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6/23/01, day 101. 0m. Once again at the DWG hostel. This morning I lost a contact lens and ate breakfast with T, W, and Alex at Bert's, which was my fifth meal at the place. After that we set about waiting for w's mom to show up to take w back to NY for a few days. T, Alex, and Captain Giardia got it in their little heads to hike all the way to DWG in one day - a 36m trek. Since I had already done the section I offered to slackpack the aforementioned freaks, which involved a thin Mary Poppins wielding 4 forty-pound packs. I didn't have to actually carry them very far, of course, 'cuz Diablo's uncle came to pick him up, and offered to take me and my superfluous stinky packs back to DWG, buying us lunch along the way. It was appreciated, of course, but I had kind of hoped that I would have to hitch with 4 packs, proving excellent opportunities to lie to strangers. People who don't backpack will believe anything. I bet I could have told them that one of the packs was for the exclusive use of carrying medical textbooks, in the event of serious injury in the wilderness. Anyway, I got to the hostel, where the pastor became quite worried when I informed her that my friends are dimwits (which is funny, 'cuz they're just about the three most intelligent people I know) and arriving in the wee hours of the following morning (they left at noon!). I then set about finding a cake and 36.2 birthday candles, so that the kids can celebrate their accomplishment when/if they arrive. I'm busy setting in a jazz club next to the hostel, listening to a splendid quintet; it's cleansing me. If the kids are doing 3 mph - a feasible slackpack speed - they should be here in half an hour. I promised myself I wouldn't start worrying until then. 6/24/01, day 102. 0m. Hostel in DWG. So Captain Giardia pulled in around 1:30, and T and Alex got here about 3. The three spent the day taking care of their sore, sore feet and talking about how stupid they were. I went to a nice church service, gave T a very long foot massage, and then it was off to the next town to do our bidness, where we got a lot of rude looks when we took the trouble to stick out our thumbs. We chilled at a free bluegrass concert, then to a wonderful dinner. I've only hiked 3 days out of the last seven. Sure as hell won't get to Katahdin at 6 mpd. 6/25/01, day 103. 0m. Margaret and Byron's house in Boston, MA So by the time I woke up this morning I realized that I had only hiked 36m in the past week, but that I still didn't want to hike North into NJ. All thru-hikers, of course, go through periods when the constant movement North gets monotonous. It's funny that the AT is all about freedom and self-expression, while at the same time the blazes are constantly telling you where to go. So actually I had planned on taking a trip down to Mexico for a little excitement, but then I realized that what I needed was just a brief, inexpensive hiatus from the Trail, so here I be. I had some breakfast with some of my favorite Trail people (T, Leslie, Alex, Captain G., Ken), packed up, talked to T for a spell, caught a bus to NY (but not after Leslie gave me a tampon and Ken gave me a slim jim - items every male vegetarian needs to carry), then caught a late bus to Boston then a late subway and a short walk to the sister's house. I had expected them to be asleep, so I would camp out on their lawn and wig them out in the morning. Margaret was awake, though, so I proceeded to scare the tar outta her and jab for awhile. I know in my heart that I needed this break, but the Trail is almost literally pulling me back. I need to put on some miles. I'll probably chill tomorrow then back to the damn AT. 6/26/01, day 104. 0m. Mom's house in Lexington, MA These zeros are killing me, spiritually. I have to get back on the Trail ASAP or I'll just curl up and die. It's that simple. I did have a good day back home, though, seeing the fam. I got back whatever it is that I lost, and I'm ready to knock down some big miles. Road trip tomorrow! 6/27/01, day 105. 607.6m. Camping on top of Mary's Rock. Big, wonderful day this was. I started out at 4am on a 500m road trip to Harpers Ferry, the Northern end of my month-ago yellow blazing experience. The idea was to ditch the car, hitch the 90m down to where I left off, and start hiking. But lo and behold walking down the street in HF were Trish and Eric! I didn't think I'd ever see those two again. So we had lunch, swapped stories, etc. Then they were kind enough to drive me all the way down to SNP! They'll be fooling around in my car for awhile. Eric had a peculiar gleam in his eye when he said "road trip," so I hope they and Lejla will have a good time. Thanks to heir kindness, I actually had time to hike the 7.6m to Mary's Rock where Mary Poppins watched a breathtaking sunset against the clouds. After this section is done, I'm going to be about a week behind the main group I've been with for most of the trip. I think I cape up with a plan to catch up to them in about 30 days. I just have to average +3-4m/day to their average, which should be easy enough by foregoing zeros and setting a minimum of 17m, with the occasional big day. Only a true hedonist can appreciate sleeping out under a half moon on a warm, clear, summer night. 