Date: 2004-06-10
From: Waynesboro

To: Skyline Drive Mile 92.4
Miles today: 13.6

Shenandoah, the land of black bears and tourists. As I entered the park today I expected it to be massively different. I dreamed of a paved trail with bears on every corner, no rocks anywhere, and coke machines at every road crossing. In reality I saw no coke machines or bears in the park. The trail was slightly less rocky and a little less steep, but essentially the same. I encountered columbine, Queen Ann¢s lace, and viper bugloss (?) as I walked. Though the surrounding were nice, they were no nicer than they have been everywhere else on the trail this spring. The one thing about the park that is true is that you encounter more people. I have only hiked 13 miles and I am certain I will see more of the park¢s beauty in the days ahead. At 8 a.m. this morning I packed up my silnylon mobile home and said goodbye to Whiskey, Flatbed, and the guys I met last night: ¢No Name¢, ¢Willy Wonka¢, and ¢Strange Love¢. I never would have guessed how shortly it would be before I would see them all again. I paid bills at the library:-( at 9 a.m. and updated e-mail. By about 10 a.m. Booboo¢s parents arrived to take us to breakfast. I dropped off a package at the post office on the way to Weasies. I am happy to say that Weasies had a clean restroom today (see 6/8 journal). Booboo and his parents sat at one small booth, Beartracks and I sat another. Across from us in completely absurd thrift store clothing sat ¢No Name¢, Strange Love¢, and ¢Willy Wonka¢: A 1980s Mickey Mouse shirt, a fluorescent yellow polyester jersey, and a little girl¢s shorts were involved. We all joked together as a group. I pulled out a crossword puzzle which all of us worked on. Twice random guests called out the answers to us. It was like a big family. Speaking of family, I appreciate Booboo¢s family and their hospitality so much. I ate homefries, a sausage egg n¢cheese biscuit and a bacon egg n¢ cheese biscuit. By the time we left I could barely move. When we hit the trail I realized my water bottle was missing. Booboo¢s mom gave me a 20 oz. water bottle but I knew I would need more as soon as possible. At the trailhead we all took pictures and said goodbyes :-(. We also met a hiker coming in, ¢Critter¢, who informed me that Skippy and Poppins read and liked their poem:-). Apparently they are only a day or two back of me now. I asked him to send them a ¢hello¢ from me and I headed out to hit the trail with Booboo, Beartracks, Franco, and Benny. As we hit the trail the sun was baking. We all hiked together for the first miles to the permit booth. Throughout Shenandoah we have to have a permit on our person at all times. If you lose it they feed your to the bears. I was the last one to finish registering and I hiked behind the group for 2 miles. As I walked I contemplated my relationship with God, my life, and my ¢questions¢ (*deep thought section). As I thought I came to a realization: I¢m seeking answers to questions, but I¢m not asking the correct questions. I ask God: When I will do what, where I will be, who will I marry, what job should I have? I often want all of the big answers to my future as though they will provide me contentment. What I realized I need to be asking is: How am I living today? Who am I living for? Why am I making each little choice I make? Where can I be of service? Within 2 miles I reached the road and caught up to my friends, but not before an awesome time of introspection. At the road I caught up to not only my 4 partners, but also to Caterpiller, Poco y Poco, and Bucket, who were using a strange device to make animal calls. We all pushed upward through a meadow-covered mountain with flowers and grasses everywhere. We all hiked until we reached the top and the radio tower there. Next to the tower there were little green chairs. ¢They rocked¢. (I told Caterpiller this). The funny thing is that the chairs rocked not only figuratively, but literally on a swivel. We all left shortly thereafter as drizzle came upon us. As I walked I talked with Caterpiller about Baltimore and going home. Then Poco y Poco and I talked about the struggles of not drinking. Something about the park combined with the heat seems to encourage slower hiking and breaks. It was 4 p.m. when I finally reached the shelter: 7 miles in 4 hours :-( .At the shelter Booboo shared cucumber salad and cookies (yum) with everyone there. Shortly thereafter, I swapped dinners with Meanderthal: Tuna Cap__________ for macaroni and cheese. It was like being in elementary school all over again. By 4:30 p.m. we pushed on as the skies opened up with rain. I filled up my water, put on my rain gear, and hiked slightly behind thinking to myself and reflecting more about questions. The water was the last for 12 miles (gulp). At 6 p.m. I reached a gap. The rain had stopped and I found Booboo and Beartracks there taking a break. We sat and wasted time joking. None of us wanted to move. We waved as numerous cars went by. Then Booboo and Beartracks started jumping up and down while I took pictures of them in midair. After that Beartracks took pictures of my newly shaven head. We were being very productive. At one point a man came running out of the woods (right as I went to pee). We said ¢hi¢ and Booboo asked if he had something for us to drink. When the man said ¢no¢, Booboo informed him that he should ¢think about it in the future¢. I nearly peed myself laughing. Most hikers desiring food look pathetic, never asking for food but hoping it is offered. This is called ¢yogi-ing¢. I wonder if accosting a person for food will someday be referred to as ¢Booboo-ing¢ :-) .After our break there was one problem: We had done zilch for an hour and a half. We had 10 miles finished and 10 more miles to the next shelter or water. I was exhausted. As we walked Booboo decided he could make it to the next shelter, only a short time earlier however, we had said we would stop when we found suitable camping. I tried to talk to Booboo to see what ¢our plan¢ was. Booboo felt uncomfortable camping without water. I felt uncomfortable night-hiking on only 20 oz. of water until near midnight myself. I was tired, I asked Booboo to stop¢¦he said that it would not be productive to stop. I stewed until I finally caught up to Booboo and laid into him. We fought (verbally). I felt that Booboo was not considering all of us and was changing his mind rapidly. Booboo felt that I was not being calm and that I was interrupting him. YAY! First big trail argument :-). We had it out, then walked in silence, then apologized at a road crossing 3.6 miles later (13.5 for the day). The funny thing is that the argument had made us all walk faster. We calmly began to break down the dispute and discuss what had happened. We also talked about how to avoid such disputes in the future. We still had not decided whether to push to the shelter or set up camp. I suddenly looked at Booboo and asked him ¢What if this car gave us a ride?¢ Before I could hear an answer Booboo was flagging down this lone car with his flashing headlight. Two minutes later our problem was solved and we were headed to Waynesboro. The guy who picked us up went by ¢Goose¢. He told us how he played in a bluegrass band and played a tape of his group as he drove us 17 miles back to Waynesboro. He even stopped at a convenience store for us. Goose was a huge blessing and we thanked him about 306 times before he dropped us off back at the YMCA.As we strolled back into camp we saw numerous ¢what the heck?¢ looks. No one knew why we had come back. We greeted the gang and joined the group at the picnic table where we explained our story. The night was unexpected but great. Booboo ordered Pizze & coke (he shared despite our argument). We all shared ¢Grizzly Dave¢ stories into the night¢¦what an odd 1st day in Shenandoah. Three final comments:¢¢        I tried C2 today (Coke Lite). It has half the calories of normal coke but I still like it. This could help me not to gain 30 lbs. after my hike :-) . ¢¢        I think Booboo and I are all good. I can¢t remember the last time I had a good argument with someone.¢¢        I saw to UVA kids with a cute puppy¢¦AWW! I miss my dogs :-(. It is time for me to go to bed now. All the arguing has made me tired. Please pray for me. Goodnight,BEATBOX   ttt