Date: 2004-06-08
From: Reed's Gap

To: Paul Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Welcome to the ¢Beatbox is an idiot¢ journal. Actually a lot happened besides me being an idiot¢¦I¢ll delve into all of the above before the journal is complete. Right now I¢m chilling with 2 new friends: Flatbed and Whiskey (don¢t ask, I don¢t know), along with Bucket and Beartracks here at the Waynesboro YMCA. My stomach is recovering from the China Buffet and we¢re all just chilling. Now about my day¢¦I told Booboo we¢d leave at 7 a.m¢¦he arrived at 8:30 a.m. It¢s hard to complain though, when you¢re A) being picked up in an actual vehicle, and B) being taken to a good breakfast. We went to Weasie¢s Restaurant¢¦home of the All You Can Eat Pancakes. Rather than try to break the record of 24 pancakes, I ordered the ¢Hungry Boy¢ breakfast. The ¢Hungry Boy¢ consisted of 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, home fries, and the 3 largest pancakes I¢ve ever seen. The food was awesome and yet again Booboo¢s father paid¢¦I felt like a bum¢¦a well-fed and content bum. Before I left we said goodbye to Buzz N¢Breeze (a young couple I just met), Lonesome Dove, and the Hobbits. Then I went to the bathroom to change clothes before I was dropped off on the trail. *NASTY SECTION AHEAD* As I went to the restroom, on the side of the restaurant, there was an older man who appeared to be senile who greeted me with these words: ¢uhh, it wasn¢t me¢ as he left the small bathroom. I walked in to witness the sight of defecation strewn across the floor with footprints in it. After nearly gagging I changed in the ladies room. Shortly thereafter Booboo¢s dad drove us to the trail. The goal was to hike 19.4 fairly easy miles into town where we would be picked up at 4 p.m¢¦.6 hours total. As we started Booboo¢s cute little terrier, Ginger, led us on our way. The hike would have been nice except for Booboo¢s cries of ¢courtesy¢. This is what is said before a fart. Booboo was dropping ¢Sulfur Bombs¢ so I hiked ahead with Ginger to the road. We had covered 5 miles when I met Rusty. Rusty was dropping off Caterpillar, Bucket, and Momma¢s Boy at the trail. I introduced myself and joined discussion with one of the true legends of the trail. Rusty expressed many opinions including his lack of love for SUV¢s, his preference to have enough fire arms to ¢protect his land¢, and his opinion of the park rangers. Rusty told us of a corrupt ranger who pulled over to pick up a couple but shut the door and drove away with the woman in the car before the man could get in. As Rusty talked about the trail, police, his general experiences, and the like, I realized a few things: Rusty is hilarious and real about who he is. Rusty seems to love God and seems to love to help hikers. Rusty has a massive knowledge of the trail and the area. Before we left Rusty shook our hands and invited us to visit the hollow anytime. It was awesome to meet this gray-haired southern man with strong opinions but a kind heart. I hope I will visit someday. After the highlight of visiting Rusty I hiked on with Caterpiller. Caterpiller is from Baltimore and grew up in Ellicott City. We discussed the Orioles, areas of the city, as well as general trail talk. Soon Bucket and Momma¢s Boy were alongside us as the trail switched to all downhill. With a goal of the Post Office I shot ahead and down the mountain. I was truly flying down the mountain 3 miles later, but I was bored. So I did the logical thing to solve this: I dove face first into the trail at full speed¢¦DOH! It was a rough spill and I had dirt on my face, arms, and legs. My knees were cut up something fierce. I wrapped my bandana on my right knee, clenched my teeth, and kept pushing to Paul Wolfe Shelter: sight of my idiocy. I had covered 4 miles in under an hour and felt fairly proud despite my knees. I greeted Yippie, Jaberwockie, and his Dad, who were resting at the shelter. My greeting was quick and quite breathless, my focus still solely placed on getting to the Post Office (It shut at 5 p.m.). It was 2:50 p.m. and at 3 miles per hour I would certainly reach the road 5 miles away before 4:30¢¦that is if I hadn¢t accidentally turned off the main trail. Instead, I walked with vigor and determination¢¦down the wrong path. I had been pushing so hard that a half hour later when I realized I was off trail I was 2 miles away. As I looked to the right I saw a farm and a gravel road ahead¢¦I walked bewildered to the road. God decided to be nice to me when I was lost. As soon as I hit the driveway a teenager from the property drove up. He didn¢t know where the AT was, but he knew I wasn¢t near it. He gave me a ride 3 miles to the nearest highway and dropped me at the corner gas station. Upon reaching the station hot and lost I went to ask the clerk for directions. As I spoke an older gentleman heard me and offered to take me to the top of the mountain. The reason I had to go to the ¢top of the mountain¢ is that I was on the wrong side of it (he, he, he). He drove me in an old Nissan truck and was a sweet man. He told me about how much he loves Georgia, about the town of Waynesboro, and how much he wished he could do a hike like mine. I kindly said goodbye as he left me at a gas station near Yoda & Mad Scientist. I was about to tell them of my wrong turn when a lady pulled up and offered a ride. Her name was Pam and she drove Ninja and I to town. In addition she offered to pick me up in the morning to drop me off at the trail near the shelter. This will allow me to make up my ¢idiot miles¢¢¦She said she might even bring cookies :-). While I was silly, I was blessed with 3 immediate rides. My life lesson: Determination and drive only make things worse if you¢re driven in the wrong direction. Tomorrow I will head in the correct one. At town I showered, went to the Post Office and hit the library. I called Booboo¢s cell at 6 p.m. to let him know I was alive. He had made the same wrong turn and was still on the trail :-) . He also survived and eventually made it out. Around 7:30 Beartracks, Bucket, Crash-Bang, and I headed to the China Buffet. The China Buffet is a great idea in your head and a bad one for your stomach. I was eating and feeling great on plate 2 when the grease brick hit me¢¦I was done. Nonetheless we had fun and talked for a while. We wondered if the waitresses were taking about their guests as they spoke and pointed¢¦they probably were. When we finally left hikers were teeming near the Kroger. One offered a trip to the fair (Hmm, Chinese & spinning rides equals¢¦): ¢No thanks¢. Another offered a ride to Applebees to drink¢¦¢No¢. So the 4 of us headed back when we were greeted by the men on the porch. The men on the porch may have been drunk or possibly mildly ¢special¢. One asked ¢where y¢all from?¢ Their accents dripped with poor southernness. We were friendly and answered question such as the following: ¢Have y¢all seen any bears or rattlers¢¦(pause) or snakes?¢ ¢Its dangerous up there¢¦5 days of rain coming I reckon¢. ¢Do y¢all smoke pot?¢ ¢Do y¢all wanna come in and have some whisky?¢ Twice in 3 minutes I was told about and ¢Israeli girl and an Ohio boy with a 6 pack and a 12 pack¢. Soon a boy who looked about 9 or 10 walked up so I asked ¢What grade are you in?¢ His response ¢2nd.¢ I didn¢t ask. Then his pop asked where he thought we were from ¢Germany¢. His next guess ¢Egypt¢. The men were a trip and said they appreciated us visiting. While nice, they were slurring and beginning to repeat the same dialogue¢¦so I told them we had to leave. We all waited until out of earshot and then laughed all the way home. Right now the 6 of us: Bucket, Beartracks, Whiskey, Flatbed, Ninja, and myself are sitting and talking¢¦I¢m the only one without beer. The conversation is now shifting to talks of God and I¢m going to join in. Today was interesting and I was quite blessed despite negatives. Thank You all for reading.God Bless, BEATBOX   ttt