Date: 2009-06-24
From: Troutville

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

It really did feel good to be back: back to continue the journey; to stride out, if not purposefully, then at least with a purpose; to boldly go ¢¦.. well maybe not.Getting out of the cab and heading into the Post Office to send some journals home I was still some ¢distance¢ from physically stepping back on the Trail bit I was already ¢heading north¢. I was back in my element. Was it home? It kinda felt so; and maybe it was actually home. It¢s after all where I had spent all but 8 days of the lat two months, and where, all being well, I would spend most of the four months to come. If home is where the heart is then this is probably just a vacation but if instead home is where my tent is, then ¢Welcome Home¢.Fully resupplied after a visit to Kroger and stepping back onto the Trail was all well (apart from my feet which had become somewhat dried out and hacked during their period of inactivity in the sunny west). After my time off I started to wonder who might have passed me by and what reunions might lie ahead. I didn¢t have to wonder long as the question was answered within a mile and a half when I was reacquainted with Arrow (who I had met on Day 6 of my trip). He was quite literally ¢lying ahead¢ ¢ stretched out as he was relaxing on his sleeping pad in the middle of the Trail. He looked very smart, and inwardly I was quite jealous of his rather dapper Prince of Wales check thrift shop shirt. It seemed that sartorial standards had increased in my absence ¢ I would have to up my game!The next reunion was with my old mate Pete. We had tentatively discussed returning to the Trail at the same time but I had really no expected to see him. It was good but it was also a little strange. I think in my mind I had started to think along the lines of heading forth into a new adventure, or at least a new chapter of the old one, and no things wee back the way they were. Not bad but another adjustment to my expectations.Pete headed to the nearby shelter and I continued alone for the time being, crossing three creeks along the way. The last creek was inviting and I peeled off my socks to soak my tender feet. I noticed a few small fish. The few became more, and the more than became a mass. Now, rather than the clear water I thought I had arrived at I could now see fish everywhere. The creek was literally teeming with life. I watched then and I then noticed small lobsteresque things. Now, I¢m pretty sure lobsters don¢t frequent the waterways of the Appalachian Trail and decided that in the circumstances these must in fact be cray fish. They were small but had those lobster claws. Having seen too many cartoon characters running off into the distance screaming in pain with just such claws attached to noses, fingers and, dare I say, toes I decided that my feet had had enough of their recuperating soak and moved on.Peter and I caught up again at the shelter, chatting until day turned to dusk turned to very nearly dark. Arrow, Herb and Chelsey also passed through and the tales of their weird and wonderful adventures made me smile as I lay sheltering in my tent. Yes, it was good to be back.