Date: 2004-09-07
From: Big Branch Lean-to

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I¢m in for the night after a long but fun 17 mile day. I¢m huddled up near Knuckles and Underhill and I feel like I¢m at a sleep-over party in the woods. They sky is clear and I can see thousands of stars in the opening above me. It¢s a warm, beautiful night and I am tired but blessed. I awoke later than usual and I waited so that I could hike with Underhill and Knuckles. After waking by the river and eating a honey bun, I left with my 2 friends around 8:30 a.m. As we started my body¢s creaks reminded me that I had pushed it yesterday. The morning was clearly warmer than the last few. The first 3 miles we all walked in our own little worlds. It was an easy walk with few major hills that led us to a lake on our left. I began to talk with Knuckles about money and trail magic and just how much I have been blessed. I talk about this often because the kindness of other has A) saved my hike, and B) Shown me that God is faithful to provide. I was smiling as we reached a shelter 4 miles into the day. There at the shelter we all felt a bit silly. Underhill did pull-ups on the shelter cross beam and Knuckles and I pulled ourselves up like monkeys. We laughed and played. While there we all snacked and I took a poo ¢¦these events are not connected. When we hiked on we soon began a version of the song game where you think of every song you know with a certain word in it. I was loudly singing ¢We are the World¢ as we passed an orientation group from Harvard¢¦(ha!) While fun, we were crossing more hills and the day¢s humidity was apparent. We proceeded up a pine covered mountain almost back down and then right back up¢¦doh! I was having fun, but I was pooped.As we were singing songs with the work ¢train¢ in them we passed a crazy looking group of piled rocks. Many rocks and sticks were piled in strange assortments. It was cool, but odd to see in the woods. Maybe that less-than-social Harvard group was bored yesterday. (Maybe I¢m bitter ¢ Harvard was the only school that did not accept me for grad. school :-) ). Whatever the case, we were finally back over the hill. We loudly sang the ¢Locomotion¢ and pushed downhill to a brook for lunch. We set up on the far side of the brook around 1 p.m. 9 miles in. YAY, my body could rest!As we sat there I realized just how tired I was. I ate ramen and a nutty buddy but all it did was make me feel bloated as well as tired. Still I was having fun with my friends. The caretaker of the nearby shelters, Gretchen, walked by. We talked for a while and she was really sweet. I¢m beginning to think GMC only hires attractive females and old people. I still was not ready as we started up again to climb another hill.As we began to climb I was hurting. I only vaguely noticed my beautiful surroundings as I tried to focus on moving my legs. By the time I reached the top I was sweating profusely and simply hurting. Still I kept moving. Knuckles looked equally tired and Underhill hiked ahead. We finally caught him at the bottom of a hill 12 miles in. As we continued to hike Underhill went ahead. Knuckles and I both were slower and were talking. We talked about God and church, the hypocrisy of so many churches today, and what the Bible says about certain sins. As we delved into big issues, I realized how much I forget why I¢m out here. I want to seek God and live for Him. I want to live for Him in a real way, but not a scary stereotype ¢fundamentalist¢ way. We talked about smoking, drinking, and are they OK in moderation? We also discussed pride, evangelism, and judgmentalism. The deep thoughts made me forget the trail. I could see that Knuckles clearly believes in God, but has experienced some of the problems of ¢churches¢. It was just nice to talk about God with another hiker though. Our conversation ended as we approached a wooded suspension bridge.The bridge crossed a rocky gorge and it moved with you as you walked. The bounce and sway was just a bit freaky. Knuckles seemed a little bit irked by the bridge. At the same time I was pretending to be Indiana Jones¢¦woohoo! Just past the bridge we hit the road. There waiting was ¢Underhill¢ and his dog Mika. As we all met a sobo named BigFoot walked up. He quickly gave us the scoop on Rutland and told us of sodas in the creek ahead. We said goodbye to Bigfoot and the 3 of us started to walk on the road to a restaurant. 100 steps in 2 sobos returned to tell us the restaurant was closed but the country store a mile away was open. Time to hitch! Right when we were about to quit hitching we received the old ¢Hop In!¢ As we sat on speakers in an SUV we thanked the couple. I think I smelled pot but I did not ask. We were safely dropped at the stores a minute later. Knuckles let me borrow money until tomorrow :-) . I bought cold coke, Doritos, crackers, and beefsteak, yummy! Knuckes bought glazed donuts for tomorrow. I love store stops. We walked back to the trail by 6:50 p.m. and had a mile to do by dark. The last mile seemed tortuous. The trail wound up difficult rocks that seemed to shoot straight up. They were impressive with ferns and mosses lining their towering masses, but a tough way to end a 17 mile day. Finally I covered the rocks and finished the last 12 mile to the shelter. Oh the joy of taking hiking shoes off :-) . While tired, I feel giddy. Knuckles seems giddy too (Underhill is reading). We just made a list in the shelter register of ways to fund an A.T. Thru-Hike. 5 are below:5) Counterfeit Money ¢ It¢s a long way to track you :-).4) Donate Plasma in every town. 3) Buy Cigarettes in Virginia & sell them in New York. 2) Collect Cans ¢ Turn them in at CT, NY, MA, MI, VT, ME.1) Return all you outdoor gear to REI (REI=Return Every Item :-)).We also collaborated on a cartoon that shows a buck-toothed rodent jumping in front of Mount Katahdin with the caption ¢Gopher It¢. We¢re dorks.It¢s nice to have a silly ending to a difficult day. I¢m blessed by the beauty tonight, the friends around me, and a Savior who touches me even out here. Maybe I should not have drunk that coke¢¦I¢m wired. Oh well! God Bless, BEATBOX   ttt