Date: 2004-06-15
From: South River Picnic Area

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

James 1:2 Count it all joy my brothers when you face trialS of many kinds, (3) knowing this, that the trying of your faith produces perseverance. (4) Let perseverance have its work in you, that you may be perfect and complete, wanting nothing. Tonight has been rough. My dad called to basically let me know that everything fell through with a house I was working on to sell. I have 400 to 800 dollars to finish the tail, not to mention credit debt. He had to get rid of my ¢partner¢ who messed everything up and to fix the mess, he has to get a separate contractor¢¦ugh! My Dad sounded so stressed as we talked, and it¢s all my responsibility. I feel awful and he asked me to pray about coming off the trail. I¢ve been praying and deep down I feel I am where I am meant to be, but it¢s tough. I don¢t know where the money for me to finish will come from, but I know that if this is truly God¢s will, it will work out. At least no one died today. After the call it was nice to have 3 friends around me. I needed a hug and was crying. Skippy and Poppins both gave me the hug I needed, and Friar distracted me with jokes afterwards. The beginning of the day was nice. I walked with Skippy and talked. We sang church songs together in the morning and by 11 a.m. we reached the store. At the store I wasted money on a double pack of chill dogs, Pepsi, chips, crackers, and Rolos¢¦a light lunch. We all relaxed, joked, and took pictures. Poppins and Friar were very sore from yesterday¢s emergency run. It was past 12:30 by the time we left. The 17 miles were high on deer and low on views. All of the views are on the road, not on the trail:-(. I made Skippy yell columbine every time she saw it: ¢Columbine, Columbine, Columbine¢. She sounded insane; I laughed. In addition to Skippy yelling :-) Friar sang country songs with me¢¦AHH! We actually were covering miles fairly quickly and by 5:00 we reached the Big Meadows Taproom. 14 miles down and dinner to go. The Taproom was cool and a D.C. news station was in the background. Soon our waitress Amy approached and grunted at me when I asked for separate checks. I find as a waiter that grunting is a bad idea, but Amy must have found otherwise. I ordered a Roy Rogers (Cherry Coke) to go with half a cheese pizza and half a turkey club (Skippy and I made a deal). The food was mediocre, but great compared to Ramen. We toasted 900 miles and enjoyed our non-woods environment. Poppins dismissed herself to make an emotional Phoenix call. Mine wouldn¢t come for half an hour. During dinner, I met 2 other hikers, Pippin and Cowgirl. Pippin trains servers and had lived in D.C., so we talked for a while. They were cool and I beatboxed for them. While I talked ¢Gator¢, who was either feeling tipsy or random, said ¢goodbye Poppy and Skippins¢. I laughed and soon Friar and I became ¢FryBox and Beator¢. I was in a great mood as I chose to call home. DOH! I¢m glad I was sitting as I called my Dad. That was one of the worst calls of my life. I wanted to not hear what he was saying, but I knew I had to. I also realized that my mother and 2 of my sisters won¢t be there when I visit home. I tried not to cry on the phone and to sound strong as I talked to my Dad. As soon as I hung up I bawled; that¢s where Skippy and Poppin¢s hugs came in :-). I told my friends of my current situation and feelings. They encouraged me. Skippy reminded me that hardship would only make the reward worth more. That reminded me of my friend Brian saying that any success I have out here will be a testament to God. It also reminded me of the verse I started this journal with. My hike will be a challenge, even more so with less money and stress at home. None the less I will push on, just as I did for 3 miles tonight. My last 3 miles tonight were tough emotionally, but fun as I let go. I was surrounded by friends and I know I am surrounded in a bigger way. God has me no matter where I am, out here or at home. For now I am out here and I will keep walking. Pray for me please. Goodnight.BEATBOX ttt