6/28/01, day 106. 19.5m. So today was my first real hiking day in quite some time. It feels good to be back and logging some miles, and I'll be so glad to get this VA section done with ASAP. I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. If I pull a 10 or a 20, I'm still at DWG. Pretty damn weird feeling, like I'm doing some hard zero days. It's also odd seeing new thru-hikers from a month back. I'm doing a little fortune telling for them - letting them know where the good shelters are at, etc. There's too many freakin' no-see-umsm so I'm gonna crawl in my baeg and hide. 6/29/01, day 107. 15.5m. Dalton Shelter Sometimes I think "hey, I'm an albatross!" But then I come to my senses. 6/30/01, day 108. 28.8m. Bear's Den Hostel Obviously, I'm pretty freakin' tired. I had a reason for pulling an enormous day, but I honestly can't remember it at present. I have never felt this tired in my life. Sweet, loving unconsciousness awaits... 7/1/01, day 109. ~20m. Sleeping in the backseat of Lejla somewhere in NJ. Long day this was, and it's 12:30 am, and I need good sleep for my long day tomorrow, so this'll be brief. Woke up, talked to T's mom about where and when to meet them on the 4th, left stuff at the hostel to slack myself, walked with sore Achilles tendons (or the lack of skin on them, to be precise), walked barefoot for a spell, walked with undersized sandals for a spell, cut the backs off my shoes and was happy, arrived in HF, had a sandwich, drove back to the hostel to retrieve stuff, drove here (a 4-5h ride). The idea being that I park the car in Vernon tomorrow morning, hitch to DWG, start hiking, and be back here on the 4th, at which time I retrieve the care and drive to NY to meet T and her fam. I love this goddamn Trail. 7/2/01, day 110. 10.5m. Mohican Outdoor Center. So last night I attempted to sleep in a car after a 20. The result being that I couldn't sleep and my knees locked up as I was squeezed into the fetal position. I got somewhere between 3-4h of indecent unconciousness, but was overjoyed beyond belief with the realization that the Dunkin' Donuts across the street was open 24h. That done, Lejla and I drove up to Vernon and deposited the car at the hostel there, with a note explaining why there'd be a strange car there for a few days. in retrospect, I wish I had scanned the slumbering bodies to see if W2 was there, as t and i can't seem to locate him (see below). Anyway, then I started hitching down to DWG to hike, my first ride rocked, from a dominican who spoke spanish with me for quite a spell. I was hitching for my second ride when a NJ statie told me, quite politely (sarcasm), that hitching is illegal in NJ. the bastard was cruising up and down the street waiting for me to stick out my thumb, so i had to stand in front of the Dunks and directly ask people for rides, which makes both the asker and askee quite uncomfortable. i scared one woman pretty badly, and another assumed that I was a bum begging for donut money so she offered me a few bucks! There have been a whole host of wonderful moments on the Trail: the sunset off of dragon's tooth, the time when T, W, and I were cruisin' to troutville in the back of that pickup, etc. having a stranger hand you two bucks with her eyes full of pity, though, was by and far the high point of my hike. Anyway, I then scored a ride with a guy goin' my way, talkin' the whole time about his medical troubles. once in DWG I got my schtuff together and headed out, I got superheroed by some girl scouts, scrisscrossed with Noggin for a spell, but then the fact that you can't hike big days without sleep really hit me, and I spent a good deal of time sitting and eating blueberries off the vine. So I sissied out here, which made me feel bad at first, as I'm trying to catch t, W, and the rest of the gang. Anyway, I got on the phone with t's dad to figure out where we were going to meet on the 4th, only to find out that T had cut herself very badly on some rocks this morning. It was the kind of thing that included blood, stitches, and a neat scare, but she'll be on the trail again tomorrow. She and I talked on the phone for awhile, which was strange talking to someone you live in the woods with on the phone. It of course sucks that she got hurt, but it is cool that she's not that far ahead as I had expected. What is weird is that neither of us know where W2 is at. He should have caught up to T ages ago, at her recent pace. did he even get back on the Trail? I really miss that kid. I then had a great afternoon chatting with Norway, talking about our trail woes, how we're feeling about our walks, etc. She's a blas, and it was refreshing to hear someone having some of the same problems as I've been having. The highlight of the evening is this kid named Audrey running around hugging people and jabbing away about anything and everything. I miss kids.
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