Date: 2007-06-13
From: Pass Moutain Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

A thru hike is part Walt Whitman and part John Waters.Today, we took a four hour lunch break at the Elkwallow wayside as a last hurrah in Shenandoah. TK Express, Bad Influence, Mangrove, J Beard, Dash, and others sampled the local cuisine (including the park's famous blackberry shakes) while loafing around the picnic tables on the lawn. It was divine, and easily the longest lunch break I've ever taken on or off the trail. Around 3:00 P.M., we discovered that we could buy beer for 85 cents (that's cheaper than a cold soda!) The day's hiking would have totally come to a standstill had a wayside employee not come out with a printout of a weather forecast predicting severe thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. That little bit of information got us strapped into our packs and on our way to Gravel Springs Hut in a jiffy. I had suspicions that the wayside employees had a stash of fake ominous weather reports to hand out when the picnic area got too cluttered with hikers. But, the evening weather did seem rather fierce, so I'm glad they hustled us on to safety. Otherwise, we'd probably still be there sitting at the picnic tables drinking 85 cent beers and dodging lightning.Today was our last full day in Shenandoah, and it was fabulous. The tame deer, the bears, the waysides.... this is exactly how I envision ideal hiking. It may not be for everyone -- some thru-hikers were peeved at the large amount of day and section hikers and the general civilized comfort that abounded. I liked seeing new faces and eating hot meals though.As far as thru-hikers' disdain for weekend and section hikers, I think that's baloney. Thru-hikers don't own the trail. In fact, we're a small minority. About 3 to 4 million people use the trail each year and only a tiny fraction of those numbers come from people going all the way from Georgia to Maine. If day, weekend, and section hikers didn't exist, I doubt the trail would be able to receive the funding and general support that it gets. Now THAT's something for folks to chew on when they feel a bout of thur-hiker supremacy coming on. I'm tired of seeing statements in the registers slamming people who aren't going 2,000 miles. Who really cares? I'm out here to walk just as a dayhiker is. The only difference is that I'm walking a bit longer.The feeling of being "better" because of walking 2,000 miles is a manifestation of insecurity or competitiveness or something ugly I had hoped not to see after 900 some miles. One of the hikers at the shelter was peeved because he was mistaken as a section hiker. I told him to take it as a compliment for his good on-trail grooming habits. I recall strutting a bit after hiking a couple hundred miles, but now I just feel like this hike is my lifestyle, my job, and not something I need to brag about or prove to people. That said, I must look like a bit of a dirtbag, because people always assume I'm en route to Maine, even when I used to section hike.Ah yes, the novelty has long since worn off, and I feel like I'm getting down to business out here. Finally. It's fabulous, but in a very different way than it was when I first starated walking up Springer Mountain in Georgia. I'm not going to apply to be a "2,000 miler" with the ATC, I'm not looking for a badge or recognition. I'm just walking. I've finally begun to merely walk, one foot in front of the other for another thousand miles.