Date: 2010-07-08
From: Ensign Cowell Shalter

To: Waynesboro PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

7/8 we passed through Fox Gap today. It is a civil war site that raged for a long hard day with union forces claiming victory. Southern forces got trapped and eventually fled saving many lives but not before incurring 51% losses. General Garland & General Reno were both mortally wounded. One each side. "Hell is empty and all the devils are here" A timely quote for us as the weather is incredible. The Devils are: the 102 degree temps, the  humidity and the bugs. Later we made it to the Pen-Mar park and had another pizza and BLT feast with a dozen or more other hikers. DT wash her hair in the womens room after a two hour rest and headed on to Waynesboro, PA. As we walked out of the park, DT noticed a Komen sign on the front porch of a house, a perfect opportunity to wish someone well. She knocked on the door and asked the man who the flag was in honor of and found out that his sister inlaw just finished her chemotherapy and is doing very well. She told him to give his sister inlaw our best and we would ask the pink angels to add her to thier prayer list. Next we were picked up by a Santa Claus look alike and we crossed the Mason Dixin line into DT's birth State! Where are the sticky buns? He dropped us at the Waynesboro Walmart and in we went for our resupply. We were treated like celebrities in there! Or now that we look back on it, maybe the employees recieved advanced warning about us hiker trash! DT's new cream colored shorts are beginning to change color to tan with black accents after four days. Her shirt is tied back with bear rope, her legs were filthy and we both look like hobos. Now CB looks good no matter how grubby he gets... But look what he has to work with. People were shaking our hands, asking us questions and it turned out to be an interesting experence. We left Walmart and hit the Sheets Gas station/deli/info center and hiker hangout. We were looking for a motel and found three different ones listed all under the same phone number which was not in service. CB got frazzled as DT tried to talk to a local gentleman about where we were trying to get to and none of us knew just which way we were supposed to go. DT went into the store for some extra bottles of water and returned five minutes later with the news that we were going to stay in the home of a women who worked at the store. It turns out DT was asking around the store about lodging and that we were looking for a place to crash when Jean behind the counter said that her father always used to bring home hikers for the night and so maybe it was time for her to start the tradition! Our lucky day! She got off in ten minutes and packed us into her car and off to Jean's we went. Jean lives next to her sister, Emily and around the corner from her parents. She is 60 ish years old and works part time and loves to golf. She introduced us to sis and showed us where the bathroom and laundry were. She also said we could help ourselves to the fridge and that she had to go back to work until ten. CB noticed a banjo and told her that he played and she said that her parents were headed to a friends house for a bluegrass jam and that she would ask them to take us along. She left and Emily came over with strawberry short cake and zucchini bread. We took a quick shower and dropped our laundry into the washer and within 30 minutes of our arrival, her parents showed up with cookies and a ride to the jam.  Thirty minutes later we were back in Maryland in thier friends basement eating homemade brownies and snacks and listening to live music! An hour and a half later they took us on a tour of the countryside and showed us the pentagon's hardened bunker dug into south mountain. Back to Jean's house by ten to finish our laundry and we slept on the livingroom floor with a huge fan blowing across us. Up at 5:30 to hit the trail by 6:15 carrying all of our extra goodies to share at the next shelter. Thank you to Jean and her family for an amazing amount of unexpected trail magic!