Date: 2010-06-16
From: Powerline 1077.2

To: Stream 1103.5
Miles today: 26.3

Wow-ie! What a day! It¢s been such a fun day that I¢ll honor the occasion by writing this entry backwards in time. I¢m currently writing with my ass hanging out, virtually naked in my tent. Only my sleeping bag is dry, and I¢m not sure how long that will last. I had to use my last dry bandanna to blot dry my aching, chaffed butt crack. It¢s feeling better because I applied my Goldbond/Monkey Butt Powder in the brief moment between a lag in the rainstorm I got caught in today. The sunlight peering through the trees like a spot-light to see the magnificently hilarious joke God played on my sore behind. He must have wanted to get a good view of what he¢d done. The rainstorm ended with me crouching, waddling like a duck and spreading my ass checks apart because of the friction burns. I must have reminded the Old Man of an early Homo erectus because I was hunched over as I walked. I tried holding one ass cheek (left) apart. I tried holding the other ass cheek (right) apart. I tried holding both ass cheeks apart. Thank God I was alone. I had to get water, I told myself so I kept walking through the pouring rain. Before my tail went ablaze my new ¢waterproof¢ shoes were like a walking puddle of mud. Complete Failure. The big bad thru-hiker had to get his shoes to look worn and dingy, couldn¢t stand all the comments about¢¦¢Oh, you¢re wearing ¢NEW¢ boots!¢ I¢ll keep walking in the rain I told myself.I didn¢t want to walk 0.4m to get water at James Faye Shelter so I just had to test those ever darkening clouds above me. Felt so good at the shelter that I entered the lyrics, ¢I never complain, I never ask why! Please don¢t let me dreams run dry!¢ I wrote that, ¢I love this! Do you hear me!? I said I LOVE THIS!!!¢ just before finishing dinner at the James Faye Shelter.Practically floated up the trail from Pine Grove Park. Didn¢t take a shower there because I¢m a big bad HALFWAY there thru-hiker, but I got a shower after all! Wait, that¢s in the future, I¢m writing backwards here. I made the observation that my farts sounded like Donald Duck drowning in a pool of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I¢m really surprised that my guts held up and I actually felt good after downing a 12 gallon of ice cream. What a crappy spoon! I expected better for my efforts. Actually ate a cheese burger afterward. The ice cream was easy, 18 minutes! Ha! I bet the documentary guy¢¦he took 45 minutes. He filmed me eating my cheeseburger and asked me questions while I finished my 12 gallon of ice cream. Mint Chocolate Chip!The AT museum is open! Bob Peoples should have his own wing. He should at least have a greek bust of himself in there. The AT ridge-runner was telling me that there¢s a severe thunderstorm warning for this afternoon but I¢ve heard that before. (Haha, this backwards thing is fun! You idiot!)I was so excited to get to the Pine Grove Furnace store! All I had to eat for lunch was a snickers bar, so I was hungry. Couldn¢t help but wonder if I¢d get sick eating all that ice cream. It took forever to get a good picture with my disabled camera. Took a photo in front of the AT mid-point! My needle doubles as my camera tool now, I have to stick it in the hole where the button was.Passed a completely blind hiker. He¢s hiking the trail with ¢No assistance¢ but he¢s got a guy following him with a video camera. They¢re making a documentary and filming the whole thing. Maybe I¢ll make the cut and be in the movie!Passed a huge group of girl scouts that have been moving at about 5 miles per day according to the shelter registers. Lots of thru-hiker encounters with the large group of young ladies.Walking along today through the cool grass sticking out into the path, I kept putting my hand out and touching the seeds. The cold water felt so good on my hands as I brushed the pine needles. Felt amazing this morning! Moved almost to tears because I¢ve started to feel like I¢m finding my purpose here in this life. I¢ve spent the last 7 years of my life as a Pharmer. Plowing for someone else. Hoping to make a difference but not really seeing it with my own eyes. I think I want to be a Shepard. Weird as it sounds, I want to help people in a more personal way. I don¢t mean I want to be a cult leader or a pastor, I just want to play a more active role in helping people. Black sheep. I¢d like to use my brain and influence to make other peoples lives better. A teacher or a foster parent. Use my mind instead of my back, working the fields of labor. I like these kids out here with their bright eyes and dreams, I¢d like to help them grow up and not become wolves or to be harmed by wolves. I met a father walking behind three of his children today. The kids were wearing trash bags for rain covers, their hair covered by dingy bandannas, and even the boy had long hair. The father was walking behind them and reading from a children book as entertainment. He told me, ¢You gotta keep them occupied!¢ as he looked up from the book pages as he passed by me. I told him, ¢Way to go man, great job!¢Hiked this morning with half opened eyes for what seemed like 3 hours. After such a long day yesterday I slept incredibly hard. Whippoorwills didn¢t even phase me. Fell asleep staring up at my one man tent ceiling, smiling after reading all of Lish¢s letters. Averi¢s picture made me think of the sunset at the Penn-Mar Park.