Date: 2013-06-01
From: Baldface Mountain

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 12.3

Man what a difference, from yesterday to today. I had a good night¢s sleep. I had a nice breeze all day long. I met several people today. I met ¢Easy E¢, another thru-hiker, and I hiked with him a short while on the flats but when the hill came up I said, ¢This is where we part.¢ He can hike 20+ miles per day - that was fun while it lasted. Then I'm talking to two locals and ¢Bamboo¢ and ¢Morning Kid¢ come up and I hiked with them awhile till I hit another hill. I stayed with them for awhile but said, ¢I'll see you two at The Meadows¢. There is a Big Meadows lodge, campground and restaurant coming up today. Next I met two runners about my age, Jim and Pat, who are training for next month¢s 100 mile race in the Black Hills of Dakota. Pat said his wife has been following some of the hikers on Trail Journals and asked where I was going. I told him Big Meadows. He said great, come by the camp ground and have a beer and I told him I'll try. Then I came upon a two tenth mile detour to an overlook so I took it and was glad I did. So I'm sitting on this boulder doing some journaling when this family of four comes up, Tony and Gina Strauss and their two daughters, Brook and Maya. Brook reminded me of my daughter at that same age. She was playing with the ants and bugs while we talked about my hike. Tony asked if he could take my picture and I said sure. I thought he just wanted it like I wanted a picture of a bear but he said he'll send me one so I gave him my email address. And I thought that was it but then he asked me where I was going and I said Big Meadows Wayside and the next thing I knew he invited me to come have a cold one at the campground. I said I'll try and I thanked him and they move on and so did I. When I came to another outlook, there was a couple sitting there and he asked did he need to move out of my way. I said that's alright, I¢ll just snap a picture. He said he'd take my picture for me. The girl asked did she need to move and I said, ¢If you don't and you¢re in my picture and my wife sees it, that will be grounds for divorce!¢ So she got up and we all laughed about that. Later on I met a couple from England doing Shenandoah to Daleville. As I made my way up to The Meadows, I saw another bear, but he just scurried off.I finally make it up to The Wayside and ¢Bamboo¢ and ¢Morning Kid¢ are outside sitting at a picnic table. They had just finished eating, so I sat down and was about to get up and go order something when this guy walks up and said, ¢I have extra food, would you all like it?¢ YEAH! We thanked the guy and I split a BBQ sandwich with ¢Morning Kid¢ had a salad and two pieces of chicken - never did buy any food. I asked the couple where they were going tonight and ¢Bamboo¢ said he didn't know, so I invited them to go with me to tent in the park with the runners I met earlier. So we hiked to the campground and found the runners and Pat¢s wife was happy to meet one of the hikers she'd been following. Her husband could not believe she knew so much about me. She knew I had been off the trail and even knew my wife's name. It¢s great to meet the people that follow me on Trail Journals. Thank you to everyone who is coming along with me on this journey!Now let the festival begin! We had a beer or four and more food and ¢Bamboo¢ said, ¢We need to stick with this guy.¢ ¢Everywhere we go we get free stuff.¢ After awhile, I said I have to go find the Strauss family, which I did. I went and sat down and had a beer and a hotdog, stayed awhile and then said goodbye and headed back across the camp ground to set my tent up in the dark (which I'm good at now). The runner¢s wives let me use their shampoo and conditioner when I went for my shower (I must have smelled). It took twelve quarters for 15 minutes of shower time. When I came back, I shook the guy¢s hands and hugged the ladies goodnight. Danielle said I smelled good which I know was a BIG change from earlier and had a laugh about it. My day is complete.