Date: 2014-10-26
From: north pump gap loop trail campsite

To: hostel at the laughing heart lounge, hot springsnc
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 124It is 1232 but I promised a big post and #thefatdeliversIt all comes full circle lets just say that. Now we beginFirstly that picture is from burn after reading, the movie that pushed me and the kid as we hiked the 22 mile slack pack over the whites that was the most I difficult day up to that point. That day was literally the opposite of where I am today. That was about 280 miles in and now I am at 280 miles left.I watched burn after reading, southbounders (which was terrible) I thought it was a documentary, but it turned out to be a drama and a boring one at that. Now there is one specific scene after monson, where they sit and stare at the trail and realize they only just finished a little portion and have big miles to go. I remember that, I remember the whole ¢fuck, this again feeling¢. That scene was gold, but besides that, mindless, worse than Chickenfat's blog smith.Then at 600 after 3 trips to dollar general I started watching Napoleon dynamite. Usually this is where the day would end, but this is the Appalachian trail, where things get tricky, complicated and given enough time, even the mighty chickenfat gets a minus. Something that hasn't happened since rock passed me in New York.As I was 5 mins deep into the movie, I hear the door open and I look to my left and see a face, vaguely familiar, then the voice. Arbor caught up to me, arbor is a sobo I have met three times.1.leaving monson 20 mins after he got in2.leaving rangely 20 mins after he got in3.leaving gorham, the day he got inLiterally he caught me and I jumped forward each time. He along with twinkle toes and I can't remember the girls name have been chasing me for apparently a long time. You see this, I haven't seen a person for about 1500 miles and boom, he catches the day the opposite of the last time I saw him. (Like I said, full circle)The funny thing about bein ahead of someone is you never know how far away the trailers are. For days I have been saying there is no one for miles, today I learned of a group of 5 who have recently pushed 3 thirtyish mile days to get here (and catch the sobo with the best trail journal) arbor, twinkle toes, girl, wolf burger (last seen in the whites) and the name you expected to see at the start of this paragraph the other members of destinys child, the kid (last seen Manchester center or great Herrington VT)How did it feel? I feel a little depressed I have finally been caught by people I felt faster than. I can hike faster, and has proven that but clearly they have caught up. It has just been a thing I have prided myself on all hike, being alone and passing people and to have it happen to me is actually quite a shock. More interesting to me is the fact that they intend to finish a week before me, which I could have done, but I chose my date knowing I would have to slow down. The question I face inside is should I feel down now that I have been caught? Technically twinkle toes is a long section hiker (gorham to ga) (full circle) but the girl and arbor are both minuses and that would bring my total to 5 now. I've always said that it's not a good thing or bad thing to have a high or low plus minus, but on the same page, it's something I prided myself in and I wish I could be more like the end of the rainbow for the southbounders behind me, that is to say eternally out of reach.In case you were wondering what it's like to see someone you spent every day of 5 weeks with, then you dropped behind and now have been following like a ghost since Vermont, this is what your reaction would be. He plays it cool, but he's happy¢¦..https://vine.co/v/OMZHh02OqzO, it should have been the pic today but, just the burn after reading pic was too goodAnyways it all comes full circle, one min you have 300 miles, the next your on the other side of the barrel. All I know is least I'm southbound. Because if your nobo, those last 500 after gorham are a bitch