Date: 2009-10-05
From: Tom's Run Shelters

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

And so it came down to this: my body (this would be Jo writing, surprise surprise) simply failed at its ability to go on. The smallest of hills felt like sandpaper on my knees, every joint in my lower half of my body ached, and I felt like I could sleep a month without stopping. It had been obvious for the past couple of weeks that something was wrong, more wrong than usual, I should say. Instead of hitting my stride and going with it, I definitely hit my stride and then hit a wall. Ouch.It became not a question of should-I-get-off-the-trail but rather how-to. I had no more 18-mile days in me. Twelves were pushing it. Phil, as always, was fit and ready to hike the second 1,000 miles, and we deliberated a long time over possible courses of action. It¢s something Phil and I had talked about at length in Rutland, when I felt similarly. In Rutland I didn¢t feel like I could go farther, but had I left then I would have felt like a failure. In Rutland there was a second wind. There was no second wind coming this time.What we came up with was this: that I could not hike the trail and enjoy it as I currently am. I probably could not hike it at all, forget about enjoyment. I am really excited for the south (I¢ve looked forward to Roan Mountain and McAfee Knob for a decade) but I am excited to hike it at my own speed - 12 miles a day, unless I feel ambitious. I want to have time to sit by waterfalls and read bad poetry and when I¢ve already hiked 6 miles in a day and I come across a beautiful field with camping, I want to plunk down my pack and say ¢Forget the miles. I am here.¢ In short, as much as I¢ve teased Zeus, I want to hike like him. (Only with less alcohol and fewer expletives.) I want to hike when the weather is nice, and I want to hike without worrying every single day about a deadline. I also want to hike when I don¢t feel like I¢ve been run over by a herd of stampeding rabid vampire moose.Phil¢s got a different story, though our chapter one has been the same. Hiking the AT has been my dream since third grade. It hasn¢t been Phil¢s. He didn¢t know he wanted to do this until a few weeks before we left (bravo). But would he find the time to come back if he left the trail? He wasn¢t convinced. I have no doubt that wherever life leads me, I¢ll be back out there . . . Well, not next year, but maybe the year after that. It¢s in my system. I can¢t get it out, even though right now my life revolves around hot baths and salad. Phil, on the other hand, doesn¢t know where life is taking him and wants to complete the trail while he can. Now.It¢s sad and funny that my crazy idea led him to be alone now hiking in Shenandoah in cold temperatures through the most bear-populated area of the trail. Mom, of course, said ever-so-helpfully, ¢SEE? That¢s what we had to deal with!¢ Thanks.The last week on the trail was one with some of the most mouth-dropping trail magic. To get me closer to the Maryland border (I was dead-set against missing part of Maryland, since there is so little of it, but skipping a section of exceedingly long PA wasn¢t a concern), we hitch-hiked with first a pastor whose name eludes me, but who was so kind to drive us out of his way to a gas station down the mountain where we met Cliff, who ended up driving us nearly an hour (also out of his way) and forcing us each to take some money when we were parting. The kindness of strangers on this trip is perhaps the single greatest thing I will take away.   We were both honored to be given such kindness.We hiked another day or so and made it to a town in Maryland that was so small I can¢t even recall the name of it. There really wasn¢t much going for the town except a massive library with extremely nice librarians. It was a time of stress, as I was trying to book a ticket home while trying to figure out where I was leaving from. Phil had just received an offer from an old friend from his days volunteering in DC, Doris, and she invited us to stay at her house even through she was going to be in Scotland. Unsure if it would be easier to hitch to Harper¢s Ferry or Doris¢ house near DC (at that point it was clear I could not walk much of anywhere) I was overjoyed when Phil told me that his friend Dave was on his way to hike with us for the day and would drop us off at Doris¢. Sometimes things work out so beautifully. Phil had been wanting to get together with Dave all along and the timing was uniquely ideal. Along with Dave¢s liberal singing friend Thomas we hiked a flat 6-mile section to the MD Washington Monument and back. Dave wore a Vietnam hat and brought grapes. We ate that night at a diner in Baltimore and by the time we reached Doris¢ we were definitely out of it. The next couple of days we spent relaxing, being clean (hurrah for showers) and watching Muppet videos on YouTube. I never met Doris, but her trust in us is overwhelming and it was a perfect d©nouement.   (Though I will admit, riding in the car in crazy traffic when Phil hadn¢t driven in three months was kind of terrifying. Phil did really well though.) We took a bus and a train to Harpers Ferry and after a very relaxing night (thanks, a million thanks, to Bill, without whom the last night would not have been nearly as relaxing) and making friends with the Mensa crowd who invited us to hike Maryland with them next year (let¢s do it!), I boarded Amtrak to Chicago, Chicago to Minneapolis. And so chapter one comes to a close. Chapter two will be different for both of us. Mine will happen someday (my trailname now has a whole new meaning). And if Phil doesn¢t write in here, I threatened to make things up about his hike, so keep checking in.