Date: 2012-06-02
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Catawba
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh man, the rooster let us sleep in until 7:30 this morning. I ate breakfast in the hammock. The spiders were mostly gone, the sun was shining, things were clean. This is the decision that has to be made every morning: get moving or settle in for a luxuriously slow start. There isn't a middle ground. I was all set to cruise when Jumanji tempted me with her siren song. Coffee. Sweet, delicious, joyous coffee. Then Jumanji made an oatmeal disaster for breakfast. I watched it all unfold from my seat on the opposing rock. Not enough water, then too much water, then more oatmeal but a different flavor. Then some sugar, then some more. It was getting ugly. There was a moment when it was still edible. And then, with the addition of a single packet of sugar, nothing could be done. The girls had to find a place to bury it. While this was taking place, I set to playing some music. PMo decided some tunes were in order this morning and was playing them from her phone.   An Old Crow song came on that I actually knew how to play! Everyone has covered this song at some point it seems and I then played my favorite cover for her by Chris Pureka. She was unmoved, liked the OC version better. Case closed. I was now a long way from being ready to go, left with 400mL of coffee, music playing, ukulele out. The girls took off. I did some bouldering, took some photos, visited the privy. Then I did some sprinting. I had lollygagged away hours. I finally got up to the Dragon's Tooth after a few more hours. I met Richard and Trisha at the top and they took a photo for me. It is moments like these where you realize you are different. But you just don't have to tell anyone. It's not that you are better. You are just different. And secure with the divide. There is no need to meet in the middle. They could've been me a few months ago. The ramble slowly changes you. And it's ok to keep the secrets to yourself. I hiked down to the cut-off and took off through the farmland. The books warned that the water was bad through here due to the livestock. I had been rationing my water when I came upon Jason filtering water. Jason didn't have a trail name. He had already thru-hiked a year ago and ended without a name. He had opinions. On everything. It was very off-putting. But I listened, and when the trail we were walking down came to the road, he was taking it to town. I still had a lot of miles to cover before meeting the girls at the next road, where Jumanji's parents would be waiting for us. It was several hours away so I huffed it up and down these big ol' hills in the hot, sunshine. I took one detour through a small grove of cherry trees and took as much as I could carry. At the top of the last up, I met a family with three small children, all wearing miniature Croc's. One of the boys asked his Mom while pointing at me, "Why does he have his crocodiles on his back?" Adorable. The last down brought me in only an hour later than we had agreed upon. They were all smiles and had been giving out trail magic to the hikers. They had met EZnomad and Semplesee and really taken to the two of them. Very different fellows but both solid characters. I would trust them with my life. Its a good sign when you see other people quickly recognize it too. Jumanji's parents, Sharon and Mike, shared their cheese, crackers, and grapes with me. Sharon then produced a bunch of thoughtful things including new socks, a new shirt, and a few boxes I had mailed to PMo's house. Such big hearts on these two! I can see why their daughter turned into such a fine young woman. We drove to the Home Place Restaurant, famous in certain circles around these parts. There was a short wait, and everybody got to meet Jason, who had already finished eating and was distending out on the lawn. He got the same reaction from everyone he spoke to. Inside, it was mayhem. Fried chicken, roast beef, all-you-can-eat whoa. Unfortunately, there wasn't much for Sharon to eat since even the green beans had bacon in them. We saw EZnomad and Semplesee inside killing a second round of dessert. I would be surprised if this place hasn't ended more than one thru-hiker's ambitious journey. Due to explosion. There was butter everywhere. We spent some time on the lawn as well after our meal until the wind got too cold. We piled into the minivan and drove to Catawba where Mike and Sharon treated us to a hotel room. These are classy folks, I am telling you. We tried to do laundry in the machines but they were all taken. The sink did just fine. After showers and changing to cleaner clothes, Sharon, Mike, and Jumanji rejoined us where we looked at photos and joked around. We eventually decided that the hot tub was calling to us and went downstairs. Mike wore two pairs of boxer shorts - one forward, one backward for full coverage. The soak was nice. Jumanji, Sharon, and I then hit the hotel lobby sports bar for a beer and met Troy who gave us some insight as to what it would be like to live there. He travels there every month and stays at the hotel for a few nights to meet new people. We hit last call and headed back to our rooms for some much-needed sleep, AC blasting the whole night.