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7/3/01, day 111. ~18m. Some Motel off the Trail. I walked today, catching up with Norway and Summer halfway through the day. I actually hiked with her for the rest of the day, which was odd as my pace rarely allows me to hike with other people. What's more, Summer and I seem to be hitting it off. She gets very excited when she sees me, jumping around and licking my face. we arrived at Culver's gap, pissed that the bakery was closed on tuesdays, as was the restaurant. on the trail, we had just been fantasizing about couches and TV, so when we got here I casually mentioned getting a hotel room. Norway did not in any way discourage the idea, and there was this dude willing to drive us, so off we were to waste some money. So here we are yappin' and watchin' TV -- really roughin' it. 7/4/01, day 112. 0m. Some Motel in Fishkill, NY. this morning Norway and I woke up and decided that it was better to lie in bed, watch daytime TV, and converse rather than to hike. Summer didn't seem to mind the lax day, either. After about non it was a coupla easy hitches (thanks to the beautiful dog) to get to Vernon,k where we picked up Animal and headed off to the Campmor outlet, a kind of Shangri-La for thru-hikers. norway got her shoes at EMS (campmor was closed; everything seems to be closed when I go somewhere with that girl), and we had a nice drive back to Vernon. Then I headed out to Bear Mtn., NY, to meet T's parents et al., to find that they were at a hotel off of I-84. So I got on I-87 and headed to NYC, got lost, then figured out what I was doing. It was pretty late when i arrived, but I did finally get to meet the people who made T, as well as reuniting with Alex and W2, which is always fun. Alex, W2 , and I then went to waste some money watching "AT" in an actual movie theater. Good is life. 7/5/01, day 113. ~14m. Some Motel off the Trail. So freakin' tired. woke up and hung with the old gang for about twelve seconds, then down to Vernon to pick up Norway, then to some point on the Trail to drop off the damn car, then a hitch to where we started, then a slack back to the car, the last bit in the rain, where we decided to head to the Hostel in vernon for the night, where some guy wigged us out, then we drove all around East Boofoo looking for a Motel, and now tremendous exhaustion. 7/6/01, day 114. ~21m. Hostel in Vernon, NJ. Beautiful day hiking with Norway and Summer. 7/7/01, day 115. 17.4m. Wildcat Shelter. Beautiful day crossing into NY, walking ridges with boulder fields and watching summer unfold (the season, not the dog). 7/8/01, day 116. 14.3m. Fingerboard Shelter. I'm gonna be cursing alot this journal entry. Nothing can be done about it. So we woke up to a downpour, and norway suggested that we chill in the shelter until it stopped, so it was a farily late start. I spent most of the day hiking with Norway, Will Scarlet, and Redneck, after one of them suggested that we eat lunch in a Deli right off the trail, which we did, spending several hours there since it was only a 14 and we had "plenty of time." After that the fit hit the shan. Because of the rain, there were some awfully slippery rocks, and there wasn't anyone who escaped the day without monor injury. the day also features some fairly constant up and downs over boulders -- wet boulders, which pretty much kicked our collective ass. We started off cursing (Will Scarlet is a superb swearer) in fairly good humor, but as the day wore on and we loaded up with water (this fucking shelter has no water) we started to lose it. Will's constant "what the fook is this bloody shit?" became gradually more strident as each new, unexpected hill rounded the corner. norway went into a few innane giggle fits, and Summer would alternately collapse in exhaustion and grab huge sticks to play fetch with. There are few days on the trail that kicked my ass more soundly, and this was only a 14! I did, however, have some good times with those three, and I'm glad i had somebody to laugh at me at each painfull injury, else I would have cried and gone home :-) I had sour cream in my mac and cheese this evening, which cleared away and and all bad mood. I love this Trail. :-) 7/9/01, day 117. 20.6m. Greymoor Spiritual Life Center Today was too freakin' hot. the incessant white blazes directed me through the town of Bear Mtn., NY, today, and through a freakin' zoo, which fuckin' pissed me off. There were yuppies on my trail! Yuppies on my Trail! Whatevah. Now I'm here, and there's reports that Norway got ill earlier on the trail, so I have to be worried, which sucks. 