Date: 2011-05-19
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Grace Lutheran Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 20.8

(In which I enter the fabled city of Waynesboro)I start hiking just after 7am, earlier than I have been lately, wondering if I can make it the 20 miles to Waynesboro before the post office closes at 5pm. Mehap leaves at the same time, and we hike together. Mehap has a very dry sense of humor, and when I first met him I found him off-putting, not being able to tell whether some of his comments were joking or mocking. Spending time with him hiking, I am pleasantly surprised to find that he is actually thoughtful and polite once I get to know him. One of the nice opportunities offered by hiking is that of spending 8 or more consecutive hours with someone who might start the day out as a stranger.When we stop for lunch Mehap lets slip that his real name is Josiah. Once he realizes the slip, he says, "Yes my name is Josiah and I'm from Lancaster county, no I'm not Amish. I am a preacher's son though." He tells me of his blog, on which he's only posted one entry, when he first started. His father, however has posted on the blog more than thirty times, relaying the information the Mehap mentions over the phone for family and friends to keep track of. "He didn't say much when I told him I was going to hike the AT, just 'Good luck telling your mother'. But he's posted nearly every day on my blog -- I think that it's his way of showing that he's interested in what I'm doing." I think of all of the friends and extended family members who have read my blog, and how daily journal reading and writing can be a connection between those who otherwise might not have any easy way to stay connected with the details of each other's lives.Though I hadn't even heard of Waynesboro until after I passed Damascus, since then I have heard progressively more rumors. "I heard there's a guy who will buy any thru-hiker a beer," said German Sheppard, stopping to imagine a cold beer. "I heard that when you enter Waynesboro they give you a long list of trail angels willing to drive you around," said Hatchet. "I heard that at any given time there are more trail angels in Waynesboro than hikers," said Sherpa. Swift, who has actually been there before, said that it was the friendliest town on the trail, "everything that Damascus should have been."Mehap has a gear replacement package waiting in Waynesboro as well, and though we could both wait until tomorrow, we use the post office's 5pm closing time to spur us on. We catch up to River Rat, and the three of us hike together, each of us hiking fast to keep up with the others and make it in to Waynesboro. When we reach the road at 3pm, we can hardly believe what good time we've made, covering more than 20 miles in less than 8 hours, including a lunch break.After an easy hitch in to town, Mehap and I go to the post office to check for packages. Mehap retrieves a box with new trekking pole straps sent straight from Black Diamond. "Are you sure that there aren't any packages for Stylos?" I ask. The post office clerk checks again to humor me, but when she returns to the counter she just shakes her head sadly. I turn, shoulders slumped, to walk out past the groups of hikes stuffing their faces with brownies and cookies from their latest care packages. Seeing my dejection, the clerk offers me a peppermint candy, one of the hard, dry kinds that nobody really likes.Or at least I'm sure that's what WOULD have happened if it weren't for all of the awesome people who sent me stuff! In actuality I have to carry the packages carefully to avoid dropping any while I walk out of the post office, and am touched by the kindness of my family, friends and strangers.We eat fast food first, then walk back across town to the donation-based church hostel once it opens at 5pm. The hotel is in the basement of a Lutheran church, and we are greeted warmly by the caretaker on duty, who gives a tour of the spacious hostel, which includes cots, a lounge area, computers, a kitchenette, bathrooms and showers. "I'm told that showers are always appreciated after a long day of hiking," the caretaker says, "not that I've tried such things myself." "Oh man," I tell him, "if you've never tried showering you definitely should. It's amazing."I hang out at the hostel, chatting with hikers, surfing the internet and eating some of the abundant free food around the hotel. Before I know it it's midnight, and I decide that I really should get to bed so that I can get up early enough to leave before the 9am hostel closing time.