Date: 2014-06-25
From: Falls Creek

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 4.1

6/25Awoke from a heavy sleep at 6 or 7am feeling well rested. But I only had 5 hours of sleep... The hell? Whatever, turn over and try again for good measure. The intent for today was to catch up on rest and feast in town. Sleeping at this point became more like rest my eyes and relax semi consciously in my safety zone. An environment that many people would find very claustrophobic. And possibly very exposed. My sanctuary is always moving and currently sitting in the woods right next to a well traveled hiking trail that people will pass by. A woods that bears live in; something that curious locals not familiar with backpackers tend to point out.There was a long period that went by in which I uncaringly remained unaware of where I was exactly. To a certain extent I knew but remained indifferent towards making a split second effort to think about where and what I was doing. In hindsight, these are my most mindful moments that allow me to completely be in the present moment. What bliss. Last night I had just finished going the farthest I have ever gone by foot ever in one day. My legs were sore but I felt good. I wasn't sticky with sweat, grime, and humidity at the moment. Sometimes you wake up feeling saturated in that funk. That's why I have not used my 20 degree sleeping bag for 2 weeks because my liner bag alone has been sufficient during this portion/time of the hike.A general theme of thru hiking - you get used to it.You get used to sleeping in the woods and waking up to a different part of it everyday. You get used to not showering and than washing your clothes in opportune ways. There are many things you get used to and most of them are things you learn you should have gotten used to a long time ago. For me, I'm just thankful I don't drink soda and know how to discipline myself away from cravings. Cravings like getting sucked into the television at the bar.Voodoo and I had partnered up to conquer this challenge and that was pretty nice. We both prefer to be solo hikers but still - a hiking partner sometimes means the difference between success and failure. Failure in this case most likely would have been me saying "eh, whatever" at mile 32 and pitching my tent without regret or second thought. It means nothing to me but earning bragging rights. Voodoo and I assumed we would sleep for about 12 hours after that then skip into Waynesboro, PA for a reward buffet meal. We were up and going well before than and eagerly made way without making breakfast and despite our sore feet. We had only 2 more trail miles to go before walking/hitching through town to our goal but we soon rediscovered how humidity feels like it sucks the air out of you and opens the sweat pores. Nothing we haven't dealt with before but dam. Couldn't tell you how good it felt to shovel Chinese buffet food into your mouth after all that. Once we stepped back out from the air conditioned restaurant it was like getting hit by all the energy collected by a single satanic solar panel at once. I turned back to Voodoo and yelled, "this is what we walk in everyday!? What the hell is wrong with us?!" as if we were in a war zone and there was no other way for her to hear me. Fortunately we only had to scurry 20 yards over to Walmart where we were getting our resupply. Ended up spending all day in the game lounge area charging our phones and playing Bunk Hunter Pro, the best arcade game of all time.We eventually scored a hitch back to the trail head and continued on our way. It started raining and thunderstorms were coming so I decided to stay at the first shelter we came across. I'm writing this out now as lightening is striking down close enough for me to feel the ground shake. It's also pouring rain. Since I've been backpacking with an extra set of trail clothes, this is a nice way to end the day. One pair of clothes is basically always wet. My spares are like trail luxury items to switch into at the end of the day. Life is good