Date: 2011-06-08
From: Clarks Ferry Shelter

To: 5.1 miles after Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

(In which I say goodbye for now to Buffalo)We hang out around camp in the morning, planning an easy day. Checker leaves while I'm still in my tent and I wave goodbye, knowing I probably won't see him again. If getting to see people I know is one of the advantages of slowing down, watching them hike away is one of the downsides. But there will be more people we know catching up, and slowing down has other benefits as well, lazy mornings being one of them.We hike a few miles to a parking area when Buffalo's ankle begin to act up again. It's been bothering him since the four-state, and a couple day's of rest and new shoes seem not to have cured it. He decides to bite the bullet and take a full week off to let it heal. He calls a friend in New York City who offers to come pick him up tomorrow night. Buffalo had hoped to get a ride to the city, but his friend is actually going back to Buffalo's hometown of Buffalo, NY. He's not exactly thrilled about the prospect of heading back home with an injury, even if just temporarily, but agrees to take the ride anyway.Buffalo walks down to the road to attempt to hitch to the nearest town to get a hotel room and wait for his friend. A few minutes later he walks back, having already been hassled by the cops. The cop admitted that hitching isn't illegal where he was, but told him to move on anyway. Walking all the way to the next town isn't a great option with his ankle, so he returns to the parking area and hopes that he can get a ride from here without more cop troubles. I hang out with him for a couple hours, trying to keep his spirits up. He is finally able to arrange a ride, with none other than Trail Angel Mary, convincing her to drive him to Lickdale by offering to make it worth her while. With his ride I secured I say farewell and tell him that I hope to see him soon up the trail. Another advantage of a slow pace is that it shouldn't be hard for Buffalo to catch up, even after a week off the trail.* * *I had been worried about being able to stick with the slow pace, but making the transition together with Buffalo was a great help, and now that I'm back on my own I'm no longer worried. In addition to all of the other benefits, slowing down has given me a story and an identity, and I feel like it would take an even more interesting narrative to lure me away from the slow train.While it's sad to be hiking alone again, I'm cheered by the fact that friends from Pittsburgh will be joining me on the trail for the weekend. I hope that my slow speed will provide a nice introductory pace for my friends and give them plenty of free time to enjoy the non-hiking aspects of the trail experience.* * *It's a hot and humid day -- the forecast was for upper 90s, and it feels it. I'm glad to be able to take long breaks, and in addition to the 2+ hours I spend with Buffalo, I take two hour long reading breaks at viewpoints, and one hour long shelter break. The breaks, along with starting late, stopping early and hiking slower than usual, allow me to hike 11.8 miles while still making it seem like a full day. I stop at a campsite where Shakey, a section hiker who started at Harpers Ferry, has already set up camp and is starting a fire. We're joined by Sandy, another Harpers Ferry starter, and despite the heat we sit around the fire to keep the bugs off.I think about Timber, who is attempting to do a 30 mile day in the heat to catch up with Sherpa and Sprout, and I do not envy him. Hiking alone again and camping with section hikers still early on in their hike makes me feel some of the same excitement and newness of the beginning of the trail. The fast first half of the trail seems like ages ago, though in fact it has been just over a week, and I look forward to stretching out and savoring the remaining trail.