Date: 2003-08-17
From: Pioneer Shelter

To: New York City!
Miles today: 3.0

start Pioneer Telephone Shelterdestination not where we plannedI was woke up early to the sound of a door slamming. Not what you would normally hear out on the trail. It was the door to the privy. I sat up and waited for Mudbutt to come back by my tent. It was way too early for her to be up. It was another hiker. Evidently some hikers had come into the shelter after dark last night. There were 3 guys thru hiking. I got our food bags down and fixed breakfast while talking to them. I should have woken Mudbutt to meet them, as one of them might have been her Mr.Right. I am still learning this girlfriend stuff. The trail today was vastly different from yesterdays. It was gently rolling with fewer rocks than we have previously had. It is so nice to walk on relatively smooth trails. The rain that threatened last night never materialized. The sky remained overcast though which kept the temperature down. Had the trail maintainers kept up with the undergrowth, it would have been a delightful walk. But prickly limbs 3 and 4 foot high grabbed my pack at every turn. This would not be troublesome except for the ticks that hang tenaciously on the end of the branches waiting for a free ride to an all you can eat buffet. The trail has more than enough signs warning of Lyme Disese ticks in this area. I bushwack my way through the tall growth, thankful that at least it is not wet. I come to the Dover Oak. A huge tree reported to be the biggest one on the trail. It is massive with branches reaching out farther than any tree I have ever seen. Standing next to it I look like a toothpick up against a 2 x 4. Mudbuttand I take pictures, then try to count the rings on a limb that has been cut off. Her book says it is 300 years old. I just stand there and marvel at this majestic tree. Did George Washington come by here and take a respite in it's shade? If it could talk of history it has seen, what would it say? Did two lovers ever lay beneath it's branches and declare their love for one another? I know that people drive by and take a quick look or hikers stop and say "Wow!! what a big tree!" I want to stand there, staring up into the leafy branches and wonder what all has happened here. I want to see more than just what is apparent to the eyes. I want to envision what cannot be seen. Shortly, I come to a bog. Here there are glorious purple flowers as far as you can see. They tower above my head as the bog logs lead me first this way then another. The sun has come out and the muggy smells of standing water is heavy in the air. I wait just before a road crossing for Mudbutt. It is almost time for lunch. We come out of the woods at a railroad track. There is a small platform complete with a bench. There is a sign that says Appalachian Trail Station. Mudbutt says she has read about this place. A train comes by here and stops on the weekends to take people into New York City. We look at each other and if by magic together the idea pops into our heads at the same time!! Let's get on the train!! The first one that comes by!! We will go where ever it is heading. We grin and high five each other. Another blue blaze special for us!! Then we notice the train schedule posted on a bulletin board. It is Sunday and there are several trains we could catch. Instead of going wherever, we decide to go to New York City for dinner and a movie. And of course a motel to get cleaned up!! We have time before the next rain to eat, so down the highway we go to Tony's Deli. Cold Gatorade, hot cheeseburgers and frozen ice cream. Life is sweet! Along comes hiker Bear Magnet from our past and joins us for lunch. We sit outside at a picnic table under a shade tree and catch each other up on our trail stories. I have never walked as far as many times as I have this trip for food. Not great food I might add, just regular greasy hamburgers and colas. It is funny how your tastes change out here! We walk back to the train station and sit down in the shade to wait. There are several other hikers just hanging out and we visit with them. Before long here comes a train, it is going the wrong way for us, but it slows down and comes to a stop in front of us. The door opens and out steps a uniformed conductor. He asks us if we want to come in and enjoy the air conditioning. We tell him thanks but we are going to the city. He tells us to climb aboard that this is the train we need, we will just be able to ride it to the end instead of catching it on the way back. Within seconds he is helping us up the steps and taking our packs for us! The car is wonderfully cool. With our packs in the seats beside us we are traveling at a high rate of speed with very little effort on our part. Of course we are headed south instead of north, but the lure of the big city is too much for us. We take this blue blaze side trip just because we can. The attendent is fascinated with our stories, and we hear his story of being stuck on the train when the black out occured. Grand Central Station!!! How many times have I used those words to describe my life when my children were small. Espescially when I had foster children that gave me 4 thirteen year olds!! I had to make a concerted effort to keep my mouth closed as I tried to take in the sights and sounds. Then there was Times Square with all of it's glory. Lights and people. Shops and traffic. It was almost too much for this country bumpkin! I have never seen so many people in my life. Scurrying here and there with cell phones stuck to their ears or headphones filling their ears with music. It was incredible to think that here I was. Not even in my dreams would I have thought of being here. I think if we had of planned it, it would not have been so good. This was like a big suprize you give yourself!! We found a hotel and luckily a room. The price was not even a terrible bargain, but the water was hot and the bed was clean. Dinner was a Japanese afare. Mudbutt convinced me to try her varieties of Sushi. Bless her heart, she was not embarrased when I asked for silver ware or wanted sugar for my hot Jasmine tea and butter for my rice. My teriyaki was the most beautiful meal i have ever seen. The plus side to that was that it was good as well. We strolled along the street until we found a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream shop. What a great dessert!! We found a theater and it looked like Mudbutt was finally going to see Charlie's Angels. She went in to buy tickets while I waited outside and stared at the street scenes. She came back glum. Charlie's Angels had been cancelled. We settle for Open Range with Kevin Costner. It was supposed to be a western romance. I don't know what happened but we found ourselves laughing hysterically during the serious love scene. The more we laughed the more the audiance laughed with us until we were all in tears.Back in out motel room, I called home. Poor Papermaker could not beleive we were in the city. He said there was no way. Finally convinced we were telling him the truth, he asked me if I was going to finish the trail this year. That is a good question. I do not know. Time is running away faster than we are hiking. I do know this, whenever I am through hiking, I will be able to make this statement with complete and total honestly, "My hike has been everything I could have ever imagined and so much more."total miles 3