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5/14/01, day 61. ~12.5m in 6.75h Today was a great day. I was in a real hiking mood -- something that just doesn't happen to Mary Poppins. I criscrossed with T for most of the day, stopping at a river to play with some tadpoles. I had planned on a 17, but I happened upon this huge shelter and just had to stay. Ending the day at 2:15 is good. I spent a good 3h trying to get T to stay, to no avail. However, Prez made a cake, and we had a good time sitting around and BSing, which is what life is about. 5/15/01, day 62. Matt's Creek Shelter. 22.6m in 11.5h Today I got up and I hiked and hiked and hiked until I stopped. The day was all about hiking, which is usually incidental. T, W, and I have been fuggerin' how to get back to Damascus for Trail Days, and T did some extra walkin' last night, so the rest of us had to haul ass to meet her. It rained off and on today, and I was pretty fatigued near the end of the day, so I got a little loony. I tried to sing all of "rubber soul" but got nowhere. I also spent some quality time talking to a signpost. Anyway, I gots me dry pants on and some hot chocolate in me, so life is again good. 5/16/01, day 63. Econolodge in Abington, VA. 14.2m? This morning we set about trying to get into a position where we could hitch into Damascus tomorrow. As usual, our ill-planned plans didn't turn out the way we had planned. I had a swell hike through the morning. I had a nice talk with Cammeron about "chocos," which are a type of hiking sandal. In Damascus I plan on losing a lot of weight: changing to an alcohol stove, getting a fleece blanket for my sleeping bag, ditching camp shoes, etc. In my next town stop I'll be switching to a smaller, lighter pack, so this hiking sandal thing might be what I'm looking for. Anyway, after Cammeron left who magically appeared but Terri and Patti! The WOE are a bunch of really pleasant people, and seeing Terri and Patti after such a long time (2 weeks?) was a thrill. There was of course a weird moment when Patti and I tried to hug each other with our hugeass packs on, but all went smoothly after that. When we got to the shelter (T. was so pleased to see them again) we heard about this trail angel just 0.4m up giving out sodas before he headed to Damascus. So we ran down there (T. was so excited she ran the wrong way on the AT from the shelter) and met up with walkin' home, who did GAME last year. The man fed us, took us to Abington (just outside of Damascus), and paid for half a hotel room with us. All told, a damn nice time with a damn nice guy. 5/17/01, day 64. Cottage in Damascus, VA. 0m. Woke up at 4:30am, T woke up at 5, so we sat and talked for close to 2h before the gang got up and got movin'. Walkin' home was wonderful today, shuttling us all around Abington for our bidness for most of the morning. We dropped by a Thrift store (W and I have been longing for one for quite some time) and re-outfitted ourselves. T got a tank top and some boss overalls, Prez got a Hawaiian shirt, and I got a non-brightpink shirt, shorts that fit, and a stupid hat (which was soon given to Prez). It's quite nice to have a new outfit when you've been wearing the same clothes all day, every day for more than two months. We then tricked to Damascus, where T smooth talked this guy into giving us our cabin for an extra night. T's mom (if you're reading this -- know that you kick ass) got us this little place, away from the drunken kegger fest that Trail Days turns into in the evenings. I spent the afternoon wandering around town, meeting people that I lost on the Trail somewhere, exchanging bullshit stories and such. Trish and Eric are here (thought I'd literally never see them again) as well as Skunky and Fester and a whole load of other folk. We spent the latter half of the day watching a movie, during which Trish and Eric showed me how to make an alcohol stove out of a few soda cans. The thing is small, works wonderfully, is fuel efficient, weighs less than a soda can, and runs on cheap, abundant, denatured alcohol. It cost me $0.60 to make, and I got some ginger ale out of the deal. We watched a Monty Python movie in the evening (weeks long craving, that was) and I laid out on the lawn and slept hard. 5/18/01, day 65. Still in Damascus. 0m. Still relaxin' at Trail Days. Nappin' and catching up with people: Capt. Giardia, Cy, Zack, Basil, Steve, Toast, etc. Havin' fun but can't wait to get back to the Trail. 5/19/01, day 66. Still at Trail Days. 0m. All eloquence aside, today was a fuckin' blast. I pranced about this beautiful town for a spell, running into such long-forgotten legends as Forrest Phil, Leif and Clark, Terri and Patti, Joel, etc. It seems like I haven't seen these people in years, when of course I've known them max 2 months. thers' something about Trail friends that's hard to describe. Part of it of course is that AT people have an obvious connection. I guess the other part of it is that you spend 24/7 with some folk for awhile, and then one day they get ahead or behind and you may never see them again. Anyway it was good to see them again. Later in the day we had the hiker parade, in which thru-hikers march through town and have a waterfight with the spectating residents of Damascus. Fucking Prez decided to get a fucking garbage can strapped to his backpack and filled it with several gallons of water. The rest of us armed ourselves with cups and such and had a damn good time. When it was my turn to wield the resupply pack, I ran down to the river, filled up, and attempted to run over rocks with several gallons of water on my back, the result obvious. It was difficult enough running around laughing hysterically at the same time, but it was fun. Then there was the talent show, sans talent, esp. when Deadman and I and some folk got up and embarrassed ourselves with some stupid tune. A few hours later found Prez, T, W, Murphy, and I at a tattoo/piercing parlor. Prez got a nipple, T a nose, and Murphy an ATC logo on her ass. Damn good time, of course. Later we stuffed ourselves on veggie dogs and such and collapsed. Life is just too wonderful. The highlight of the day: T, W, and I played a hardcore game of tag. I won, as usual. 5/20/01, day 67. ~8m Well, today was a sissy day, but it sure as hell wasn't another zero day. For some reason we all feel sore and achy, like we haven't since we cleared week two. I guess these days off allowed our bodies to realize how much hiking sucks. Anyway, walkin' home was kind enough to shuttle us the 4h ride back to the Trail, and we walked very slowly on the gentle grade to this here place. 5/21/01, day 68. Priest Shelter. 22.8m As it often is with the AT, today was alternately crappy and damn cool. I woke up lazy to find that T had lost a section of her nose piercing, which of course pissed her off. Prez's nipple still hurt, and W had tooth and testicle pain. Once the pouring rain started, there weren't too many smiling faces. I, of course, loved the rain. There was a section early in the morning when I took my shirt off and the warm, soft drizzle just wrapped its arms around me. I took a few deep breaths and grinned. Later in the day, though, all of my friends' pains went away and I developed an odd ass pain. It happened after I jumped out of some bushes and scared the piss outta T (you should have seen her face) and she said "payback's a bitch." T's so good at everything else, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew a few good curses. 5/22/01, day 69. RHHH ?m Today I walked for a spell, then me, T, W, and Breaking wind hitched to this little, no-name store in the middle of nowhere, complete with a pool table and lazy dogs on the porch. We ate gobs of processed food, then sat around singing stupid songs. Once back on the Trial, T and W had a moral dilemma as to whether they should take a 3m blue-blaze or a 7m white, official AT route. For me it was cheese vs. rat poison, but those two had to be official. There was a thunderstorm, and they did have to hide under a rock (they had taken the high route; myself the low). I, on the other hand, went to see a waterfall, which decided to whisk my water bottle away. Prez saw it precariously perched on a downed log about 100 feet away and 75 feet down. I almost died, but I did get it back after about 45 minutes of navigating wet rocks. That done I meandered to this place owned by a guy that doesn't want to be mentioned on the internet. So here I am, not describing it. :-)
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