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Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Serving Elkhart County and parts of Noble, LaGrange & Marshall Counties
New deadline begins Just a reminder that new deadlines for the Elkhart and Kosciusko county issues of ‘the PAPER’ begins Friday, Sept. 10 for the Sept. 14 issue. The deadlines are now 2 p.m. Friday for all advertising, both classified and display ads, and news articles.
Goshen (574) 534-2591
Vol. 49 No. 22
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
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Appalachian Trail
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%\ 5$< %$/2*+ 6WDII :ULWHU Joy Yoder hiked through more than a thousand miles of stunning natural beauty, and at journey’s end, found an equally gratifying experience within her soul. Last year the 28-year-old resolved to hike the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the world’s longest hiking-only footpath at 2,190 miles, and this spring she logged 1,025 miles on foot in 99 over roller coaster terrain ranging from 489 to 6,644 feet above sea level. Yoder spent a year intensely preparing for the excursion, researching the details, reading others’ accounts and insights, assembling gear, dehydrating vegetables and meat and preparing herself physically by going on several “shake-down” hikes. She divided the year into quarters, and about once a week for each period she walked 5, 10, 15 and 20 miles respectively. She slept outside in subfreezing weather to acclimate to the cold. Yoder forewent nearly all nonessential spending to save the $1,500 necessary to buy the appropriate gear. Her family and friends supported her dream by
contributing about $500 of that amount with in-kind donations. On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, with 28 pounds of gear, provisions and communications equipment riding on her shoulders, Yoder set foot on the 8-mile approach trail 90 minutes north of Atlanta. Her trek took her through five states — Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — before she left the trail at Harper’s Ferry near Washington, D.C., to attend to duties on the home front in Goshen, where she lives with her husband, Ryan. Along the trail she often pitched her tent and camped alone, or stayed in one of the available lean-tos or primitive shelters. Every five days or so she stayed at a hostel or walked to a nearby town, where she could pick up supplies, take a shower and charge her GPS and cellphone. Despite the solitude of walking the trail, climbing boulders and pausing on mountaintops to marinate in breathtaking vistas, Yoder never felt alone. In fact, she determined from the outset to commune with God. In her blog, www.joyfulonajourney. wordpress.com, she noted several reasons, including spiritual
intimacy, for taking the journey. Thus far she has chronicled her adventure through Day 78. She wrote: “I feel there is a journey for me on this trail. I feel it in my spirit. I know the hardships. I know the risks. I know the sacrifices. But I’d be giving up more if I didn’t go. ... I hear a call to take this path. And I know my Jesus has me by the hand and watches over every step I take.” She also said she was amazed how she could “feel the prayers of the people back home.” Her father, Bob Moore of Goshen, was also with her — albeit virtually — every step of the way. Using Guthooks GPS guides and maps phone app, he kept a constant eye on “where she was, how fast and how far she had gone every day and what the weather was at her location.” Moore also made four trips to meet his daughter, replenishing her provisions and swapping out insulated gear when the winter weather broke. He logged about 5,600 miles in 80plus hours on the road. Yoder particularly enjoyed the changing of the seasons. “Every spring day I would see a new flower and leaves un-
+(5( $1' 7+(5( ³ %RE 0RRUH DQG KLV GDXJKWHU -R\ <RGHU SRLQW WR WKH EHJLQQLQJ DQG HQG RI <RGHU·V URXWH RQ WKH $SSDODFKLDQ 7UDLO ´, DP VR SURXG RI WKLV JLUO µ 0RRUH VDLG 3KRWR E\ 5D\ %DORJK folding with winter disappearing. I had never seen spring unfurl frame by frame before.” After more than three months of averaging 10-plus miles a day, as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 10 p.m., Yoder discovered treasures that were inside her all along. “It was very therapeutic. I gained confidence because I encountered obstacles — moun-
tains, extreme cold, pain — and kept on going. I exceeded my personal limitations. Changing location didn’t make that happen. That work was inside rather than outside.” But perhaps her most profound growth burgeoned from her commitment to the precept derived from John 14:27, “let your faith in God be bigger than your fear.”