Date: 2004-06-12
From: Waldron House

To: RPH Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

I reluctantly left trail magic central. They offered to let me stay longer but I knew I had to leave or it was never going to happen. One night would become four and I would probably think to myself how close New York City and the International Airport was and off to Canada it would be. So basically I knew I had to leave, while I still had some will power. Thanks so much to Jenn, Joe, Colin and Finn for the hospitality!As I was peacefully walking along the trail this afternoon I saw a dog ahead. It was small and on a leash so I did not pick up a big stick like I usually do. This was a mistake. I pulled off to the side of the trail and as the dog was passing by it started to bite at my shoe. I started kicking it and finally the dad pulled the dog away (the little girl was holding the leash). I said a few nasty things and the girl started to cry. Good! I hope I wrecked their day because if that dog had gone after my leg instead of my shoe my hike could have been over. The dad couldn¢t get out of the trail fast enough. I think he thought I was going to snap. Hopefully they will think twice before bringing their dog on the AT.I don¢t think I wrote about this in my journal but a couple of weeks ago I had another dog encounter. I saw a big dog running at me as I was walking down the trail. So I stopped and waited until the owners had the dog under control. The guy was holding the dogs collar so I also didn¢t think it necessary to pick up a stick. This was also a mistake, because as I was walking by, the dog lunged at me, trying to bite. The guy could barely hold the dog back. The dog came within inches of biting my arm. The funny thing is that those people before I walked by said the dog is just all bark.So the moral of the story is that dogs on the AT are generally bad news. NOBODY except the owners wants them out there. They pollute water sources. THey leave crap in the middle of the trail and around shelters, bark all night and keep people awake and bite people. Some stupid people even think their dogs should be entitled to a spot in the shelter and then wonder why people hate them. I guess there are exceptions, if someone would show me a dog who doesn¢t drink, doesn¢t crap, and doesn¢t bark or bite I would gladly welcome it on the AT. See, I¢m not anti-dog, just anti-effects of dogs.As if I wasn¢t already giddy from the effects of extreme trail magic, when more would come my way. First, an ex-hiker brought Spicey, Wandering Bear, Pretty Bird and I bananas and water because the pump here is nasty. Then a few minutes later Socks, from Connecticut (who recognized me from Trail Journals and had sent me a package to Troutville) showed up with a smorgasbord. Warm tacos from Taco Bell, chips and salsa, cookies, fruit, fudge, sodas, beer and wine coolers, plus a box of stuff we could use for re-supply. For people who all claimed to have already eaten supper we sure ate a lot of food. We even grabbed some fruit for breakfast the next day. I have a hard time understanding how day after day this keeps happening to me! Maybe it is what I need to stay on the trail. Thank you Socks for the awesome magic, we all REALLY appreciated it and enjoyed talking to you.Some people say that there is too much trail magic on the trail but I know of no thru-hiker who at this point in the their hike who doesn¢t welcome a warm taco, brought right to the shelter. The kindness of so many people amazes me.In other news I was talking to Spicey last night and she told me about some buses in MA that are cheap and can be used to skip up to 70 trail miles. Spicey is a bad influence because everyone she told is way too tempted to take them. Me included. As you know the hiking has been making me crazy so I¢ve decide to take it easy and just take a bus. Confessions of a Yellow-blazer.JB ¢ ¢Tell It Like It Is¢¢¦=====================================================