Date: 2003-07-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My second zero day at Duncannon...I am antsy to get hiking, but have already made the decision to wait for Reason and Cruiser to get here. I slept badly last night...partly because I was sleeping on the floor on my therma-rest, partly because I seem to sleep badly anywhere but in my tent. Also, in the middle of the night, someone used the fire escape. The chain and weight pulley system was just outside our window. All three of us (I was in Gerri and Randy's room) sat bolt upright when the chain screamed as the escape was lowered. I had actually been sound asleep at that point, too.... We got up at about 9 and all went to the post office. I had two boxes and Gerri and Randy had six. We went back to the hotel to sort out what we were taking with us and what we were mailing ahead or home or back to the manufacturer (Gerri had a new pair of boots to replace her old ones). Then we packed everything up and went BACK to the post office to mail stuff out. It's a proc!ess, I tell you. Oh, and my new straps for my backpack weren't here. I put in a forwarding slip but asked to have them sent priority...hopefully they'll be in Delaware Water Gap when I get there. Back at the hotel, I ate some breakfast on the balcony, while Gerri and Randy ate in the restaurant downstairs. I was feeling very sad...I've been hiking with them for quite awhile, and really enjoy being with them. Now, they were heading out and I was staying behind. I knew I would see them again soon, but it's always been hard for me to let people go. They had gotten some watermelon at the grocery store the day before, and shared it with me before they left. I said goodbye and went downstairs to have a bit of a cry. When I got there, Starburst, Little Dirty Barn Monkey, VSA and the Dude were just arriving...way too early to have hiked all the way from Boiling Springs to Duncannon. They had decided at 8 miles that they felt more like getting here than hiking and had yell!ow blazed (hitch-hiked). I was happy to see them, especially VSA, as she understood the emotional crap I was going through. I went to one of the convenience stores in town to get lunch and decided to get razors to shave my legs. I hadn't done them since the beginning of the trek, and I figured it would be a way to pass the time till Reason and Ctruiser got here. It took over half an hour and three razors to do the job...yikes! When I had gotten back from the store, someone came through the door saying "Woods Dragon!" I looked and saw I.B.! I hadn't seen him since Damascus, and had heard that he'd had to leave the Trail for financial reasons. It was so good to see him! It must have been another reason (in the everything happens for a reason category) for my being here an extra day. We talked for a bit, but he was heading to the post office...I would see him later. When we talked later, he told me that his wife wouldn't let him leave the Trail for money problems...they worked it out so they were able to put him back out there. He'd b!een trying to catch up with me, had been hiking to Boiling Springs that day and was going to night hike further to get to Duncannon. On the way into Boiling Springs, however, he turned his ankle over...it didn't look good. He figured he could stay at the Doyle for a few days to recoup and it wouldn't cost him as much as it would elsewhere. He got some ice and went to rest and ice his ankle. I waited around the restaurant as people who were slacking came in...I knew that Reason and Cruiser would probably be later than most of the others...they like to take a lot of breaks. At 7:30, I.B. and I went to dinner at the Italian restaurant. When we got back, "Mom and Dad" were in and devouring dinner at the bar. The only people who arrived later were Rif Raf...but that's what they do...start late and arrive late. We all hung out at the bar for awhile...Cruiser was really tired and went to bed at 10. I was not far behind her at 11:30. I knew it was going to be a party, but !I was tired, and I wanted to be ready to hike the next day...not hung over. It was a good, mellow day...tomorrow, back to the Trail!