Date: 2017-07-29
From: Highway 22, then Scarsdale

To: Scarsdale
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Frodo here, giving Scout the day off with respect to journal writing. Hope you don¢t mind.It is wonderful to be here with my husband and feel that I can be a part of his hiking experience. We thru-hiked the PCT together and that was amazing. But at the time I said that would be my one thru-hike; it met a need in me, but I don¢t have that need any longer. The fact that my feet have never fully recovered pretty much clinched it. I still love hiking and backpacking, but I¢m fine with trips of a week or two. Scout, however, caught the bug. Once we finished the PCT he started talking about the CDT and earning the triple crown. I knew he really wanted it, but needed a bit of a nudge to actually carve out the time, so I eventually started telling people he would hike the CDT in 2015. Being a scientist and from a family of engineers, I enjoyed doing much of the planning for that and was able to hike some sections with him and provide support with a borrowed Roadtrek.  (Thanks again, Tammy!) So I was out there the whole five months, too. One of the young men he hiked with a fair amount referred to me as their ¢fifth man,¢ like on a basketball team, and I liked that analogy.When Scout finished the CDT he still had the bug, so I started telling people he would hike the AT in 2017. I mean, the guy is 65, for goodness sake. You can¢t put these things off if you really want to get them done. The AT doesn¢t require a lot of advance planning, so Scout is kind of wingin¢ it. Except he spends a chunk of time each zero day mapping out where he will camp and resupply, etc., until his next zero day. And we¢re sort of playing it by ear as to how often I come join him. We¢re really not used to being apart for weeks at a time, so it¢s been a bit hard. This last 25-day stretch was a bit tough. But it makes the reunion all the sweeter.Back to normal journal stuff: Today was a day to get some things done, but mostly it was a day to relax and enjoy the delightful downtown Scarsdale area. We are here with Dot, Franky, and Buck, staying in the home of some hiker friends who are currently doing a section hike on the PCT. They have been very hospitable in absentia, and it has worked out very well for us to be here. Thanks, Nick, Sheryl, and family!Scout and ¢The Boys¢ (as Scout calls them) decided it was time to get trimmed up, so they went to an old-fashioned barber shop. The Boys got their hair and beards trimmed, and Scout had his first-ever hot shave from a barber, as well as a touch of hair trimming and eyebrow trimming. I noticed, however, that he still has a couple ear hairs that need some attention!They all looked pretty sharp afterward.  But then, they really didn't look too bad before - see the lead photo.  They took that "before" photo but neglected to take an "after" photo.  Sorry.  And here¢s a couple photos of Scout getting his hot shave:  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  and  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...I went to the post office this morning to pick up Scout¢s bounce box. He had had the foresight to put both our names on it, since you need to show ID to pick up a General Delivery package. I discovered that some post offices don¢t ¢do¢ General Delivery, including Scarsdale. We were lucky, though, as Scout¢s box was still among boxes waiting to be delivered to home addresses.Across from the post office in a small park a family-oriented festival was going on. A musical group was leading kid songs and there were Scout and The Boys, joining right in! Very nice community event.A lot of the day focused on eating, eating, eating. Bagels, sweet rolls, and fruit for breakfast, bagel sandwiches and salads and chips for lunch, fajitas and Spanish rice for dinner. Our absent friends said to feel free to use the kitchen and I took them at their word.  Somewhere in the busy day I think we all found time to take a nap, too. Yay for naps!