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5/23-25, days 70-72. RHHH Well, I took a few nights at RHHH, which I'll just journal in a lump sum. The first was a 0 day, when T, W, and I got a ride to Waynesboro to take care of stuff and meet W's mom. We all spent the night here. I seem to be separating from our little group, at least for a few days if not for good. The second day T and W did a large slack, stayed in Waynesboro, and planned on hiking on today. I did a 7m day and hitched back to RHHH (not my original plan) 'cuz I just didn't feel like hikin'. I took the third day as a 0 day just settin' about and collectin my thoughts. I'm back in the groove, though, and ready to hike to ME tomorrow. Pheonix '96 shaved my head, so I'm hoping to stay cool in the ensuing summer months. 5/26/01, day 73. Camping at the Waynesboro YMCA. ~12.5m I haven't had a normal day on the Trail in a damn long time. I don't suppose I know what a normal day is, but it wasn't today. Woke up early at RHHH, unsuccessfully tried to shave my beard with a dull blade, and headed out. As I stood with my thumb out at a trafficless road, it occurred to me that it was Saturday, and if I was to send my old pack home I would have to be in Waynesboro before 11, so I would have to hitch in rather than walk in. It took about 2.5h, but my three rides got me here. I met T and W on the way out, which was cool 'cuz it means they're not as far ahead as I had expected. So I got a campsite at the YMCA and got my old pack out of the bushes. I got to the PO at about 10:40, stood in line until 10:50, when they informed me they couldn't sent it unless I found some hugeass box. With 10 min before closing, a Trail Angel offered to run me to the grocery, where we obtained a hugeass box, taped it hurriedly shut, and zoomed back to the PO by 10:59 by my watch. I was the last guy in before they locked the door. Since I was in Waynesboro and headed to Waynesboro, I dropped off my shit with my tent at the Y and caught a ride with that angel to the place where I got off the Trail the other day (but not before picking up new socks. Sweet, loving, new socks). Since my pack weight only a few pounds, it only took me a few hours to walk via the Trail back to Waynesboro. I got some real shaving stuff and some earrings, and I can't wait to blow this bullshit town and head to the Shenendoahs. Town bad, woods good. 5/27/01, day 74. Blackrock Hut. 20m I'm hiking again! The 'doahs are good, with tons of wildlife and gentle grades the whole way. I met up with T and W, which was swell 'cuz I thought I might not see them for a week at least. it was lazy, now we're here. Walkin' Home (not the nice guy from ME, some other dude) left me this 5-page note apologizing for trying to give me a stolen titanium spork the other day. It was quite elaborate, explaining why it was okay to shoplift. We three sat around making fun of each other, which I very much missed the past few days, and W made me popcorn, 'cuz he's a nice boy. 5/28/01, day 75. ~15.5m. If I was insightful and eloquent, I would write about how the AT makes me feel. But I'm not, so I won't. :-) Today I walked, saw every animal from the Ark, and stopped. The 'doahs seem to be one big tourist trap, which is fine for those that like to yogi food and drink cold soda. We cam upon the first of what promises to be many campgrounds (be still, my wallet) with campstores and sometimes restaurants right on the Trail. W had his beloved Combos, T and I had bagels with cream cheese, and Sandy the dog got whatever fell on the ground. I took off first, and I guess those three (we are a 10-legged group of four, with the addition of Sandy) chilled for quite a spell before headin' out, 'cuz I never saw them again. I left them a note telling them approx. where I was going to camp, but they never arrived. Those two have a fear/loathing complex about "wet tents" -- I've seen them pitch only once or twice -- so I wouldn't be surprised if they just took a short day and stayed at the shelter. Solitude is cool, though, especially when you're buck naked on a warm night next to a babbling brook. T and W finally arrived, 3.5h after I did. I guess they had some wild adventures and got food, which makes me jealous. 5/29/01, day 76. Bearfence mountain shelter. ~18.5m I was all alone all day, not seeing another thru-hiker until 8pm. For perhaps the first time on the AT, I got bored and lonely. To spice things up, I hitched a ride to a very classy restaurant. I stook out like a sore thumb, which pleased me to no end. I spent too much money, and now I get to hang with T and W for like 10 minutes before bedtime. I considered quitting the Trail and heading to Mexico. That didn't happen, but I am going to need some sort of motivation if I'm going to get my ass to Katahdin. 