Date: 2003-07-01
From: Shelter

To: Glasgow
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to the gentle twittering of birds, the soft whisper of wind, and the smell of cigarette smoke. :((Not exactly where you thought I was going with that, huh?)    Late last night we were joined by two beer-drinking, chain-smoking young men. They hiked in from the road looking for a nice place for a quiet little party and moved right into the shelter. I stayed up for a while to make sure they weren't going to bother Tadashi, the elderly Japanese man that was in the shelter, but it quickly became obvious that they were harmless. But they were sad.I lay in my tent listening to them talk about their hopes and dreams with slurred speech, and the undercurrent of desperation was palpable. They couldn't have been older then 19 or 20, yet they seemed permanan4tly rooted in a life of missed chances. It reminded me of the opportunities that I have had in my life. Many people talk about how brave and adventuresome I am to do this hike, but what they need to remember is that I was taught to be brave and to take advantage of oportunities. I wonder if these two young men were taught that. In any case, when I awoke, I spoke to them for a while and encouraged them to come out to the trail and spend more time. They talked about thru hiking one day, and all I could do was encourage them! As I collected my smoke-scented clothes out of the shelter where I had hung them to dry, I smiled as I imagined them thru hiking. They would love it....but the weight of the six-packs would get old real quick. :)   Well, today is the day that Bumpkin's husband Jerry and her grandson Coty are meeting us to hike for the week. So, once again, we find ourselves heading for the Blue Ridge Parkway looking to meet up with family. This time, we really did not know where or when we would find them, but we knew it would be a lot easier for us to be found on the road rather than the trail!    So we walked up the parkway enjoying the cool, foggy morning. We spooked a deer and came up on a turtle, but otherwise, all was quiet.After a couple of miles, we came to an overlook and sat down for a break. It wasn't long before our gaurdian angel in the form of a retired banjo player drove up. Ed Falls, the nicest man you could ever meet, drove up and before you know it, he and I were comparing notes on the best fiddle festivals around. He had driven down to have his banjo repaired and was spending the day bumming around the parkway.    Before you knew it, the three of us were headed towards Glassgow for lunch and a pay phone. Mr. Falls accepted our lunch invitation, so we made short work of the cheeseburgers the Wright Place had to offer. They were REAL cheeseburgers, and they were great! The conversation was wonderful, and all to quickly we had say good-bye to our new friend. Mr.Falls, thank you, thank you!   Well, it turns out that Jerry and Coty were still several hours away, so we did what any normal thru hikers would do.....headed for the motel for a shower! This is a serious no-tell motel, and boy are we happy to see it! We spend so much of our time in varying degrees of hot and sweaty that it becomes almost normal. It isn't til you take that weekly shower that you remember what it feels like to NOT be hot and sticky! :)   An afternoon of checking our email at the library and doing laundry rounded out our day. There is word of really bad weather headed this way so if possible, we are going to spend the next few days slackpacking. This way, we may get wet, but we won't wash away. :)   Tonight, steak dinner...... :)Love, Anna aka Mud Butt------------------------------Local access to PocketMail mobilee-mail now available in Europe, NorthAmerica & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com