Date: 2004-08-23
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Loneliness
Miles today: 13.6

This morning, I hiked with a spring in my step. As the day wore on, my stamina and my morale weakened.I climbed the first steep mountain with vigor. Afterwards, while hiking on an old woods road, I passed through a mosquito zone. The bugs were aggressive, landing on my arms and the back of my neck even as I walked quickly. After about 12 an hour, I departed from that area and the mosquito harassments eased.I walked down Route 103 and purchased some foodstuffs at a general store. Then I stopped for lunch at a small restaurant that serves truckers and locals. There, I met T-Bott, a middle aged, northbound thru hiker. Together, we hiked back to the trailhead and made a steep ascent back into the mountains. This climb was hard, and it took away the spring from my steps.I stopped to rest at a shelter where a southbound thru hiker was signing the register. T-Bott moved on. The southbounder and I shared information about what lay ahead on our sections of the trail.At a stream crossing, cans of soda had been placed in the water for hikers to take. I drank a root beer and wrote a thank you note to the two "trail angels" who were responsible for this act of generosity. Their trail names were mentioned in a notice on a tree. The names were The Hiking Gnome and The Outhouse Repairman. Later, I crossed paths with another southbound thru hiker, a man in his early twenties. He asked me for information about any southbounders I had recently seen. He told me that he had taken a few days off the trail and had fallen behind the hikers he had become friendly with. I commiserated with him, explaining that I was traveling in a void between hikers that I was friendly with. We then wished each other good hikes and went our separate ways, two lonesome individuals.On recent days, I have met for the first time several northbound hikers. They seem like nice people and I will hopefully get to know them better. But I miss hiking with the people I know the best, the ones I bonded with during the hiking in the South and Middle Atlantic States.I usually hike alone during the day. It gets lonely on the trail, hiking hour after hour and rarely seeing anyone. In the past, I would often finish hiking for a day and make camp at a shelter. There, I would hang out with friends before heading into the nearby woods where my hammock was strung up. Lately, I have not seen anyone I know. The only exception is Baloo, who is a faster hiker than me. He takes frequent rest days, and I often catch up with him for short spells of time.This loneliness had me feeling melancholy during the afternoon. But I have been through this condition before and know that it will go away. I also know that somewhere behind me are my trail friends and some of them will catch up. And there will be new people to meet and make friends with.I am sleeping in a shelter which is not on The Appalachian Trail. This nameless shelter is located in woods belonging to an ex thru hiker. I hiked to this shelter because a southbounder warned me that the shelter I had first intended to stay at, located near a road, was a dump and a partying site for local teens.I strung up my hammock in the shelter because no other hikers were occupying the place. Then, just before dark, Regular Brian showed up. He told me to keep the hammock in place because there was ample room on the floor for him to spread out his sleeping bag.It rained this evening. Now, at 9:15 p.m., drops of water are falling from the trees. Those are the sounds I will hear as I drift off to sleep.