Date: 2019-05-16
To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 93.9

Going home for my daughter's graduation was wonderful. The events and ceremony surrounding her receiving her D.P.T degree were outstanding, befitting the effort she has put in. I was at home for five days, spending time with my wife, three daughters and son-in-law, and enjoying the comforts of home that we all take for granted - such as water, showers, laundry, shelter, plentiful and varied food, privies (that flush!) - unless we are on the trail.Which makes returning to the trail all the more difficult, where we choose hardship over comfort. Upon my return, however, I met an unexpected sight: Pilgrim, who started the same day I did and had been hiking with Conductor until Conductor, a two time thru-hiker, decided in late April that twice was enough. We decided to hike together.After my first day back, I was sore from the waist down. My second day was an 18 miler on a hot and hilly day. I texted my wife, for the first time putting into words the thoughts in my head, that I was "thinking about quitting." She reminded me that there were still options I had not explored: decreasing or varying my mileage, and adding calories. (I'm still not sure if she was trying to help me, or if my returning would interfere with the gala parties she is planning in my absence.)Sure enough, the next few days were different! It rained like hell the next two mornings, thoroughly drenching us! Still, it was more fun being with Pilgrim, proving that misery likes company. However, our anxiety increased when our feet got roughed up from three days of hiking in wet shoes and socks. Up to that point, my feet had been as "soft and smooth as a baby's butt" although the odor was somewhat different (but not necessarily better). Fortunately, I was still without any blisters, so I taped my heels and some toes with Leukotape P - better than moleskin!, better than duct tape! - and I've avoided any problems since.Hikers talk of the "Virginia Blues", but on consecutive days we passed noteworthy sites. First there was the Audie Murphy Monument, honoring the most decorated soldier from WWII, which I found both moving and humbling. Next was Dragon's Tooth, a craggy, rocky monolith that underscored the importance of good dental care. This was immediately followed by a treacherous steep and rocky descent, probably the most dangerous section of the AT we have faced so far. McAfee Knob, the most photograhed spot on the AT, welcomed us on a cool, windy, but clear day.There are times on the trail where you are faced with conditions made more difficult than they need be. Frustrated by days of rain and some trail conditions, Pilgrim coined a phrase that we started parroting to find humor in otherwise humorless situations: "A little trail maintenance wouldn't hurt here!"We have benefited from all kinds of trail magic over the weeks, but my favorite occurred a half mile from Daleville, where I am currently taking a zero. Five mothers, corralling ten toddlers, were doing trail magic there with homemade chocolate chip cookies and boxes of apple juice. (The mothers have been certified as "good suburban moms" because the apple juice they served was organic, meeting the very high standards thru-hikers require for their food: it must have calories and be at least as healthy as Little Debbie honey buns!) The kids all had smiles on their faces and trail dirt and mud everywhere else. You rock, Daleville moms!Unfortunately, Daleville represents the end of my current hike with Pilgrim. He is 11 years younger and 11 years faster than I am, and so is now hiking ahead of me. Happy trails, Pilgrim. Somewhere, there is a hiking partner for me, at least according to something I saw: I wish a fish could hike, then I'd be faster than something. I am now looking for a fish on the AT.Many hikers have recommended Little Debbie honey buns as a viable method to quickly increase calorie intake, and just recently I have begun to explore that route. I told Pilgrim that this presented a conundrum for me, however. A day after our 34th anniversary, I didn't know if I should tell my wife that I would be waking up with Little Debbie the next morning!Mount Katahdin, the northern terminus of the AT, is located in Baxter State Park, Maine. One of the first articles of clothing I ever purchased from LL Bean was their down coat, their Baxter State parka. I am not sure if the name was an omen pre-ordaining good news for me: did the Baxter State parka signify that I would truly get to Baxter State Park and summit Katahdin?... Or that it would be a cold day in hell before that would ever happen, and I would need my parka?In the last couple days I have seen a hiking couple, maybe in their 50's, the man wearing a kilt and the woman wearing leggings. I guess we all know who wears the pants in that family!Milestones reached include passing the 700 mile mark and completing 1/3 of the AT.Hikers I've met this week include a group of 6 twenty-somethings (with Spacejam (CT), Whitebread (CT), Grocer (NY), Orange (MN), Pippin (CO)), and Never Better, Cool Pops (GA) and Karma (PA).