Date: 2014-05-21
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Washington Monument State Park
Miles today: 422.0
Weather: broken clouds

How A-bout a Pic-a-nic, Boo Boo?Dinosaur and I finally caught one another in Harpers Ferry and a group of us decided to slackpack out of town, with assistance from my very helpful father. He took our packs 18 miles up the trail to a camp group and left them, guarded by Mama Bean, for us to catch up to. So Geared Up, Dino, an Aussie friend of ours, Bean Dip, and I all had a terrific pack free day. I don't know if I have ever mentioned Bean Dip before, but we've crossed paths several times over the last month or so. Her mother, Mama Bean, came over to hike with her for a month from Damascus to the halfway point and the pair of them together are a formidable pair: they are each wicked in all the best ways. For example: I met them officially at Woods Hole Hostel, right before Pearisburg. The place is known for its eco-friendly food, and vegans and vegetarians like to go there especially because the owner goes out of her way to make sure that they are well taken care of. Usually the meatless options are nearly labeled and set on a separate table to try to avoid confusion. However, on this one particular morning things were more chaotic than usual and the egg bowls somehow got switched. A 13 year vegetarian got halfway through her bowl of eggs only to find a largish piece of sausage stuck to the end of her fork. Trying to remain calm she asked quietly if her eggs had meat in them.The entire table got quiet and the owner leaned over to check the bowl, nodded, and quickly replied, "If it helps at all, everything here is organic and all the animals are treated humanely."Another moment of silence and Bean Dip leaned over to point at the bit of sausage still suspended on the outstretched fork and said, "Yeah, his name was Steve."Midnight Sparkle dubbed Mama Bean "Spirit Crusher" soon after meeting her and it didn't take long to stick. She takes particular pleasure in lying to children. Bean Dip told a story about how she and her brother were told that the ice cream truck was actually the dog catcher. "I was almost a teenager before I found out that I didn't have to grab the dog and hide under the bed whenever I heard ragtime over the truck's speakers." Moma Bean doesn't much like to hike and seems to take particular umbrage with her pack. In fact, she somehow sorted out a way to make Bean Dip carry almost the entirety of her gear! Even still they're hiking style is a bit more "executive tour" than the average backpacker's. Moma Bean likes to have a glass of wine on most evenings and an extra stove is carried... By Bean Dip... So that she can have a warm sponge bath in the evenings. They stay in as many hostels and b&b's as the trail will allow and are not at all opposed to yellow blazing- terrain dependent.This is all tongue and cheek, but the core of this little recital is that I like the pair a lot and are greatly entertained by them. They are hilarious, good natured and perfectly willing to laugh at themselves as well as at others. It's all fair game in their book. Mama Bean guarded the packs as the four of us marched the 18 miles away from Harpers Ferry. She was scheduled to leave the States in a week's time and she didn't feel the need to hike any more than was necessary in her last few days of vacation.We camped at Dahlgren campground that night and ordered pizza from a local pizzeria willing to deliver to us. It was quite a party. Up early the next morning and we hiked a very large 3 miles over to Washington Memorial State Park where Elusive, a fellow thru hiker, had organized a trail magic picnic. Word had spread up and down the trail and hordes of hikers were making the park their destination for the day. It was wonderful. I think I drank about a gallon of Coke and ate my weight in hotdogs, fried chicken, potato salad, avocado salad and so, so much more. Elusive's friends and family had brought lawn chairs and large circles of over-stuffed people formed, lounging in food induced stupors. After a bit hikers began to talk about where they were trying to end up for the evening and Midnight Sparkle admitted that he was getting a lift for his Great-Aunt Jan and Uncle Ron and was planning on staying at their home for the remainder of the holiday weekend. "It's right on the beach, over next to Annapolis!" he crowed. Dino and I looked at each other and silently agreed that Sparkle's weekend was sounding pretty excellent. So when the expected kin arrived Dino was right next to Sparkle to greet them. It's hard to resist Dino. She's all genuine and cute and German. Folks can't help but like her. And of course then I came up behind the group and said excitedly, "Hello, Aunt Jan and Uncle Ron! It's so good to see you!" Accompanied by my most endearing grin. Suffice to say, we got invited to the beach and Dino and I were happily adopted by two of the greatest human beings on the planet.