Date: 2009-07-13
From: Pogo Memorial Campsite

To: PA 16/Waynesboro
Miles today: 16.9

Today was a bit of a whirlwind today for me, but it all worked out in the end. I woke up early at Pogo and did not wait for Gnarly and Blue Eyes, as they had still been sleeping. The rocks coming north were just brutal and, early on, I could tell that my feet were just in bad shape. I put some body glide on them and some Neosporin, but I¢m not sure that it will do the trick. I stopped at the Ensign Cowall Shelter to sign the register and I randomly happened to meet a good chap, Guernsey, named after where he lives - an island off the coast of the United Kingdom and closer to the Normandy coastline of France. Although citizens of Guernsey are governed by their own, they still pledge their allegiance to the United Kingdom. It is interesting, however, Guernsey is not part of the UK but rather a separate possession of the Crown, comparable to the Isle of Man. Guernsey is also not part of the European Union. We talked for the larger part of the day and I really enjoyed his company. He also happens to be a Man Utd. fan, so we were chatting all about the transfer news and transfer gossip as the new season of English Premiership Football is about to begin. I also called Belding (Brad Arnold), who I had met with his daughet Carrie (Indy) in the Georgia/North Carolina/Tennessee section fo the Appalachian Trail. He lives in Hanover, PA, which is a short distance from the more historical civil war town of Gettysburg. It turned out that Brad had invited me back to stay with him that evening and that he would be able to drive the one hour distance to pick me up. At the time that we were able to coordinate logistics, I was .2 miles away from the PenMar border and grubbing at the PenMar State Park. Some senior citizens folks were out for a picnic and they called me over to see who I was and what I was doing. They explained that they had just met Jungli, who was very nice and sweet, and that Jungli said that it took so long for us to arrive because we were just slow hikers. Haha! This senior citizen group was a bit on the wild side, but they certainly knew how to have a nice time. After talking to them for a short while, they offered to me any leftover food, which consisted of a chicken sandwich, a wonderful hoagie, two fruit cups, two peaches, gourmet popcorn, a peanut butter stick, and a cold, refreshing glass of water. It was just lovely. As a memento, Guernsey and I headed back up to the table to get a picture with the kind folks. After that, we absolutely booked it to PA 16, where Brad would be meeting us to take us into the Gettysburg vicinity. We were quite a ways behind due to the staged photographing wth the senior citizen group, so we really high-tailed it down to the highway. At some straight arrowed trails, I just high-tailed it, running in a full out sprint. I emerged from the rocks and the wilderness unscathed and, by this point, Brad had just arrived a few minutes earlier, so it worked out very well. It was great to see Brad again and I was surprised that he allowed for me to give him a hug, considering I was stinking pretty badly and I was sweating from head to toe. He also invited Guernsey back to his house with us; it was nice to have additional company, anyway. On the way, Brad and his former mentor, Sam, told us all about the Civil War history and the various battles fought, including the one that we would be seeing tomorrow ¢ the famous Gettysburg battle, which happened to be the turning point of the war. Arriving into Hanover, I met Vickie, Brad¢s wife, who had prepared some wonderful snacks for us and was ever-so-kind with her offerings of food and beverages. She even made our beds downstairs in the basement. Ahhh, civilized living is pretty damn nice! For dinner, we had some wonderful cheese steak sandwiches from down the road. Brad and I were able to reminisce a bit about the trail and he was asking Guernsey and I all about the lightweight backpacking philosophy. After heading inside the house after dinner, I was extremely tired and sore and needed to get some sleep, but also knew that I needed to get my Trail Journals site updated. So, tired as hell, here I am typing away at 1:50 am. We¢ll be getting up around 7 am tomorrow to prepare to leave and then we¢re off to the battlefield! It will be my first visit to Gettysburg for the sole purpose of seeing the history. Other times have been for a soccer event and a recruiting trip when I was being recruited by various colleges in the mid-Atlantic. Okay, it¢s sleep time for me. Wait, one more thing. Many, many thanks to Brad and Vickie for taking us in for the night. It was truly unexpected, but it has given us a chance to rest, eat a quality meal, and have some great company. So, thank you.