Date: 2019-05-07
From: Campsite after Beauty Spot

To: Campsite after Greasy Creek
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Another late start. Ugh. I still felt like crap this morning. Pumpkin was out way before me, shock, so I didn¢t get to say goodbye. Mama Squirrel and I stayed by the fire ring and ate breakfast. She was nagging me to finish my breakfast because I wasn¢t eating anything. If my emotions aren¢t okay, I feel it in my gut, and I lose my appetite. I just couldn¢t. 25-Mile wandered into camp and a couple with a dog. I can¢t remember their names, but their dog is Raisin and she¢s an adorable black lab. Rocky had ended up staying on Beauty Spot with a few guys, and they all walked down. One of the guys gave me ¢something¢ for my pain... I¢ll hold onto it, but don¢t know if I¢ll use it. I chatted with 25-Mile for a bit. She¢s very sweet and listened to me, and offered to hike with me today. I appreciated that. She actually said a prayer for me, which was nice. I didn¢t know if drugs or a prayer would do anything to solve this, but I was happy to have people helping. They all left and I got my stuff packed up and headed out. There was a chance of thunderstorms and one of those ominous rain clouds hovering around. The day started with a big climb, but I didn¢t think it was too bad. I caught up to Mama Squirrel, Rocky, and 25-Mile. There was a memorial tree on the trail for a boy that had killed himself, but had always loved hiking. His parents put his favorite ornaments and pictures up on the tree. It was very sad, but a nice way of remembering him. 25-Mile stopped for lunch and I kept going to the top of the mountain. And... no view. Lol my favorite! Climb for several miles and see nothing! I sat at the top, which was just a dense forest. It was pretty, but chilly too. I had a snack and 25-Mile came to sit. She was encouraging me to go to the campsite she was thinking of, but that was still a ways away. I told her I¢d think about it, but that I was going to stop when I needed or wanted to.I walked ahead and made it to a shelter. There were people sitting there chatting. I remember Hercules, Turtle, Basic, James, and Fish. Fish¢s name stands for ¢Fuck it I¢m staying here¢, something she says when she¢s done for the day. She¢s super cool. They were all friendly. I filled up on my water and chatted. Fish gave me Jolly Ranchers. Chef and John were there too. 25-Mile arrived and got water too. The next campsite was 4 miles and I told her I was going to push for that, but she was thinking of one in 8 miles. It was 4pm, and I didn¢t really want to nighthike, so I told her I¢d see how I was in 4 miles. We walked together and chatted. She told me the story of her name. Some guy apparently called her a slow poke, and she told him she was going to hike 25-miles in a day at some point. She plans on doing that in Virginia. I would love to hike a 25-mile day too, but I¢m not there yet. We found a campsite that wasn¢t well marked. It was in a meadow. The couple with Raisin the dog was there and a guy named Ain¢t Dead Yet, or Wes. I had seen him before, but a long time ago. 25-Mile knew him and tried to convince him to do more miles. I was pretty tired, but was down to do the 3.7 miles more, as I wanted to catch my friends in the next couple of days, and I wanted to make up for doing such low mileage. Wes joined us and we hiked on. 25-Mile asked me about my feelings about God. I told her about my church upbringing and how I was a spiritual person and believed in God, but that it wasn¢t a huge part of my life. It made me think a lot about faith and its role in my life. And we talked about accepting Jesus as our savior, which is something my Uncle did. He was very spiritual and he passed away last fall. I was with him a few days before he died, and he seemed concerned about being forgiven and passing on. A lovely woman at the hospital came to talk to him about his faith, and had beautiful things to say. We prayed together. My Uncle died a few days later with a smile on his face, and we all wondered if he had made that peace with God and was ready to be taken from us. It made me think a lot about my faith, although I am still young and confused at times about where I stand. We finally got to the campsite that was 3.7 miles away and there was a man there, Hobo. He¢s so awesome. We chatted with Hobo for a while and set up our stuff. It was late, but I was happy to have made it this far. Hobo helped us all with our bear lines, and we did all the usual camp chores. Water was far away and had a bad flow, so I was there for a while trying to fill my bottle. Hobo had started a fire and that was so nice to sit by and chat. We went to bed late because of all the chores and late arrival. I was thankful to 25-Mile for pushing me this far today and for a nice time by the campfire. I was still missing Prometheus so much, but I was happy to be surrounded by good company. Little Debbie