Date: 2005-05-13
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a good day, but one of very mixed emotions. It was great to catch up with my hiker friends, of course. I had breakfast with Butterfly Moon, her boyfriend, Rich, Socks, and Scholar. Later, I ran into Hopefull Hiker, Cuppa Joe, Wyatt Mcguire (Mouth), Jake (Bruce Spruce) and his dad, Skip, Breakaleg and her buddy, Linex. In short, it was a day of joyous reunions and meeting new hikers, with a lot of happy talk and good times. But there were also sad moments as well, knowing we will shortly be going our separate ways. This was partially, but only partially, offset my the knowledge that I will soon be making a lot more new friends, starting Monday.I had similarly mixed emotioms as I watched a couple of new videos about the trail. Both were just fantastic videos, caturing the beauty, the charm, the challenges and the pain of hiking from Georgia to Maine. The first one was really good for my morale, as I saw photos of the sections of the trail I have already hiked and which brought back great memories. Seeing sections which lie ahead of me, including the Smokies where I will be starting Monday, really inspired me to get going again. Truth is, I was so psyched at that point that I was half tempted to throw on my pack and just hike - north or south, didn't much matter, I just wanted to be moving again.The second video in the afternoon was longer, and more in depth. While it was a beautiful piece, I came away from that one somewhat depressed by how much more of the trail I still have to hike! But, I was even MORE keen to throw on my pack and start hiking at that point! My mind raced as it calculated how soon I might be able to do doing twenty mile days..... you get the picture?After the second video I spent some time wondering through the park where the vendors has set up their displays. The only thing I was looking for was the Tin Man booth, maker of home-made cooking systems. I wanted to get a pot cozy to keep my food hot after adding boiling water, as my titanium pot is really bad about retaining heat. After 10 minutes of rehydrating, and by the time I am only half way thru my meal, it's cold. I found the Mr. Tin Man and 20 minutes later was the proud owner of a complete new kitchen set.   I rationalized the purchase on the basis of the new system being less weight than what I was carrying and thus mailed the old gear home. (At this point, I probably have enough duplicate gear to provide for my Boy Scout Troop's entire Venture Crew, but that another story.)On my way back from the Post Office I ran into Shelly Hale, my journal transcriber and my ride back to the Hike Inn Sunday. We made arangements to get together Saturday morning and I then turned my attention to a more immediate issue - for the hiker parade on Saturday I needed to find the biggest, baddest, long range, rapid firing Super Soaker that exists. Leaving nothing to chance, I wanted an expert recommendation. Hmmmm... where's a 12-14 year old kid that somehow looks intimately familiar with the back seat of a police car when you want one? Oh well.   Success was won at the local Dollar store and I was loaded for bear. A 38 ounce, dual barrel, pump-action weapon with a range of nearly twenty yards and it was all mine. Yessssss!After a pizza dinner, I decided to turn in early, getting back to my hiker schedule. It was just as well, as it poured rain soon after I settled in, and those who had gone to the campfire were drenched. I, of course, was warm and dry in my Big Agnes. Altogether, a good day "on the trail", if a bit turbulent emotionally. The bottom line, as I have expressed in earlier entries, is that this is clearly where I am meant to be at this point in my life, and I am extraordinarily happy to be out here once again. Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com