Date: 2007-06-12
From: YMCA Campground

To: Shenendoah Baby!
Miles today: 0.0

This is my first journal entry of my A.T. thru hike. I haven't hiked today so I attempt to sum up the trail for me thus far. We are about to hike into the Shenendoah national park this evening. So far, this trip as been far and beyond anything I had expected both psychologically and physically. To be honest, I was not enjoying the first couple of weeks on the trail. I had started in a set of trail runners that simply did not fit the bill. I replaced them with a set that only lasted weeks due to foot growth. In other words, my feet called the union and almost went on strike. Truly a painful experience. In addition, I am an individual that lives to ride a bike. I plan my life around riding. The thought of being on a beautiful trail without wheels beneath me was agonizing. Walking downhill on the trail certainly induced daydreams of ripping corners at mach speed with an enormous grin. Quite frankly, this made me sad. Coupled with intense foot pain, these feelings made me question my motives for hiking the trail. Much to my surprise, those feelings have since subsided. Georgia, North Carolina, and the smokies were amazing. Virginia has been unbelievable. On that note, I learned not to believe a single word that comes out of a thru hiker's mouth. For instance, VA is neither easy nor boring. VA blues? Where and how? I don't understand this, as the Georgia boys would say, JIBBAH JABBAH! If a thru hiker tells you something, wait until you see it for yourself. Realistically, this applies to everyday life. Perception is certainly your own and I have found mine is much more positive that most. The hikers are certainly thinning out at this point. Many due to poor planning and some simply due to the trail kicking their ass. This endevour is certainly not easy! The trail appears to be persistant agony sprinkled with pockets of pure bliss. It is has always been said that the trail is a place to find ones "self." I thought that I had my "self" pretty much nailed down. The amount of reflection nature provides should never be underestimated. Never before have I had the opportunity to sift through my thoughts in a way that this trail has provided. One thing in particular that has surprised me is how proud I am to be from Maine. Never before had I identified myself with where I am from. To outsiders, we appear to be a tougher breed. I have heard it countless times. I am not sure if this is true. It doesn't matter, if it feels true. I have never been more proud to be a Mainer in all my life. Several conversations have been about how we have the upper hand on finishing as we are heading home. The goal(northern terminus) just happens to be my favorite place in the world. Before I left there were swirling thoughts about what I would miss this summer. Hiking Katahdin was one of them. Of course, it hit me...I am going to climb it this year. In fact, I have found that I cannot think about the mountain without getting teary eyed. I can think of no more a fitting end to this journey than that mountain. Katahdin is always a goal of mine. Now, it means so much more. More than words can describe. Likely, I will cry then entire way up the Hunt trail. Five point four miles of sobbing. A grown man, a Marine, a thru hiker crying like a baby. Oh yeah, it will happen. So with thoughts of my favorite place dancing throughout my psyche, I am contantly encountering amazing views and extremely wonderful people. Stories that could not be made up if you tried are lived out on a daily basis. It would take me forever to tell just half of them. One stands out in my mind as unique that I feel obligated to share. Jungle Gym, Stonewall and I had been hiking with a wonderful couple going by the names of Fireball and Sleeping Beauty. We all had just hiked through the section that included Macafees Knob and the Tinker cliffs. This section is spectacular because of the views and unique geology in the area. We had planned on camping au savage(an Uncle Tom term) that evening to get a good jump on Troutville the next morning. As I came into the campsite I could see that a fire was already started. Certainly, this was nice to see. As I got a bit closer, I noticed Fireball was laid out on his military issue ISO mat. Sleeping beauty was nelt down beside him and tells me that he burned himself pretty bad. There was an sense of calm in her voice that made me think that they were actually playing a joke. "No," she says, "he burned himself pretty badly." He wasn't saying anything. I still didn't believe her. Moments later, he grunted with an unmistakeable painful tone. Immediately, I started assessing the situation. "I think I can make it through the night." He says. "The hell you are! We are getting you out of here right now." I tell him. If he couldn't walk, we were going to use some good ol Marine and American and dare I say Yankee ingenuity to fashion something to carry him out of there. By our guestimations, we were five miles from Troutville. A long distance at night for someone tired, let alone burned. So we packed up his items. He started walking ahead of us to get a head start. I took his pack with most of his belongings in it. "What are you doing?" Jungle Gym says. "Taking his stuff." I say. "Oh no, give me more of his gear." He says. He took out more items as Stonewall walks into what is already an intresting situation. Of course, he offered to take some of his gear as well. Sleeping Beauty was manning the Cell phone alerting the authorities to the situation so they would be ready when we got there. We extinguished the fire and took off after him. Obviously in pain, he started to get lightheaded. Not wanting to be carried for reasons that were certainly his own, he had to stop. Fireball was entering into what appeared to be shock. We made him as comfortable as possible. Once again, my trusty poncho liner came through in a pinch. We gave the EMTs our GPS coordinates and waited. Luckily, we got Fireball talking about whatever while Sleeping Beauty(his fiancee)cradled his upper body and talked to him as well. He remained calm and never lost his sense of humor. During the couple hours it took for the rescue crew to reach us, the situation went from bad to damn near enjoyable. We were all joking, laughing and having a ball. We got his whole life story and actually was keeping US entertained! His pain went from a 8-9 to a 4. He was able to walk out with the rescue crew to the Kabota ATV that was waiting for him. Being a volunteer firefighter(in addition to Marine and Army Ranger) he sheepishly joked about never living the situation down. It was a riot. Of course, we all turned down rides to the vehicles(we must like walking)and Off to the hospital he went. What makes this experience stand out in my mind was not simply the scenario itself. I was amazed at how well five people that had really just met came together in the face of adversity and a possible disasterous situation. Sleeping Beauty put on an exhibition of love and caring. It was beautiful to see to say the least. Apparently they could not wait to get married as they eloped just three days ago. What a wonderful story. This trail has been amazing. The views, people...simply amazing. More to come later...I have to devour some pizza!