7/10/01, day 118. ~4m. Red Oak Inn in Bear Mtn., NY. Okay, so today I hiked like 2m, read "Cannery Row" by Steinbeck cover to cover, hiked about 1.5m more, took prob. a 4-5h nap/rest. In short, I just plain got frustrated and pissed off. I don't wanna hike the Trail; I don't wanna not hike the trail. The AT, friends, is fucking with my head. So, since I couldn't hike the trail and I couldn't quite, I hitched to a hotel so I could waste time and money. I set about watching TV and thinking, and here's how it is: I'm not going to let a stupid stretch of dirt and rock beat me; It's just walking. Tomorrow morning, the bullshit is over. I'm gonna go kick some ass. That is all. 7/11/01, day 119. ~8m. Fahnestock Campground. Today I came upon one analogy about the trail and remembered an old one. I think they describe my feelings about the Trail quite well. the first, that the AT is like a romantic relationship: when you first meet someone (the AT) you're crazy infatuated -- you think everything is perfect and you're having the time of your life, there's no way you'd every do anything else but hike the Trail. then, at about 3 months, the craziness and newness starts to fade, and you start to think about whether the relationship is worth the hard work and occasional pain. The second analogy is that the AT is like a drug addiction: you didn't know what you were getting into, and you can't just stop even though you know better. It's bad for your body. your friends encourage you to keep doing it. You sleep in a different place every night. You can't hold down a job. You spend your life savings on it. Today was a good day after yesterday's calamities. I had a hard time hitching back in the rain, 'cuz I didn't really take note of where I got off the trail. My last guy drove me all up and down these obscure dirt roads looking for the trail until I found Stray cat and got outta the car. Then Norway showed up, and it turns out that we both almost quit yesterday, and I was quite pleased to see her and was relieved that she's still on the Trail. then Noggin, will Scarlet, and Swagman showed up and we hiked to this campground and chilled. Norway showed up with a cake celebraing 2/3 of the Trail completed, and we had a great time sitting around and getting giddy on sugar. Today's walk was also quite relaxing, making me once again fall in love with this bullshit Trail. The addiction rages on; I need therapy. 7/12/01, day 120. 16.1m. Morgan Stewart Shelter. 9am -- I'm in the woods at the moment, but I hear the distant rumble of traffic (seemingly omnipresent in the North). I'm going to walk down to that road and figure out a way to get to my car in NJ. Then the Trail and I will part ways. Since Harper's Ferry, pretty much, I've been debating about whether I should stay on the trail. I've fallen in love with this place, this life, and I am in no way eager to get back to the other side. On the other side, strangers regard you with suspicion, you're judged based on sex, race, age, etc. there's road rage, credit card bills, regulations stipulating where you can and can't urinate. I'll be expected to wear underwear. It's a whole new world, new identity. My name is Mary Poppins. It's a silly name, of course, but it is my name, and it carries with it a distinct identity. Most people out here have no idea of my birth name -- they've never met Charlie. there is so much to give up getting off the Trail, which is why I didn't do this sooner, but the fact of the matter is that I'm just plain not enjoying myself. You wake up in the morning, and you gotta hike. The other side doesn't provide much freedom, but at least you get weekends. So very regretfully I'm going to head down to the road (almost exactly at the 2/3 mark!), wait to say goodby to Norway, and catch a ride to the other side. I love you, AT; I really do. 7pm -- Okay, so I didn't quit, obviously. I was really going to quit this time, too. Walkin' to the road, though, I just fell in love with this place once again. So I chilled at a deli with some wonderful people, then had a great time talkin' to Norway et al. at the shelter. It was a beautiful day; it was a beautiful walk. On the top of some mountain, I looke dout and I realized that some people spend millions of dollars for homes with views half as good as that one. I live here. I live in a beautiful place.
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