Date: 2015-06-01
From: Manassas Gap/The Giving Tree, Linden

To: Morgan Mill Stream
Miles today: 18.7

Present day Red Panda would like to take this opportunity to thank Red Panda of four months ago for making a huge ridiculous math error and screwing up her mail drop. Somehow I planned like eight days of food for two days of hiking. Oops.HOWEVER, it actually turned out to be quite convenient, providing Chris and I with enough provisions to make it to Harpers Ferry without having to head too far into a town to resupply. Linden is only one convenient mile from the trail. It did mean that we had a late start to the day, because we had to wait for the post office to open. It was nice to get up and relax for a while, though.Also a box of goodies is a good way to start my two month anniversary on the trail. TWO MONTHS! That's just crazy. No wonder my poor feet hurt. Hiking, hiking, hiking... They have taken quite a beating over two months.I got up and packed up as much as I could, leaning my tent up to dry. Last night I realized that I might be able to charge my phone in the post office while I waited for it to open. The post office box area would at least be unlocked. It was worth investigating.But I had more immediate issued to solve upon waking. I had to go to the bathroom SO BADLY. But I was in someone's backyard. I couldn't just dig a hole like I would if I was in the woods. It was an emergency situation. I have been eating SO MUCH this week, with all the waysides, gifts of food from Funk's family, snacks from the convenience store, and from the owners of The Giving Tree last night. SO MUCH FOOD.So my bowels were pretty full. Just one more super fun part of hiking. I wasn't going to knock on our host's door at 5 o'clock to beg to stink up their bathroom. Can you imagine waking up to banging in your front door, only to find a grubby, stinky little hiker woman standing there with her knees together begging to wreck your toilet? I wouldn't want to inflict that on anyone.I packed up my sleeping bag in discomfort. I changed my clothes with grimaces of bowel pain. I rolled up my ThermaRest in agony.And then... a brainwave! I stumbled out of my tent on sore, stiff feet and wobbled around the corner of the building, hoping and hoping and hoping...And I nearly cheered! The little Monteray Service Station, where we got snacks yesterday, had its lights on! There were cars in the parking lot! I could see people moving inside! My heart soared. Hallelujah! A place to poop!After that problem was solved, the nice lady at the store kindly letting me rush to the back, I investigated the post office plug situation. I do feel bad stealing electricity... but I like to keep my phone charged in case of emergencies if nothing else.But it was a no go. None of the outlets worked. So I wandered back to the convenience store to investigate there. Eureka! There were two outlets outside, right by a set of chairs. I went back inside, bought a Gatorade, and asked if it was okay if I sat out and charged my phone. The lady was, again, SO NICE. "Of course! That's what they're there for!" she told me. So I plugged in my stuff and sat and ate my granola and peach for breakfast. When I saw that Chris had emerged from his hammock across the street, I wandered over and filled him in on my shocking outlet discovery (GET IT?! SHOCKING?! I actually did shock myself a little plugging in my charger). He gave me his phone to plug in, too, so I then wandered back and called my dad while my phone charged.Then we finished packing and waited for the post office to open. I retrieved the box while Chris bought one last Gatorade, and brought it back to the front of the store. I got NEW SOCKS and my fleece liner! And a note from my mommy <3Instead of sorting through everything there, we just split it in half and loaded it into our packs so that we could hit the trail ASAP. We walked back towards the trail and a guy at the post office yelled that he would give us a ride. Awesome. It turns out that he was a member of the PATC, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and was on his way to put a new roof on the Denton shelter, where we ate lunch yesterday. The PATC is huge and maintains a long stretch of the trail. And they do a great job. We have to have passed at least six or seven people out doing trail maintenance over the last few days. We thanked him for his work before he left us. Chris shared the sentiment, which I totally agree with, that it sucks that it is so hard for us, as hikers, to give back to all of the people who give to us - trail angels who provide rides, club members who maintain the trail, business owners who let us squat in their backyards... all of these people provide us with amazing acts of kindness, help us experience one of the greatest adventures of our lives... and there is little we can do to repay them. All of you out there helping us hikers, THANK YOU. Someone once asked me if I had help on my hike. The help never ends, and I couldn't be here without it.About a mile down the trail, I was thinking about all of the things that I had seen in my mail drop. And then it hit me. "I have graham cracker AND chocolate AND marshmallows!" I yelled ahead to Chris. "Happy two month anniversary to me!""That's right!" He said. "Happy two month-iversary. How does it feel to have hiked nearly a THOUSAND miles in two months?"I can't believe I have been on the trail for so long. It is so weird. TWO MONTHS ago, Alexa and I headed out on the Approach Trail up Springer Mountain. So much has happened since then