Date: 2004-04-10
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 14.3

How enjoyable it is to hike only 14.3 miles! I think I should do it more often but I would almost feel lazy and I would have a lot of hours of daylight left to fill. Today¢s hike was beautiful and followed with lots of landmarks, making it go fast. Seven miles to the first shelter, another 2 miles to an 1890 schoolhouse, another 2 to a road crossing with a DQ and a home style restaurant, then another 2 or so to the shelter I¢m staying the night at. First, I stopped at the DQ for a deeeelightfu icecream treat, at this point on the trail a DQ sign brings pure delight. Kind of like the whole Pavlov's dog thing....mouth salivating, etc. Then I thought what the heck, it's not too far to the shelter and it's still early so off I went to the homestyle restaurant for a chicken burger and grilled cheese. Tasty, greasy goodness, just what every hiker likes.I felt like I was walking through people¢s backyards today; roads and little farmhouses were everywhere. The green rolling hills are a nice change of scenery and my feet feel happy walking through them. There¢s not much in the way of wild animals but cows and horses were out in abundance. The last 2 or 3 miles today were tough because there was a bit of a climb and I have 5 days food in my pack. The funny thing is that my pack even with all the food is light compared to some of the others out here. One guy carries MRE's (army food), which is convenient but crazy heavy. Another guy carries 10 days of food or so but stops in towns every few days or so. So he never has an easy day or two because he always carries 5 days of food into town. Other people carry 2 extra carabineers and other miscellaneous crap. It looks like torture. If I double my weight and carry 50 pounds like they do I possibly would have dropped out after a week. In some ways I admire them because they are still hanging in there and some are even doing big miles. It is 6:15 and I¢m alone at the shelter, which is nice. It is peaceful. Haiku and Mello are doing a few more miles before dark so they don¢t have such a big day tomorrow but I felt tired and decided to stay here. I think Brair Rabbit may show up but that should be it for tonight. This will mean a good night¢s sleep! One guy that I have been traveling with on and off is an out-of-control snorer! Earplugs are futile to combat it. Yet he insists on sleeping in shelters every night. This has not made him very many friends on the trail because no one wants to hike with him when they won¢t get a good night¢s sleep. He¢s half a day ahead now and hopefully it will stay that way! Of course I could set up my hammock but I¢m usually tired and lazy at the end of the day. In an ideal world all the crazy snorers would set up their tents and then everybody would be happy but of course this rarely happens. I think idealists very soon become pragmatists on the trail. It¢s hard not to when everyday you have to deal with the most basic things in life. Staying warm and dry, eating when you¢re hungry, getting a good night¢s sleep, seeing the worst in yourself and others when bad days come.Tomorrow is another milestone: 14 of the trail is finished! How it seems like yesterday when we noted that we had 1/10th, then 1/7th, then 14. Time is flying by! Virginia so far has seemed like kind of a blur. I am happy I am doing this journal so at least I have something tangible at the end to help me remember names and places. Maybe it will make me miss the trail even more when I¢m done but I guess that¢s better then just forgetting.WOW! This is what happens when I am alone at shelters with nothing to do. I just keep writing and writing and writing. But now I have nothing more to say.JB ¢ ¢Tell