Date: 2010-05-21
From: Trout Creek Campsite

To: John Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: few clouds

Woke up to the sound of Cricket, Boo-Boo and Michigan talking. A whippoorwill was singing all night long. We were singing the Randy Travis song with the lyric, "longer than the song of a whippoorwill..." around the fire before bed. Packed a lot of water because there isn't any for the next 6 miles. Tomato had trouble setting up his hammock for the first time last night. He was snoring not long after getting in. I'd never be able to sleep in a hammock because they're cold and you can't sleep on your stomach. Marty McFly seemed pretty unhappy about our loud, early morning conversation. I think he wanted to sleep in because it was going to be a short mileage day. I actually set my alarm fro 2:29 AM, but couldn't do it. No way. Wanted to see Dragon's Tooth at sunrise. Definitely would have been beautiful, but I'd rather share the experience with friends. We mistook the first overlook for Dragon's Tooth. Laughed about how insignificant it seemed. We were sadly mistaken. Took a lot longer. Definitely a tough climb to earn that view! Now-a-days my heart flutters with lustful emotion when there is a hard, steep climb. I love the way my cephalic vein in my arm throbs like a little kid jumping on a garden hose. The way my nose runs like a faucet. All the sweat and struggle and suffering brings out a childish grin on my bearded face! I love these rocks and how they make me work so hard for these views. Seeing them any other way besides a 700 mile walk just wouldn't be the same. Every foot in elevation that I climb makes the scenery that much better. The worse it hurts, the better it feels. Dragon's Tooth took my breath away! Climbing on it felt like being a kid again! The way you drive by a park and see a swing-set and wish you had time in your busy day to play, that's the feeling we get out here. The childish pleasures of having fun and not worrying about the things you could be doing. The longing to feel young again is right at your fingertips here. The way that kid inside your heart begs you to climb a tree. To scale a mountain! It's right here in front of me. A playground for adults. Where the danger of falling and getting hurt isn't even considered. That feeling of just letting go, every worry, every care, every bad thing, every good thing go and just play. Have fun! Standing on the edge of that cliff confirmed my suspicion. I'm not afraid of heights anymore. Lish you should see this! Imagine climbing a stegosaurus' backbone. Hundreds of miles of clear views! It was like being at a theme park for smelly bearded kids. So many smiles today. Like Stockholm's syndrome. Shocked and elated at the beauty of this place. Made me think of the merry-go-round at the drive-in theater where I live. I wish we could all put out lives on pause and just play and be glad to be alive again. Got to 311 with only one thing on my brain. Food! Got to Catawba via Serpe. He was bouldering nearby and gave all 5 of us rides into town in hie VW bug. He made three trips! It's 3:50 PM and we're knocking on the door at Homeplace restaurant. It was sooo good! All vegetables 1st and 2nd rounds! One piece of meat on the 3rd and 4th rounds. Lots of biscuits. They didn't have any molasses. honey! Met Croft; She ate with us. Told me about her daughter who lives on a sailboat. Her granddaughter has never lived on land! Tomato, Heads Up, Jibbits, Marty McFly, Cricket, Croft, Michigan, and Boo-Boo (got his name for crapping his pants) made a valiant effort to eat all their food. The restaurant made no profit! Funny feelings sitting around the old folks in their Sunday best. Smelling great. Nice hair and shiny shoes, next to us. I know we stink horribly! Set on the front porch swing and thought of home. Home, Lish, and sweet tea! Fended off questions while letting my stomach settle. Could of had another go at the buffet. Michigan is carrying a NERF football. We played in the huge cow pasture in front of the restaurant. Felt so healthy and energetic like an athlete. We must seem so strange to the people here. Late 20-yr-olds playing catch in a field. Got a ride back to the trail via Tomato and his mother. He's quitting. He definitely wasn't having fun. That's good enough reason to go home. Me, I'm in a shelter at a fire with my friends. Friends behind me. Friends ahead of me! Friends I've left behind. Friends I haven't met yet. I've had more fun than I ever did a a kid today. It felt like being young again. This is working for me! My whole life will never be the same after just 700 miles. There's nothing short of the finish line that will end this journey for me. I'll leave this trail a genuine thru-hiker or a cold dead body. Can't wait to see what's ahead. Anchors Away baby! Katahdin or BUST!