Date: 2004-04-24
From: unnamed summit

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 21.5

To demonstrate how tiring 21.5 miles is, I am actually writing this journal on a Sunday morning. Yesterday I fell asleep at 8:30pm. Yesterday was a mixed bag, but none the less a successful day. 21.5 is my longest day yet. I started like yesterday, hiking over flowered covered mild slopes with Pegasus and Francois. After 1.5 miles I continued to hike on by myself until I reached the first of 3 climaxes for the day: Jones Falls.Jones Falls were on a 1-tenth of a mile side trail. I reached them about 9am. They were spectacular! A huge cascade rolling over the rocks with flowering trees all around. I dipped my head in the wather, woo-hoo! This wasn't enough, so I climbed the rocks halfway up to the fall. The climb was tough though short, with one point with few holds. My friends Matt and Jenny are climbers and would be proud Then I went up under the cascade and drenched myself. It felt great under the sun. I slipped and slid down 4 feet but caught myself No sliding down waterfalls for Beatbox today. After some pictures I hiked on with Bonnie, Clyde, and FireMarshall toward Climax #2.About 15 minutes after the fall I was drying off and picking up my pace when i heard someone say the "s-word", snake. As I looked to the right I screamed like a girl and nearly pooped myself: A 6 foot long black snake was on the side of the trail I had breezed by within 3 inches of it. All 4 of us were shocked. Myself and Bonnie were passed it and soon after Clyde and Fire Marshall darted by unscathed. My heart was pounding like a drum. We concurred taht the snake was not poisonous and probably a rat snake. From that point we hiked on sharing stories of snake scares. Personally I overturned a rock at a statepark as a child and my Dad grabbed me away from a Copperhead. I've been less than a fan of snakes ever since.We hiked through 6 easy miles near a fairly large creek cluttered iwth the beauty of flowers everywhere. I saw more yellow, white and purple violets as well as ragwort. I also saw pink flowres that I believe are called milkwort. Soon I reached another small set of falls and changed pace. I decided to carry a fast pace (run) with Tinker. In about an hour we covered over 4 miles. I was tired but it was fun. 10 miles down, 11 to go.The next 5 miles were rough. The landscape went up and down like a rollercoaster and we passed the same stream like 20 times. My feet hurt and I was tired from the run. My pace could be described as a trudge. I fell behindk and hiked alone. At one point I stepped on a lose rock and fell face first into a slope. I survived with no major injuries and pushed on. By the time I fell into the shleter at 3:30 I was dead, but I was determined to make it to the hostel. Little did I know God had a nice idea for how to mush me one in store.At the Shelter, a nice hiker gave me water so I did not have to walk... I was so happy! Of course I did still have to walk 6 miles to the hostel. By 4pm I set out and told Tinker to walk ahead. At this point I was struggling with the pain of severe chaffing I looked like a duck when walking because I was trying to avoid pain. It was almost as thought I was pretending to ride a horse for the last 6 miles, so that my legs would not touch. I wish I could have seen just how ridiculous I looked walking in this manner. In general I use vaseline to counteract chafing, but not for this form of chafing: "Swamp*ss". Swamp *ss is chaffing of not only upper legs but also the butt. All I could think were thoughts of: "6 miles more and my butt won't burn" and "bow-legged people walk like this all the time". So, through the chaffing, I proceded with 2 miles between myself and Kincora hostel. At Kincora I knew a shower and Aloe would await to aleviate the pain.After 2 miles I had crossed one mountain and had one more to traverse. I was even beginning to forget that hiking was quite literally becoming a "pain in my *ss". As I pushed on I saw grey skies and felt a drop of rain. It didn't seem like much, so I covered my pack but put on no raingear... I'm an idiot! Just then thunder and lightning beset me and the skies opened. A river poured down on me from the heavens and I ran like a wild man over the mountain. After being in a Tornado in College Park in 2001, I was more than a litle scared at being on a Mountain with no shelter in a thunderstorm. As I ran I just prayed for God to protect me. While running and praying I was mixed between enjoying cooling off, feeling soaked, being frightened, and somehow having fun. I just kept on running and praying. Within 20 minutes I was safely over the most exposed part of the ridge and the rain was lessening. I was no less wet than I would have been if I had jumped in a pool in full clothing. It was still raining when I saw the sun peak out of the clouds and over the brim of the mountain to set up the final climax of the day. As I was walking down the mountain soaked and thanking God for the storm, I saw a rainbow. Because of the thin amount of sunlight the rainbow was only 50 feet away and gorgeous. The libht was so close that colors were tinting the mountainside behind it. I could literally see through each color. I was overwhelmed with amazement and filled with hope. From this point on the fianl 3 miles were a breeze. It started raining again but I di not care. I felt so happ and blessed.At 7pm I arrived at the Hostel. I was beat and so I immediatley took a shower and did laundry. The shower was ao nice and it had aloe There were notes for me in the register and gifts in the fridge. In the fridge I found my flower book, slim jims from Marzipan, and 3 empty Deers from Tarzan.I was in shock that someone would not only drink my beer, but then leave me the empties. It really upset me in my tired state. Hey Bob (Santa the Jerk), Quiet Guy, and Syracuse were here too. We co-exist together, but Hey Bob and I have never been best friends by any means. None-the-less I actually enjoyed speakeing with Hey Bob and a hiker named "Pipe-smoke", but I dropped out by 9 pm. Despite stolen beer , I had an awesome day! I saw a gorgeous rainbow, splashed in watherfalls, saw a snake and walked like a duck. I even got to talk on the phone with my dad about baseball and the family To my friends at home: I love you!(6 more days until email)God Bless, Beatbox ttt