Date: 2004-11-27
From: Culver's Gap, NJ

To: Culver's Gap, NJ still
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayCulver's Gap, NJ Hippie and I woke up at about 5am and decided to go to a deli for my coffee and her tea. We drove back towards the 9 1/2 mile section of trail that she skipped yesterday and we found a deli along the way. We got our caffeine fixes and Hippie called Tripod and talked to him before she started walking. I stayed in the warm truck and finished my journal entry and sent it in. There were five trucks at the trailhead this morning, but they weren't hikers, they were hunters. This time of year it is best to look like a big ball of blaze orange walking down the trail, so you are easily spotted by the hunters. I called Hippie's mom and told her where to meet us today so she could walk a few miles with Hippie. I drove out to Warwick Turnpike and waited until Hippie showed up. It was just after 11am when she got there. We drove to NJ Rt 94 where we were supposed to meet her mom and dad. In about 15 minutes they showed up and we all went for a walk on the A.T. We walked the one mile boardwalk over a swampy area and Hippie's dad and I went back to get the trucks while Hippie took her mom up and over a bump of about 300 feet and on for another couple of miles. I was glad for Hippie that they came out and did that walk. Hippie seemed excited about getting them on the A.T. even if it was only for a few miles. Tom and I drove around and met them just as they were coming out of the woods. They took off for home, Hippie kept walking on the trail and I drove over to Liberty Corners Road and picked up hippie about an hour later. We headed over for TURKEY at Goosebump and Rainbow Slicks house. It was only about an hour ride and there was some hiker friends already there...Dr Dolittle and Underpants and then a college friend of Goosebumbs, Martin. Martin was the only non-hiker there with six hikers that have all done at least one thru hike on the A.T. Well, he was introduced to hiker talk real fast and seemed to have a good time. Hippie gave him an image that he probably won't be able to get out of his head for a while when she was talking about the 3 pounds of carrots she ate today and that she was going to eat lots of corn tonight, just to see what it would look like in the toilet in the morning....got to love hiker talk!!! I got my shower while we were waiting on the turkey to get done. Goosebump and Dolittle both prepared a fantastic meal and Rainbow Slick was the gofer. He said he had to gofer what ever they needed at the store and he ended up making quite a few trips to the market. We ate, drank some wine, had desert and talked until after midnight. It was another great day and I got to spend it with very good friends. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I could have walked some miles on the trail today. Hippie is within two days of catching up to where I'm at on the trail, so it looks like I'll be able to start walking the last 540 miles of this thru hike on Tuesday morning. It is going to feel so good to get back to backpacking again.Thanks Goosebump The Snow Princess, Rainbow Slick, Dr Dolittle, Underpants, Hippie and Martin for your friendship.