Date: 2003-05-30
To: Slacker Land
Miles today: 0.6

i got to sleep in a bed last night! and it was all mine! mine i tell you! and boy did i sleep well (no snorers this time--orb and lucky slept downstairs). we threw some pancakes (lucky's secret recipe) and eggs together and ran out the door with our gear to try and make it to ann's school for the presentations (we were running a little late). the four of us gave 3 presentation to approximately 15 students each, usually around 11 years old. this was a lot of fun since the kids were so interested in our trip and what we do each day. but the kids were the most excited about lucky's bear encounter in the shenandoahs. afterwards, some of the students came up and asked for our autographs--i'm famous!towards the end of the last presentation, the school and a fire drill--so we marched outside with the class and lined up in the grass. i wish i had a picture of it. i have to admit that i talked to LT and lucky while we were lined up, but didn't get detention (whew!). when the presentaions were over, they gave us some sweet pastries as a thank you (we loved it) and we said our goodbyes. what a great experience and a neat way to symbolize the midpoint of my journey: if i've come this far, i know what i need to know to make it all the way.from there, LT left for her friend's graduation parties and tom (ann's husband) took orb, lucky, and i back to the AT. it was about 1pm when we hit the trail. stringbean was there already (he knew we would be there tonight)we have SO much food. normally my food bag weighs maybe 8 lbs. today, i couldn't even fit all the food into the bag and was literally carrying 2 plastic bags in my hands as we walked. in order to take things slow and wait for LT, we were going to walk an incredible 0.6 miles to a campsite. 0.6!! this means we need lots of food to keep us busy. i think i should be renamed goldberry-z.here are some of the foods we've got for the next couple days (besides normal trail food): shrimp, pineapple (orb, of course, is carrying this), sausages, salads, veggies, pastries, swedish fish, sugar wafers, oranges, and libations. it goes on but i'll stop there. obviously, we were FORCED to eat some of this before it spoiled. the trash we'll have to pack out isn't going to be pretty...we didn't really have a dinner, but just constantly snacked throughout the day. but the sun was shining, it was the first warm day for MAY (felt like it anyway), and we had an excuse to be lazy (thanks LT!). there will be other days to hike.the worst thing that happened today was that i got hit with a frisbee. but that's what i get when 3 guys decide to throw it with me in the middle. stringbean SAID it was an accident and it didn't hurt.[Editor: Well, I never said her Ninja Reflexes worked all the time, but when you are growing up with someone, if they work most of the time it's best not to take that risk. I'll bet she wishes they had worked the time she made the basement door fall on her head.]interesting fact that we found out yesterday: about 1659 people climb mt. everest each year. ~400 people FINISH the AT each year. wow, that puts perspective on this. makes me feel all good inside too.