Date: 2009-05-09
From: Waynesboro Public Library

To: The laundromat
Miles today: 112.2

Anyone can see the road that they walk on is paved with goldAnd it's always summer, they'll never get cold...^^ I've had "The Way" by Fastball running through my head intermittantly for the past 400 or so miles. Just in case anyone wanted to know.I'm in Waynesboro! It's absolutely wonderful to be in town again, and especially wonderful to be in this town. Waynesboro marks the beginning of the Shenandoahs, which have excellent views and really easy hiking, but more importantly is only 160 miles from Harpers Ferry, WV!The past set of days since I stayed at Cascade's house have been tiring, but excellent. (The shortest day I've had since then was 15 miles, and the longest was somewhere around a 22.) Some of the cool things that have happened since then...-Incredible trail magic at Cornelius Creek Shelter. Smiley, Zen and I got into this shelter on a cold, rainy day coming from Cascade's. We were getting ready to pull out our cooking equipment when a guy popped out from around the other shelter and asked, "You guys want some trail magic?" After we very promptly replied that we would, he went to his car and brought back a stove and enough supplies to make a full breakfast right there. He then stood out in the rain and cooked us (as well as the two other people who came later) pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fried sausage while we sat in the shelter and ate everything right as it came out of the pan.-I saw a bear! I was munching on a PBJ while sitting on a 50 ft tall rock cliff when I heard something crunching around in the forest below me. I peered over to find a fairly sizeable black bear just wandering around! He wasn't that close to me, so I just sat there and watched him until he disappeared from my view. I could still hear him moving around below me, but I figured that he wouldn't bother coming up the cliff... until I saw his head pop out of the trees about 20 feet to my left! Needless to say, I made a fairly hasty retreat from the cliff, and since neither I nor my food became bear chow, it was a pretty awesome experience.Aside from the notable events, hiking for the past section has been fantastic. I love the smell of spring, especially the smell of spring in Virginia! Imagine yourself walking through a flower garden (think Stevens-Cooldige for you North Andover folks). As you walk along, every ten feet a breeze greets you with a new odor, which washes over you and forces you to stop and inhale to taste its magnificent, ethereal beauty. That's what I get to walk through for 90% of each day. Damn I am lucky.One of the funny things out here is that people keep telling me that I always seem so happy, and that it makes them happy to be around me. It delights me that I can lift people's spirits, but it also surprises me because I normally don't consider myself to be an excessively happy person. At school, I'm mostly just tired, or rushed, or worried about something. This past few months has been so incredibly different that it's nearly indescribible.Bottom line: The forest has come alive. I feel alive. I am happy, and I absolutely love it."Sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways, and squareways, and front ways..."