Date: 2003-08-16
From: North Conway

To: North Conway
Miles today: 0.0

Our day of rest started off by sleeping until nine oclock¢¦. Not bad¢¦ I¢m jhoping this time off will help Wench and I hike safe and strong together through the last and best section of our hike, Gorham, New Hampshire to Katahdin, Maine (it should take us about a month). Wench has a wedding to go to in September (on the 6th), so she will be off for a few days. But we will finish the hike together, because I can¢t imagine doing it any other way. So when she takes time off for the wedding, I¢ll take time off too (maybe get some beauty sleep, eat a lot, nap, eat again, nap, go to the movies, you get the picture. Wench surprised me back after Moosilauke, when I went to town to go to the doctor and she came with me. I figured at the time that she would hike on and I would catch up later. But here we are in Gorham, and still hiking together! We¢ll get there, and we WILL see a moose along the way (maybe¢¦ OK, I never did see one¢¦ sigh¢¦ but I was thinking positive about it!), and maybe a bear too (Grrrr¢¦¢¦ it wasn¢t meant to be¢¦). Maybe we can get Suzie to pray for us (hmmm I must have forgotten to ask..), it worked for the weather in the whites (the man upstairs definitely listens to that woman)¢¦ Today we rest, tomorrow we hike, the best is yet to come, I want to slow down and enjoy it. OK, now for a subject that is near and dear to my heart, Trail angels. In particular, the queen of the White mountains Suzie Buchanan. She is such a friendly, fun sweet woman, she makes you feel welcome physically and spiritually. She is the Rector/Priest/Reverend (sorry, I forget how they all fit together) of Christ Church Episcopal in North Conway, NH. Can you call her the Reverend ¢Mother¢, since men are called Reverend, and ¢Father¢? I¢m not sure, but she answers to anything, Including ¢Spike¢. She is a hiker, a friend to hikers, and a friend to everyone through her church. We met her as a ¢person¢ first, not a Priest, so it was easy to feel comfortable around her, she was one of us. I could see that if we met under different circumstances, like if I met her as a priest first, it would have been harder to get to know her as a person. It¢s funny, it would be the same great person, but the frame of reference would be different, so the result would be different. But as it stands now, her house is our house, we feel so at home here. Wench and I will leave tomorrow, but a part Suzie will be traveling with us (as Ted has been since Springer). I¢ll be taking her smile and her sense of humor with me to keep me going when the trail gets tough. Our zero day in North Conway was relaxing, we got our naps in, journaled, watched TV, and went out for a burger and ice cream (again). Suzie preached at a church in (I think) Crawford Notch while we were here, and I really wanted to go and hear her do her thing, to get to know the other Suzie a little, but I was smelly and tired so I rested instead. This was the one thing I regretted missing while I was in town, I really wanted to see what the Priestly side of Suzie was like, she has such a passion for her calling, it would have been moving¢¦ At least I got to sit and talk to her for a bit after her service. But the past is past, and we must move on. Hopefully this rest recharged our batteries for the final push through Maine. Life is good!