Date: 2009-09-02
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Miles today: 0.0

It's been a whole week since S-Day. That's just crazy talk if you ask me! A few weeks ago, Wags and I decided we'd write some post-hike entries to give you an idea of what life is like after you summit. Weird, that's been the first word that comes to mind when people ask me about it. The day after we summited, Wags and I had to part ways. I'm not much for sharing my emotions with large groups of folks, but I have to say that I was really sad and upset. We stood around awkwardly inside the AT Cafe, trying to put off the inevitable. I pointed out cool AT paraphenalia, she flipped through some of "Postcards" artwork, picking out favorites. She promised to sign the ceiling tile for the both of us, and I thought it was fitting. We didn't commit to hike the trail together from the get go, but that's exactly what we did. And I was more than happy to be listed as "Wags and Gangsta, 2009." The experience would not have been the same without a trail buddy. And not just any trail buddy, but what what I referred to as a "Trail Mate" (in lieu of 'soul mate'). We are very much alike and differ in ways that make us a compatible duo. She's level-headed, calm, and never seems to get her feathers ruffled. I'm, well, a gangsta. We're both driven, strong, and goofy. It's ironic because it seems like our independent type personalities made us the perfect trail partners. We often got shocked reponses when we met day hikers and told them we met on Springer and had hiked the whole trail together. I didn't think it was that shocking, and we tried to figure out what made us such good partners. We came up with having similar expectations of what a thru-hike should be like, being equally motivated, having eerily similar hiking paces (ok, I totally slack off at the end of the day), being the same sex and age, oh, and both being badasses. Wags and I finally said our "see you laters," and me and the fam headed out to Acadia. I sat in the car with James, silent, and stared out the window. James is the type of fella who is very intuitive and he knew there was no need to talk about it - he patted my leg, said he was sorry, and drove in silence. Even now I tear up about it. We left our rental in Bangor and jumped in the car with Jellybean and my dad. The four of us had a great time in Acadia and walking around Bar Harbor. We had pizza (I only had TWO slices and was satisfied) and I drank chocolate milk (I'll always be grateful to Wag's Aunt Nancy, a nutritionist, who told me that chocolate milk is not a bad thing to drink, in moderation). Jellybean and my dad checked out a brewery, and me and James sat on a bench. We watched folks walking up and down the street, window shopping. I thought of all my friends still hiking the trail. The first few days after summitting felt like zeros. No biggie. But when it rained all day last Saturday, and we were in a hotel room in Portland while my buddies were out hiking, I felt that it really had ended. Dom (Loon's boyfriend) stopped by to hang out for a while, and it was great to see him. He updated me on how Loon's hike was going.James made me laugh really hard the other day. He had gone to visit our friends Hayden and Glenn (the other Martin's) a few weeks ago. He took a shower and used their body wash, and really liked it. So he went to the organic food store here and bought a bottle for us. "I forget what it's called, but it's awesome," he said. "I think it's Dr. something or other." I stared at him. "Dr. Brauhner's?" "Yeah, that's it!"(For the non-campers, Dr. Brauhner's is this totally organic, biodegradable soap that you can use for anything - washing your hair, body, teeth, clothes etc. And it is very popular with thru hikers. I even carried a bottle of it from North Carolina north.)After playing musical airplanes, James and I got to Atlanta on Sunday. We were only about 8 hours late. I have the worst luck when it comes to flying. Kerrie Anne picked us up at the airport and brought us back to her house where James had left his truck. She decorated the back of his truck with foam letters that read, "G Made it to Katahdin!" and signs that said, "Thru hiker on board," and "2178 miles, Yes you can rub my feet!" It was amazing! We walked up to the new house a few hours later, and I could see the dogs inside from the front steps (Daniel, who watched the dogs, was hanging out). The pups were so excited that they didn't know what to do but run circles in the yard and show off their toys. Cash, of course, tinkled a little. June just shook and shook and gave me lots of kisses. It was amazing to see them again. After living in the woods for 5.5 months, your standards for what a home should be are greatly diminished (I think "simplified" also fits in to that sentence). When I left Athens we lived in a single wide trailer. But not now. We're rocking a house in a subdivision. Like I told Wags, I felt like a character out of a Jane Austen novel - maybe those familiar with Mansfield Park know what I mean. Here I was, basically a peasant, being brought in to the home of a lord...to LIVE! James surprised me with cable, DVR, and internet. I'd been bugging him the whole trip back, "Babe, football season starts soon. We should get cable. It'll be cheaper than going out to eat to watch the games." "Eh, I don't think so." Apparently he had spread the news to my family and friends that he had cable, but they were all in on keeping it a secret. There's even a mini tv in the kitchen! And closets. We have more than one now! And a fenced in yard for the dogs. And upstairs. And downstairs. And a balcony. I felt like Ricky Bobby, not sure what to do with my hands.I took the dogs for a walk yesterday. Ok, it was suppose to be a run but my knees said, "Um, not gonna happen." I wonder how long they'll ache. It was so funny to be back on the trail that I've always taken them for a walk on. Of course, it's in the woods. When I walked out there before the trip I would day dream about thru-hiking. Yesterday I was really weirded out. "This trail is so flat! What are all those plants? They're so different from what I'm use to seeing. Listen to all the birds. And there's a loud road roaring over there." It was so familiar but so unfamiliar at the same time. Well, of course, until I came across the 5 foot black rat snake.So life is now a strange combination of both the familiar and unfamiliar. I've apparently gotten sensitive when it comes to movies. James had "Last of the Dogmen" on last night, and there was a scene where the main characters (a man and a perfectly-healthy woman) were held prisoner by Indians. The couple were being marched behind a horse and the woman fell down. "She's weak! She needs to ride. She can't walk anymore," the man yelled at his captors. I gave James 'the look' and he changed the channel. I think we ended up watching Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, so obviously my taste isn't too classy.