Date: 2009-06-09
From: Spring just past Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: few clouds

One thing I can say for sure is that a twenty mile day after driving all night to get back to the trail can cause a person to see a lot of things that may not really be there. Leaving Waynesboro, the first thing I did was check on the status of Longhaul. Besides myself, there was no one I wished to see complete this journey more than him. He had been sucessful on a thru-hike a few years back, but his personality and eagerness to help all those who deserve help (and some who may not) is very attractive. So suffice to say that I found the trail that day much more dreary when he relayed to me the results of the MRI he insisted on having after other results of his toe infection were inconclusive. It seems that there is an infection in the bone, and with the need for an IV drip (which one can do at home in this modern era) for four to six weeks, Longhaul will no longer have the opportunity to finish this year.    If you want to find a silver lining in this cloud, at least for the others on the trail that he has 'adopted', it is that he has opened his heart and his home to a number of us and shown such largess that I am almost thinking of restoring my faith in humanity. With one way trips ranging from forty minutes to well past an hour (not counting DC 'get the hell out of town' traffic), his shuttle service has been running non-stop and I am thinking of buying shares in Costco. First let me give a shoutout to a new member of the 46'R club, my good friend Tracy. Since I had accompanied her on her adventure, it was heartwarming to see her enlarged smile when she was presented her certificate. We topped that off with a gorgeous day on Gothics (my tenth summit of that great peak) two days later enjoying all that is good of May climbing in the Dacks. Terri and I even returned the next Saturday to conquer the quagmire and brush-hell that is the Sewards, where once again TMax proved that she may be my Snow Princess, but she is also Queen of the Adirondack mud! Not as many flying insects that day, as opposed to the previous weeks' hike up Seymour when I encountered more nuisances than ever before, but they were still out enmasse.    OK, so Longhaul was off trail for the year. On Tuesday I encountered a pest that I never had a problem with before. When I realized that those pieces of mud behind my knees were not coming off, it hit me that they were alive. I pulled almost a dozen ticks off of me in one day, and that was the only time I encountered that problem. Maybe it was partially due to them that the next morning I woke up with my head in a knot, took some meds, and was driven out of the tent for the first time due to the heat of the day creeping in. While a thirteen mile day may seem decent for some, it felt like I hardly moved at all that day. On Thursday I had an early start, but I was not the first out of the shelter (it rained again). A few miles down the trail I ran into another from the night before and confirmed that we were both going to the Wayside for some breakfast. He took the first route in, while I walked the AT as far as I could before venturing off for the mile walk. It was a little more than I wanted to wander, but I figured the two extra miles would not kill me, even if they did not count towards the daily total. When I arrived, the shelter mate was just leaving, even though I was ahead of him two miles before. He had enjoyed his breakfast, and planned on spending the day at the campsite there. While I perused the menu, a wonderful waitress mentioned that an order was recently made twice, and if I liked, I could have the mistake. It turned out that the hiker who I had passed, but got there before me, was the one who I am to thank (besides the staff) for this fortune. After breakfast I had a blueberry shake as I walked back to the trail, and although it was a somewhat miserable day, I found much solace in it.    National parks are great, but when you are a thru-hiker and you see the GP (General Public) talking about burning glass in the firepit and contemplating burning the plastic in there, you long for the areas where they do not generally go. My boots were wet from the get-go, and the day was nothing more than a slog of endurance. How many times can you stop and wring out your socks before your hands carry the stink of them forever? The previous day I had done damn close to 30 miles with the walks from the shelters to the trail and to and from breakfast, and with the 24 I did Friday, it was a long and soggy two days. Yes, it can rain all the way to Maine. To top it off, it was a good 170 feet down to the spring, where a small pipe supplied the water for the night.    