Date: 2005-06-30
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I got up with the sunrise, and it was totally exhilirating to be completely alone in the wilderness. I enjoyed a healthy breakfast of a can of Dr. Pepper and strawberry pop tarts (courtesy of the general store in the town we'd been to yesterday!), and just sat there for a while. I got my pack packed (I've been having to get really creative with how I pack it, since it has a whole so big in the side that I could stick my whole head into it!), took a couple of pictures of the shelter, and headed off at about 9:30am. The hike was great. I ran into a cow that seemed to be lost, about a mile into my morning. I said "hey buddy," and he mooed at me. I passed him, wishing I could help, but knowing that I really couldn't. Then, he mooed a little louder. I turned around, said "hey buddy" again, and he started to trot after me. Crap. That's all I need is to try to have to explain to my family that I was attacked by an angry cow! Finally, he gave up on me, and I walked on. I passed a really cool open field, which had a sort of random, old schoolbus in it. There were no roads anywhere nearby, so I couldn't figure out how the bus got there. I got some great shots of it, and as I walked closer, realized that the door was open. The weeds around it were as high as ten feet tall in spots, so I couldn't see too much more. Later, I was told by some other people that they actually met the hermit that lives inside the bus! Hmmm. I guess he must have been out shopping or something when I stopped by. I think they're full of crap, but with all the crazy stuff I've seen out here, then again, anything's possible!I hiked on, having an amazing time. I hadn't seen a person all day, and truthfully, I didn't mind at all. I passed a really cool stream, with a ton of trout in it, then back into the "green tunnel." At one point, probably 2 miles or so from the Partnership Shelter (where I was supposed to meet Cody and Grace), I was cruising along, with my mind off someplace else. All of the sudden, I see Cody, right in front of me, saying "there you are." Well, no kidding here I am, and what the hell are you doing scaring the crap out of me (literally!) in the middle of nowhere in the woods like that?!! He had run two miles down the trail to get me, because there was a girl who was leaving the trail, with a car, going back to where she lived in Ohio. Cody and I had planned to go back to Cincinnati with Grace for the 4th of July, and this was our ride. So, I had to try and jog the last two miles, as quickly as possible, without spilling all of my junk out of the huge whole in my backpack, so that she wouldn't leave without us! I was thoroughly impressed with the "Taj Mahal," (Partnership Shelter), even though I only spent 5 minutes there! Apparently, about half a dozen people that we've hiked with on and off were there last night, and they all ordered much pizza and beer, and partied it up like champs. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like I had missed anything; in fact, I felt like they had missed out on the awesome night I had, and the great day of hiking that I'd just done.Well, we hopped in the car (thanks, Marcie, for letting my stinky, soaking-wet butt ride in your car all day!! )and headed north. Marcie, who was hiking for about a week with her boyfriend Aaron, had to go back to Akron, where she works and is in school. So, she agreed to drop us off in Athens, Ohio, where Ohio University is; Athens is about three hours east of Cincinnati, so Grace went to work, trying to find anybody that might be willing to come get us.While we waited, Grace and I were disappointed to find that the local Taco Bell did NOT have Chili Cheese Burritos! After we ate, we sampled a local pub that proudly advertised "dollar domestics." Not one to turn away cheap beer, I enjoyed a few as well. People stared at us, especially me, since I now have an inflatable monkey, who's nearly 3 feet tall, strapped to the back of my backpack. In hiker towns, people are used to us; in "regular" towns, people think we're homeless drifters! So, the stares are understandable, I guess.Eventually, Grace's friend Pete (a physics instructor on the university level) arrived to pick us up. He's a funny guy, with a great (if not quirky) sense of humor, that definitely enjoys the lighter side of life. We drove in pouring rain, for what seemed like forever. I fell asleep riding in a car for the first time since I can remeber, and woke up to us swerving all over the road. Apparently, Pete's Civic doubles as a hovercraft! We stopped at a latenight pizza place near where Grace lives in Cincinnati, and finally got to her apartment around 2am. She's got a really cool place, but I was too tired to notice much. I quickly found a place to lay my head, and I was out cold...end of a very long day...