therefore it was important for him to at least try and find the necklace. We had time. He had the need. At 08:30 we pulled into the rather busy parking area at Clingman’s Dome on a partly cloudy cool morning. Ideal weather for someone to zoom down the trail searching for an item that embodies so many memories. For myself I would just amble along and see how far I would get before receiving a message, via Garmin InReach Satellite Messanger, that Andy was on his way back. We figured he would travel upwards on 18 mles round-trip; I would go a mere 6 or so.
The photos include people besides Andy. The necklace is the star and you can see it is worn in many different situations from 1997 (oldest photo we found) to the present-day.
