Date: 2010-06-22
From: No more entries for now

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: broken clouds

22 June 2010, Front Royal   Spoons and I left the hostel and took the blue blaze back to the AT. Once we got to the AT we had to hike south back to Compton Gap because that was where we hitched in from on the previous day. We did not want to skip those miles.   When we got to Compton Gap I checked the sign where I had left a note for Hopper the night before. The note was gone so I knew Hopper got the note. She either got it the night before or this morning. I was assuming that they were already north of the side trail to Terripen Station Hostel where were jump on because we did not see them. When I got back to the side trail to the hostel I pulled out my cell phone and tried calling her. I was surprised when she answered. She told me that they were all going to the Quality Inn in Front Royal and invited me to join them. I told her I would be willing to share a room with Conner, which is her sister Christy's son.   I made it to Tom Floyd Wayside Shelter and signed the register quickly. I ran into Spoonz and Slightly Inappropriate at the shelter. When I got to the rout 522 I called Hopper again hoping she could come pick me up with their car but they were at a restaurant eating. I decided to hitch into town. I walk 3/4 of a mile before a truck pulled over to give me a ride. I jumped in the back with the fishing poles and cooler.   I made it to the motel before Hopper and her family returned. Once I got settled in and showered I helped Hopper track down a notary, she had to get some notary work done for a house that she sold while she was on the trail.   We all went out to Castiglia Italian for dinner.   Hopper expressed to me today that she was no longer thru hiking or going to hike all the way to Maine. I was shocked at hearing this. For a moment I wondered where that left me/us. We had planned our hike as a thru hike together long before we started at Springer. We planned all our food drops and had boxes made up. She is somewhat of a vegetarian and has a special diet and we had to have food drops made for her all the way to Maine. To hear her say this was disappointing. I had really enjoyed hiking with her when she was not off hiking with sisters and other family members. She said that dealing with hiking with her sisters for the last week was just too much on her and spoiled the whole thru hike experience for her. She said that she could not hike any longer; it had just taken too much out of her. I was shocked at this news. She had been hinting for quite some time that she was not really doing a thru hike and in a sense she wasn¢t because she had jumped ahead and skipped sections a few times to hike with family and friends. That had not been an issue. But to totally say she was not going to thru hike or hike any longer took me by surprise and the excuse she used was not a very good one, in my opinion. I think she was just opting for a way out. She did go on to tell me that she was still going to scatter her husband¢s ashes and she would slack pack me the rest of the way to Maine if I would like her to. I thought about this for a short period of time and I say short because I was considering my foot pains that I have been having. I had also considered our relationship. I took her up on her offer.