Date: 2003-05-22
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: light rain

There has been a guy that has kept the same pace as me since Damascus named Krazy K. I have been craving company, but not this kind. He is very inconsiderate of other hikers. His constant flatulence rears its ugly head at very rude times. Such as right beside my tomato sauce at the picnic table, or in the shelter when outside is a step away. He has a dog that he doesn't clean up after and he lets it come into the shelter. I don't mean he lets it sleep on the floor. The dog gets up on the bunks taking up precious sleeping space and shakes mud everywhere. Well, last night he woke up everyone yelling something about The Matrix and singing. He was talking and singing in his sleep. Needless to say, he made a few people upset, but it was kind of funny in the morning. I made sure I out-walked him today. I had planned to stop at Partnership Shelter for pizza and a shower. After looking over a few things, I decided to push on to Atkins. I have been with a neat group, and they were a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed Two Dog Night. She has two very well behaved dogs. But the group was kind of big and I'm avoiding crowds. So I settled for a shower at the shelter which was really nice. I changed into my cleanest clothes and tried for 11 more miles. I am able to go really fast now. All my former woes have vanished, and as long as I keep enough food in me there is no stopping me. I saw a coyote today. I thought I saw one the other day but I couldn't be sure. This time it was howling, and I thought maybe a dog was caught in a trap. I walked quietly since I didn't know exactly what I was walking into. Then it came right for me, sniffing the ground, not paying attention to me. I said "hey" as it was about twenty yards from me. It stopped and we locked eyes for about 5 seconds. I never encountered one before and I didn't know what would happen. He stopped ran up a small embankment, turned around to give me one last look, and he was gone. I got to listen to a lot of classical music for the last two days. It has been so splendid to listen to musical greats done by fantastic orchestras. Hiking with classical music is so Camelot-ish. The rhododendrons are in full bloom, so there are purple puffballs everywhere. Today I went through long stretches that the forest was carpeted in lime green fern. They were blowing in the wind and reminded me of an audience for my classical music. I crossed a bunch of hay fields that the trail runs through like a crop circle. It often would have switchbacks for no apparent reason. Finally, I got to town just to find that there was no vacancy at the motel. There was a restaurant, so I decided to have a burger while I contemplated my next move. As soon as I came in, the waitress asked me to leave my pack outside. I really hate to leave it out of my site when I'm not just with hikers. I trust hikers because they know there is nothing of real value in it, plus who wants to carry more stuff. In town, though, I don't trust anyone. I had a salad and a real good cheeseburger. Soon a trucker was asking me if I was hiking the trail. We were having a nice enough conversation when he came over to my table. He said, "I'm going to tell you something hat changed my life and it will change yours, too." I'm sure he had to see the look of dread that flushed across my face. He started innocently enough telling me he was delivering eggs in NYC when he was 19 and he saw the twin towers being built. Then, when they fell and the president said, "This was an attack on all freedom-loving people," he thought about this for a month. Soon he is on some twisted rant about good versus evil and gives me the long version of the Bible. Meanwhile, I have walked 22 miles, I have no place to stay, and a thunderstorm is blowing in. I interrupted him and asked him why he was telling me this. He explained that I needed to know the glory of God. I told him I'm a Christian and I don't really don't need his preaching which was borderline paranoid hate. He said, "Are you really a Christian? Have you been saved?" I said I surely don't need to stand before you and let you judge my faith. He then continued to talk my ear off, and apparently if you¢re not an American Christian, you are controlled by Satan. Enough was enough. I had to tell him I didn't appreciate him using the word of God to spread the message of hate. He is not only way off base but extremely rude in his delivery. If he wants to preach, he should find a willing audience. I got up and paid my bill and headed to a payphone to call Jess. Then I ran into a small group of hikers that got a lift to a motel a few miles away. I was able to split a room and hand wash my clothes. I am at a miscellaneous exit and I need to find a way to get food for 6 days to get to my next mail drop. I'm going to hitch a ride to a Super Wal-Mart 4 miles away. My shoes have been holding up very well and actually kept my feet dry even though I've been walking in wet grass and hay. Much better than the Montrail sponges I started in. Time and miles will prove their durability.   Peace,DutchSoulshine is better than sunshine.Way better than moonshine.And damn sure better than rain.