Date: 2006-04-29
From: Gravel Spring Hut

To: Compton Gap
Miles today: 9.6

This morning I got up at 5:45am and was amazed that there was enough light to see by. At this point, more than a month and a half before the solstice, there are 15 hours (5:45am-8:45pm) with enough light to hike or sit around without a flashlight. As I approach June 21 and as I go north, there should be more than 16 hours of light.After packing up my gear, I headed back on the trail. Because the park continued to be so flat and free of rocks, I made it to Terrapin Station Hostel at 10 am. Mike the ¢Grateful Greenpeace Guy¢ wasn¢t at home (he was at a health fair clinic), however, his friend Greg was home and was able to give me a ride to town.It was really amazing how many people were at the post office. It took me 15 minutes just to get to the counter and another 5 minutes for the clerk to find my package. Greg was so nice and let me stop and pick up an order at Wendy¢s on the way back. I got my usual: a #6 spicy chicken combo biggie-sized with a Dr. Pepper and 3 junior hamburgers. Wendy¢s has to be my favorite fast food restaurant.A little while after we returned, Mike came home. His appearance was much like what I had expected: long hair and casual clothing. Talking, we found that we had a lot in common. We both love the scouting program. Mike was a professional scouter for 15 years. He also has a HUGE Boy Scout patch collection. Mike wished that he could have stayed and chatted longer, but he was going to a Boy Scout convention which he has been going to every year for decades. He isn¢t going to be back until after midnight. A few minutes after Mike left, B-Man pulls up. B-Man thru-hiked in past years. It was this year that he walked from his home in Pittsburgh to Harper¢s Ferry via some bike trail. What makes B-Man so unique is that he carries a hockey stick with him everywhere he hikes. Apparently, he coaches a hockey team. He made a bet with his team and lost, so he had to carry the stick with him during his thru-hike. Since then, he has been carrying it on every hike. B-Man says that it has more than 15,000 miles on it After B-Man returned from the general store and I had taken my shower, we watched TV together. I had never watched hockey or NASCAR racing, so I learned a lot of new things like what a powerplay was and what bump-drafting is.At about 5pm, when we were going to order pizza, Medicine Man ( a section-hiker) arrived. He offered to bring us into town for dinner. B-Man remembered eating at a Mexican restaurant and amazingly, was able to find it on his first try. No wrong turns when Medicine man asked ¢left, right or straight.¢ The food was good, but what food not prepared by you isn¢t good?On the way back we stopped at a gas station so we could get some coffee (well actually I got vanilla spice chai).Somehow we got into a discussion about world politics, and medicine man told us that he has a theory that he discusses in a 2-hr lecture. He began the lecture in the car and it continued onto the porch when we returned. Medicine Man believes that there is a flaw in MAD. He believes that China, Russia and the EU want to completely annihilate us with nuclear weapons in order that they can take over our farmland. He cited examples how China is building an extensive underground bomb shelter that can hold the entire population of a city. He believes this is preparation for nuclear war. He then told us that the 2nd amendment and building a bomb shelter are the only two ways to protect ourselves. To me, his theory sound simply preposterous since we are an integral part of the global economy. Well, after such an interesting lecture, it is time to go to bed.