CHALLENGE #28 – ANSWERED – What’s up with this Tree?

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Normally, I publish the CHALLENGE. Then, I wait a week and publish the ANSWER. However, since I accidentally published the whole thing already. And, all subscribers have the email with the complete answer on full display. I might as well go ahead and republish the whole thing. Here is my mistake on the Mountain republished….

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Original CHALLENGE (unpublished until now)

During my recent hunt for Bigfoot, I found this strange tree deep in the mountains of Georgia. The tree seems like a perfect topic for a 3 part CHALLENGE. In increasing order of difficulty…

What’s in this tree?

Why are they in this tree?

Where is this tree?

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The ANSWER to the CHALLENGE (already mistakenly published once)

OK, lets break this down question by question…

What’s in this tree? Hopefully, this question was not really a CHALLENGE. They are shoes. Specifically, they are HIKING shoes/boots

Why are they in this tree? The hiking boots are in they tree as an act of triumph. The southern terminus point of the 2,190 miles Appalachian Trail is here in the mountains of Georgia. For those that have spent months hiking towards this goal…you have made. Of course, your boots were an essential part of your success. At this point, the boots are probably not in a usable condition any more. What better way to honor your boots than join their kind in this sacred hiking memorial. So, tie the laces together. Then, chuck them in the tree. And, may they forever serve as a lasting tribute to your hiking skill and endurance.

Where is this tree? When I first planned this stop, the purpose was to visit the southern terminus point of the Appalachian Trail…where the shoe tree is, of course. My answer was supposed to be something like…”This is the Blood Mountain Shelter at the southern terminus point of the Appalachian Trail. You did it! Place your hiking boots in the shoe tree of honor.” Unfortunately, a little education can be a dangerous thing. And, during our visit, I learned something…

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The Blood Mountain shelter (pictured on the right side of map) is NOT the southern terminus point of the App Trail. Rather, the ACTUAL southern terminus point is the Springer Mountain shelter (pictured on the left side of may), about 30 more miles down the trail. Yep, I screwed up. My pre-blog trip research was flawed. Therefore, I apologize for my failure. I have some other App Trail stuff planned for the distant future. So, I will endeavor to do better. If you feel somehow cheated because this lessens this CHALLENGE…tough luck. You learned the truth after reading a 5 minute blog. My friend and I learned the truth after driving out into the middle of the remote Georgia mountains.

But, let me wrap this up with one more enlightening detail on the shoe tree. The Blood Mountain shelter stop is more than just a shelter. There is a Mountain Crossing outdoor store also located here. People come here to buy outdoor gear…i.e. hiking boots. After you get your shining new boots…yep, the customers have the option of chucking their boots in the tree. This makes much more sense than chucking your boots in the tree when you have 30 miles remaining on your journey. The store also serves as a restocking point for long term hikers. While its not the terminus point, I still enjoyed stopping here and soaking in the Appalachian Trail vibe. PT

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