Date: 2011-06-15
From: Pavillion, Port Clinton

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: few clouds

(In which I play Settlers of Catan and order food from the shelter)In the morning Tiger offers to provide the iPod if I provide the speaker, so we all listen to middle eastern beats as we eat breakfast and pack up.At the first shelter I see Checker who is still lying down in his sleeping bag. "Are you OK?" I ask. "Are you sick?" He waits a moment before replying. "I'm not sick. I'm just through with hiking." He's initially vague about what's wrong, and when I pry he launches into a string of conspiracy theories. He talks about the congressional representatives on C-SPAN sending him veiled messages and then breaking session when the president sent them a hand written note. "The president didn't want me hearing the messages." Checker says this without humor, just the depressed resignation of someone who has given up trying to understand a sad and confusing world.I've heard that Checker is a self described paranoid schizophrenic, but this is the first time I've seen evidence of it first hand. I feel bad for Checker, who despite suffering from mental illness has always treated other people with kindness and generosity. I think back to a story I heard of when Twigg was midway through the four state challenge and thinking of quitting the challenge, his spirits low. Checker cajoled Twigg into continuing, telling him at every break that he may as well at least hike another mile or two before calling for a ride to pick him up, until they both finished the challenge, successful. I try to convince Checker to hike on at least to the next overlook, but I'm unable to lift his spirits. When I leave him he's still in his sleeping bag, thinking that he might start hiking south to avoid the Homeland Security agents waiting for him in New York. I hope that he gets the help he needs and that he can continue his hike, but as I'm convinced that he poses no danger to himself or others, it will be up to him to seek treatment.I meet Mehap again when he catches up early in the day. His father's double knee replacement surgery went well, I'm glad to hear, and Mehap got back on the trail this morning. We hang out at the first lookout, where Tom and Tiger are chatting with two day hikers. We all plan to do a 15 mile day to another enclosed shelter with electricity and pizza delivery, so we have plenty of time to sit and enjoy the view. Tiger walks a few feet away and turns his back to pee and we tease him about using thru-hiker etiquette in front of the day hikers and I think of the contrast with the modesty of my friends from civilization. In a few miles there's an even better view so we all hang out there too, and I even have time to read a chapter of my book while sitting in the shade.The shelter is a small but serviceable shack next to the caretaker's house, and has a solar shower and privy nearby. Muggle and Survivor Man are at the shelter and have already eaten dinner, but when they hear that a pizza shop will deliver to the shelter if we meet the $30 minimum, they decide they have room for some milkshakes and garlic bread. We end up ordering food for seven, and it takes a good half an hour to write down the order (Muggle), call it in (Tom), then tally each person's bill with tax and tip and collect the money (me) so it will be ready when the driver comes.We play Settlers of Catan on Mehap's nifty (and lightweight) felt board that his sister made him, and listen to music from Tom's Zune on my speaker until the speaker battery finally dies. I figure that we got a total of 2-3 hours of battery life at a decent volume, which would be pretty good if I can recharge it once or twice from my battery pack between towns. Since the caretaker's house has outdoor outlets, I take the opportunity to recharge the speaker and top off my other gadgets. The felt Settlers board works great, the felt-on-felt pieces good for not blowing away, and we call the game only on account of pizza delivery.Sherpa (the girl), Chopper and Timber all show up just before the food, so we each share some of our pizza, garlic bread and soda. I'm surprised to see Timber again, since the slow train usually means that if I don't see someone for a few days they're gone for good. (Cayenne, who I think was joking when she worried about not seeing the slow train again after she took a zero in Duncannon, is now more than a week ahead.) Timber tells us about the amazing time he had meeting a family of Mennonites and staying on their farm for two days, kayaking and eating copious amounts of delicious, hand grown food. He speaks reverently about the two days, and I think back to our night with Tammy, and how chance encounters with locals can lead to some of the best trail experiences, especially when you have friends to share them with.