Date: 2004-10-11
From: Bear's Den hostel

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Well, here I go again. I made a nice and LONG post and puff.....it dissappeared. Really annoyed me! I finished the roller coaster. Not as bad as I thought. It was annoying with lots of ups and downs and it definately slowed me down but mostly I don't understand the hype. ALTHOUGH, had I not been trail hardened it would have been tough. I spent the night at The David Lesser shelter. Beautiful place with a front deck and seperate eating and cooking pavillion with a swing. The water was a pain though.....25 mile DOWN. ughhhhhh. Met some great folks that day though. Togdor and knife and arm bone....three kids and a Dad. They were great fun and I even shared some hotdogs with them. Mmmmmmm. They were just out for a day hike but with soooo much food. I love those kind of day hikers! :-) Then there was Gabe the yellow lab and TJ and Earl and Roger and Bill. Did I get those names right??? Three old guys and a son in law....expecting triplets. Can you imagine??? They came down from Harpers Ferry. They were a great bunch of guys with great stories. Anyhow it was a tad chilly....especially when we left the appalachian tv. I had all my clothes on and hopped in my sleeping bag. About three o'clock in the morning I woke up just frozen.....and every bone in my body hurt. And the wind was howling. I sat up and thought...."I'm going home".   It was that easy. I had been struggling with the, should I go home or should I stay thing. And now it was as clear as a bell. I was going home and I felt great about it. Yep, the cold got me. I hate being cold.....especially when I know it is just going to get colder. I told the guys in the morning I was leaving and Earl had had enough from the night before and was going back to Harpers Ferry. He asked if he could walk with me. Of course he could! It was kind of a slow walk for me but pleasant. Earl looked like he was hurting by the time we got to Harpers Ferry. We went to the Appalachian trail conference and I signed in and got my picture taken. The woman called me a section hiker.....I said well, I guess it's official now....and she said, "yep, it's official." I called H and we found a bus station and schedule. At first she didn't sound too happy. I think I just shocked her with my sudden decision. Earl was nice enough to give me a ride to Frederick Maryland where the bus station was. That was a fine piece of navigating Earl! Everything worked out just great.....the bus station was brand new, the woman at the bus station saved me about five hours by getting me on an earlier bus....the bus wasn't crowded. Agreat way to finish. For this year. I will definately finish this thing next year. I am so excited about it! So, my grand total miles is 1302.5 I figured from a map that I could have walked from Cleveland to Denver Colorado.....not bad huh? I have 800 and something to go. Piece of cake huh??? ;-)Oh, and the woman on the bus going to Detroit.....GET YOUR Mammogram!!!!Now's the time I need to thank everyone. What can I say??? I could NOT have done this without Harriette. Just could not have done it.....period! And Larry...he drove me nuts in SNP but I bet it would have been impossible without him starting with me. Sherry Jeff and Sam and Henry.....how could I have hiked without having a good home for Sassy???? And a sister who would drive a few hours just to pcik up her tired wet smelly sister??? And Mom and Dad....great packages! And Dad when you said you were proud of me....well, I can't tell you how much that meant to me. Everyone who sent me packages and notes....thanks soooo much. And thanks to all my docs....especially Dr. Rooney....how could I have done this without you???? Cancer is a bitch BUT.....not sure I could have done this with out that initial push. The cancer was a blessing for me.How about everyone I hiked with??? And all the trail angels. Shoe and Yogi and Clogger and Piggy and.....K-bear and Gary and Doosie.....I have had the most amazing experiences! I have learned so much int he last six months....about myself....about the goodness in people....about how life is really kindof simple. About joy and dispair and working through the pain....what an amazing time. And just think...in the spring I get to keep doing it! Wooooohooooo. Stay tuned for more picture uploads in the next few weeks. Woohooooooooo. Life is good!