Date: 2003-08-29
From: Silver Hill Campsite

To: Thomsens', Laurel, MD
Miles today: 13.0

I wake before six, the sky patches visible through the big pines above me a pale blue. At my feet the edges of the sunrise glow a pinky-orange color.I ¢cowboy camped¢ again last night, as Rodent calls it. My favorite way to sleep ¢ just outdoors under the stars. Part of me says, ¢How could I be tired of this?¢ Another part says, ¢I just don¢t want to do it anymore.¢ I¢m tired of walking. I¢d never get sick of being outside; I¢m hooked on that. I¢m just tired of forcing myself uphill every day.I¢m not going to force it.The hike today was hilly. B&B left before me and waited at Hatch Brook. We stopped to eat at the junction to Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to, where Toby and Rodent had left me a note encouraging me to catch up to them and go all the way to Katahdin. (You guys are too much ¢ I laughed at your note.)These new shoes are dreadful. I have a pair of clog-like shoes at home that have a wooden sole; that¢s exactly what it feels like I¢m hiking in. My feet are miserable.We hurried though, to meet B&B¢s friends in Falls Village where we¢d get picked up, and to get there in time to eat lunch at a deli they¢d eaten at in ¢01. A few miles out some major noise pollution interrupted our peaceful sojourn through the wilderness. I resented what I thought was a bunch of four-wheelers out joyriding in the woods, and then apologized inside when we looked over a cliff and discovered a race in full swing! We could almost smell the hot dogs, elephant ears, and Coors Lite.I called my parents and said I wanted to come home. They were so understanding; thankfully they didn¢t have anything to do this weekend, and we figured out a plan that was relatively convenient for everyone.At any rate, the deli was well worth the rush, although it was clear we wouldn¢t make it the two more miles into Falls Village in time for our pickup. So after eating Bushwhack asked a couple of guys there for a ride. Turns out they were from out of the area and were just there trying to find some good day hiking. They drove us into Falls Village, one of the tiniest communities I¢ve seen on the Trail yet! Not even a ¢downtown¢; our ride was coming to pick us up at the post office, but it was difficult to find. We drove past what looked like the local hangout, two elderly men sitting out front, and asked directions. They pointed in opposite directions¢¦ We all busted up laughing, but managed to figure out they meant you could get there either way.As it turns out we wouldn¢t have had to rush quite so much. We ended up waiting for a couple of hours on the lawn in front of the post office. But when Karen and Peter arrived, the laughs made up for it. They are an absolute riot ¢ I loved them, too. They drove us to their house in Pennsylvania (near Delaware Water Gap), and we laughed the entire five or six hours! My parents were going to wonder what happened when they picked me up ¢ I was crying when I talked to them on the phone!Second leg of the journey was riding with B&B to Bramble¢s parents¢ in Pennsylvania where my parents picked me up, another two and a half hours drive. We arrived around 11:30, and at last my parents and I got here about 1am.I¢m kind of numb, kind of disappointed, lots of mixed feelings, but glad to be here for now. Tomorrow I¢ll figure out what¢s next.