but it seems like it was only a few days ago. Time is so weird.It was quite a day for a two month-iversary. I started out tired, and the first miles crawled by. My feet hurt and I desperately wanted a shower and clean clothes and a clean bed to crawl into so I could sleep forever. But I have to hike! And once we stopped for a snack and I ate about two protein bars, six hundred M&Ms, some Cadbury Mini Eggs, and trail mix (thanks again, past self!), I felt FANTASTIC. Amazing what six snacks can do.Also, we passed Billy slackpacking southbound. It's not that I don't like Billy, he just weirded me out with the foot thing the other day. And I hate having people hike so close behind me. And he talks way too much. It was like the trail's gift to me... Billy going in the other direction.The sun was out as we hiked through Sky Meadows State Park. What an apt name... The trail broke out of the woods into huge meadows, the bright blue sky opening wide before us, butterflies fluttering about on the breeze. I was in heaven. The mountains rolled in the distance as I took a deep breath of happiness.We stopped for a pee break and to check our location and something hit me. The second-next shelter was located at the 999.9 mile mark. It was TOTALLY possible to make it an even 1000 miles in two months. The only problem was that the shelter was still like seven miles away. We had started late, and if we went all the way, we would have to hike nearly 23 miles in a day. Totally doable, but it would mean a late end. I was totally stoked about it, but Chris was not so enthusiastic. It was a hot, humid day and we have both been exhausted lately. We decided that we would get to the next shelter and see how we felt. Once there, I started digging and sorting through the mail drop food, dividing it up so we would each have breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks to last the next two days. Poor Chris was exhausted and sat and rested while I asked him a million questions. "Would you eat dehydrated beans? Do you want corn or peas? Do you want more nuts for your trail mix? PopTarts or oatmeal?" And on and on... the poor guy probably wanted to kill me as I jabbered away, full of sugar from all of my excellent snacks.We discussed moving on and our final destination. It was clear he didn't feel good. It was also clear that I had plenty of energy. However, we were also about to head into The Roller Coaster, defined in AWOL's guide as "13.5 miles of tightly packed ascents and descents". Sounds AWESOME, right?! I think it sounds awesome. My feet at 4 p.m. were not quite as enthusiastic, though. We decided to head the next few miles to a campsite then reassess. If we wanted, we could keep going to the shelter. If not, we could camp.As we departed the shelter, thunder started rumbling. We had passed Funk at a stream earlier (he also started April 1st and was aiming for the 1000 mile mark), and he had told us that the afternoon forecast included a flash flood warning. And of course it started raining. There was some lightning. It was GREAT. I needed a shower. I love thunderstorms. I had a dry change of clothes and a dry tent in my pack. Chris asked how I was feeling and I answered, "Refreshed!" As lightning struck and thunder rumbled, I shook my poles in front of myself and cried, "Best two month anniversary ever!"It was fun. I had a good time in the rain. We got to the campsite and decided to stop. If I was hiking alone, I totally would have kept going to the shelter. But it is probably better for my poor feet that I didn't. I could have kept going alone. I doubt Chris would have cared. Everyone has to hike their own hike. It made more sense to stay, though.Also, even though I haven't hiked 1000 miles of the AT, I have totally hiked 1000 miles in two months, because I did the Approach Trail. So I can still make that claim. So awesome.Chris set up his tarp as I wielded the umbrella over him. I pitched my tent during a break in the rain, gathered some muddy water from the stream, and then we huddled together under the tarp to cook dinner. And hot chocolate. And s'mores for an early celebration of crossing the 1000 mile mark tomorrow.We chatted about hiking together and our impending parting of ways while we boiled, ate, and drank. Chris thanked me for sharing my mail drop. I thanked him for saving me from having to carry all that food. I thanked him for not treating me like I am a wimpy idiot girl (even though I am sometimes... especially when trying to hang my food bag). We thanked each other for putting up with each other for days on end. "Who's going to check my back for ticks when you abandon me?" I asked him. "Who am I going to split pizza with?!""You act like we're never going to hike together again." He said. "It could happen."And he's right. It could. The trail works in mysterious ways.I roasted the last marshmallows on my spork over my alcohol stove, and burned my lips on the hot metal while biting one off. Another lesson learned by Idiot Red Panda: don't freaking touch hot metal. Duh. I am sure my lips will be nice and blistered in the morning.Chris requested that we push our wakeup to 6 o'clock again tomorrow, which I didn't mind agreeing to. I always want more sleep! "If you wake up in the rain and decide to sleep later, just yell at my tent to let me know." I told him, laughing.It is quite rainy. I am so thankful for my awesome, wonderful dry tent. I am also thankful to have dry clothes, for random and planned acts of kindness, and for all of the people who have helped make my hike.