Date: 2005-10-11
From: Summit of Mt. Katahdin

To: The Gathering
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I am back home, almost seven months since I left back on March 12. What a journey it has been! I ended up staying at Tink's for the entire time before going to the Gathering in Hanover. While there we made a road trip to Mass. for the weekend and we did a couple of walks. Walks to us now consist of a 3.5 mile loop through the woods around her house. I can't say enough about the kindness of her family. Great people! People that opened their home to someone they didn't know, though we did get to know each other in the 8 days I was there . Thank you both so much, for having me! It was a pleasure to meet you and I have a feeling we will see each other again. On the 4th, Gypsy and Touk made their way from Maine to Tink's house. Seeing them again was great! We all knew the inevitable was coming, everyone splitting up, but we were enjoying our time together till then. Friday, we headed to Hanover. Of course the weather decides to take a change for the worse. We have had excellent weather for the last few days! Now that we are going to be camping again it decides to get nasty on us and it looks like it is going to stay nasty all weekend. Oh well, we are thru hikers and we can deal with it. Not! We were complaining the whole day! We headed to the campsite when we got to Hanover and got ourselves registered for the Gathering. People were starting to show up and we ran into Treetrunks, Slap Happy, Stilts, Domino, Roamer, Camel, and Sunshine. We headed to Area 5, soon to become Area 51, where Billville was set up. There, we met up with Jester, Baltimore Jack, Bag 'o' Tricks, Chomp, Blister Sister, Angus, and Redneck. They all congratulated us on finishing our hikes. It was great to see everyone and the party began! We set up our tents during a lull in the rain and then gathered under the pavillion. There was music, food, drink, and the festivities continued to the wee hours of the morning. More people came during the afternoon and evening; Crazy Legs, Low Bridge, Professor Nutbag, Brother Buzz, Bearcans, Clearwater, Lightning, PA Mule, The Garland 5, Thunder, Fancy Pants, Goosebump, the Sequin Sisters, Patch, Fester, Mouth, and more. We had quite the showing of the class of '05 appear and it was a fun night. A fun night till morning! The rain had continued all night and when I woke up my tent was an island in a large puddle. I had managed to stay dry but Tink, Gypsy and Touk had gotten soaked. They ended up moving to the pavillion to sleep sometime during the night. I had to open my big mouth and say that I stayed dry! For that, I was shoved off the picnic table by Tink! The rain continued and we all headed into town to catch some of the various workshops that were going on during the day. There were a whole lot of workshops and seminars on various trails around the world.Tink and I went to one on the West Highland Way in Scotland. That was one we had been talking about doing. That or the Camino de Santiago in Spain.We told the rest of the group we would meet up with them later that day and attend the session for the PCT. The PCT discussion was well attended! if things go according to plan there will be a bunch of us from this year out there in '08. One thing is for sure, I, if nobody else goes, will definitely be going, but I know Tink and Touk are pretty committed to it also. The rain never stopped! All day and into the night. It got colder as the evening approached and we all hungout under the pavilion back at the campground. By now, all our tents were swimming so everyone found a place in the pavillion to toss there bags down. By 11:30 most of our crew was asleep but the festivities continued till much later. Sunday morning came and it was still raining, not as hard and it looked like it might actually stop. We all had planned on hanging out till Monday before we left but, with the weather, plans changed. We all had found rides to various points closer to home so we decided to head out today. We went back into town for the group photo and then reality set in. The goodbyes began. For our group, it was tough, real tough. We had become close in the last 8 weeks. Together 24/7, knowing each others moods and quirks. Hell, it was getting to the point where Tink could read me like a book! That was becoming more than a little scary! It is a family out there and you have those close to you and those that are your friends. No matter what, we will always have the bond of the trail. I also know that many of us will hike again in the near future, but, for now, the journey has come to an end. I plan on one more update as well as some picture entries. Not to mention some editing to fix up some typos. Hopefully I get the next entry up tomorrow.