All of this was forgotten, and visions of sugar plumbs and such danced in my head, for a short walk in the morning would take me to the place where Longhaul was to pick me up! Promptly at nine he arrived, and when we made it to his house the feast began. Plenty of snacks while he grilled our lunch, taking pleasure at watching us do nothing at all. A dip in the pool on this sunny day, and then a little rest before dinner. Hiking and eating or resting and eating, it is all the same sometimes. I decided to take my first non-Terri zero day at this oasis for AT hikers. After a full breakfast in the morning, Longhaul was off to ferry more hither and tither. I relaxed in his beautiful home, and terried to long by the pool with no shirt on. Topo was having the time of his life in a pool chair, just floating about for hours, and I blame him for not warning me about the hazards of burning and hiking. By the time I realized that I was in trouble, it was way too freaking lake. My chest was as red as a lobster, and everything above my belly button was red also. This turned out to be a saving grace, because at least my pack's hip belt did not torture me the following days. At least Terri was atop a mountain, so at least one of the team was pulling their weight.    Eating and resting, and making room for more food was the agenda for two sun filled days. After another hearty breakfast Monday, it was back to the trail. Thankfully all I had to deal with was pain that day, and trying to ignore the scraping on the burn. I camped in a small spot after an almost twenty mile day in heat and extreme humidity. I also realized that I could not find the Part A to my Aqua Mira, so I had better rely on clean springs for a bit. By nightfall, the pain turned to irritation and itching. No amount of ibuprophen could help me sleep well or dampen the itch. In the middle of the night I heard the rain start to fall. Quickly I bolted outside to relieve myself in case this was the best chance I had for a while. It was not until nine that I got my stuff together, and half an hour later headed on down the road. I did what I could to ignore the irritation, which was not much, and played mind games for what they were worth. For some time a deer fly buzzed about my head. After twenty minutes he went silent. Two minutes later he bit me through my shirt on my burn, and a half-hour of cursing and screaming (I did not curl up and cry though) ensued until the irritation subdued somewhat.    At this point there are a series of ten hills, between 300 and 500 feet tall in a row called the 'roller coaster'. I needed to traverse eight to get to where Longhaul would pick me up for a final night at Virginia's master at Trail Magic. Before the last climb, I used the cell to let him know when I would get there, and at that time the muggy day turned, and a strong wind blew in with a sincere promise of heavy rain to come. I needed a solid half-hour to avoid it, and recieved half of that in return. With the temps dropping fifteen degrees rather quickly, and the rain drenching everything in sight (some roads were closed due to flooding on the way to Longhauls'), I arrived at Bears Den and waited for my ride. I had very little Trail Magic until Virginia, and more than anyone could ever hope for there. After a shower, we were treated to steaks off the grill and chocolate cake with ice cream. I never want to leave. I am sure Terri and I can share the small bed in the guestroom. It was great to see Rapunzel, Squeegie, Halfmoon, Sunbeam, Colonel Mustard, and Whim Wham over the last few days. Sitting around the table and laughing at each other is such great fun. Longhaul was too good to us, and with luck I will return the favor someday, not only to him, but his wonderful wife Kathy who lets him get away with this stuff, and his two kids who live at home, because, you know, this is their house anyway. Tomorrow we head for Harpers Ferry, and beyond. I have no clue where this journey will take me or how far it will go before it is over. Being gone from the one you love for five to six months is not an easy thing, and it grows harder each day. I have stepped on Springer, and I'm heading towards Maine, heading north inexorably, but that could change at anytime. Just look at Longhaul, it took a bone infection to waylay his freight train. So many people begin, and so few complete. My body appears willing, but there are times my heart yearns for Sunday mornings watching the news shows with Terri laying her head on my chest. She is always here with me in spirit, but nothing can compare to two hearts that beat together in the same space. I will enjoy what I have for now, and indeed Mother Nature may deem that I make it to Khatadin, but if not, I will have many, many memories to last a lifetime, not of the trail as such, and not many of the good weather of 2009, but a plethera of the ones from the community on the trail and friends made, especially Longhaul, who can pull anyone out of the dumps with a swift quick jerk of his actions. Thanks good buddy, the trail will miss you, and it is a lesser place without you.