5/30/01, day 77. 11.5m Today our little trio went our separate ways. I met T about 700m back, and W soon after that. I feel closer to those two than I have just about anybody. That's almost two whole months in constant contact with the same people, yet when I was unsure where one of them was, or when I was camping alone, I missed them like hell. The next few days will be hard as I try to figure out what my hike is about without them. Partly in order to spice things up and partly to make sure I'm doing my own thing, tomorrow I'm hitching the last 90m of VA to Harper's Ferry, then hiking SOBO back here. It'll be neat to see all my NOBO friends that got ahead of me during Trail days as I walk back here. Hopefully, I'll use this section to figure out what I'm doing on the AT and use that for the second half of the Trail. My God! I haven't even done half of the Trail yet! 5/31/01, day 78. Hilltop House Hotel in Harpers Ferry, WV. > 4.6m Today, I think, my hike changed considerably. We shall see what the morrow brings. As I had planned, I hiked 4.6m to Skyland, said goodbye to W, and started hitching. It took three freakin' hours to get my first ride. When I got dropped off T popped out of the woods, and I realized I could have walked the 8-9m just as fast as I hitched. Whatevah. then I caught a ride in the back of a pickup -- always a blast, then one from a real swell guy that actually carried a conversation with me, not just "wendya start?" "doyer feet hurt?" "ya carry a gun?" My last ride was sketch. This guy was eyeing me up and fondling himself the whole way. He asked if I needed any money. In any event, I made excuses and got the fuck out of dodge. His parting words were "it's too bad; we could have partied." Whatevah. So here I am 90m N. of where I got off, trying to figure out what to do. I was planning on SOBOing, but I started out and it just felt wrong. Why was I walking away from Maine? But then again, if I walk north from here, I'm a yellow-blazer. A stinkin' yellow-blazer. So I hiked a mile or so SOBO, sat down, and hiked back to Harper's Ferry and headed to the hotel so I could figure things out. It was a great decision -- it's Patty's birthday, and everyone and their dog was sitting out on the porch. Leslie, Bob, Patty, Cammeron, Sky, Newton, Key, Cy, Heinz 57, Morphine, Hot Sauce, Nonexistent, Cookie Monster, Burn Easy, and Joel from Japan were all here. And this is coming from like days without seeing any other thru-hikers besides T and W. I had so much fun sitting around and bullshitting with those guys. Earlier in the day I had been thinking of actually getting off the Trail, but those wonderful people helped put things in perspective for me. I guess a large part of why I've been feeling weird this past week is just that I'm lonely. Since T and W may no longer be a large part of my hike, I gotta fugger out how to do this myself. So now I'm thinking why not just hike north from here? That way I've gotten the fuck out of VA and gotten ahead of some people so I can make fun of them in the shelter registers (one of my favorite AT pastimes). I can make up the 6-day section whenever I want. I figure if I get bored of PA or some other section, I can come back here to spice things up, then back to the other section. The only problem with this plan is that it puts me several days ahead of T and W, and I tell you man, I'm already wishing they were here, even though I saw them this morning. They're such a part of my AT experience; such a part of me -- it's like removing your kneecap and trying to hike to ME. But, I suppose you can't have everything. :-) 6/1/01, day 79. Ed Garvey Shelter. ~6m Folk, I'm in MD, my sixth state. I woke up, got my picture taken at the ATC headquarters, bullshitted a bit, and headed out. It was slow and lazy and I ended up at this shelter around 2 on a rainy day. I've had a good time talking with Sky, Cammeron, and Opie. I can't describe how good it feels to be out of VA, even though officially I have some VA left to do. 6/2/01, day 80. Pine Knob Shelter. ~17m Good enough day, passed some stuff. Hung out at the shelter with Ed and Sheryl from East Boofoo, Alaska, talking about how their 200 person village has no roads, nearest shopping center 500m away, etc. I've got to try that sometime.
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