Date: 2004-04-22
From: Nolichucky River (Super 8 Motel)

To: Spivey Gap (Erwin, Miss Janet's)
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

Miss Janet's / Emotions9PM - Miss Janet'sToday was a very emotional day for me.As I have probably mentioned, I will be taking 2 weeks off the Trail in late May. The reason is that I will be attending a 10-day workshop by the Star Foundation in northern California. I don't know the exact topic of the workshop, but I think of it as a workshop in self-exploration.There is some homework for the workshop that I need to send in by the time I get to Fontana Dam, so I was planning to do some of that while slackpacking today, a whole lot of personal information about myself. From the time I woke up this morning I was turning over in my head what I was going to put in it. So by the time I moved to Miss Janet's early this morning, my emotions were close to the surface.A night at Miss Janet's includes breakfast. When I walked into the kitchen I was hit by total chaos. Even though I had not stayed the night, within minutes I found myself doing dishes, then setting the table, and even a short turn at turning bacon. Everyone else in the kitchen was similarly engaged in a variety of activities, with MJ presiding from the stove. I even had my second breakfast out on the sun-drenched patio around a long table with the rest of the group. And feeling right at home.Miss Janet has a tradition of having everyone around the table introduce themselves with their real name, their Trail Name, and with their response to the daily question, which she apparently makes up on the spot. Her question today was 'If you were hiking down the Trail and met someone there who you could hike with for half a day, who would you choose?'.I was almost last in these introductions, and as my turn approached I was thinking I would like to walk with someone like Socrates, Einstein or Darwin, especially now that they have sat at the right hand of the Almighty and would know the answers to all of those deep questions they were asking.But when my turn came, almost before I realized it, I was naming my late wife as the person I would like to be hiking with, and was completely choking up with feelings I thought I had dealt with over a year ago. And those who know me will realize that I am not one to easily show my emotions in public.After breakfast was over and the cleanup accomplished in just as chaotic a fashion, we finally got on the road for us slackpackers to be dropped off at various trailheads, but that didn't mean we got there immediately. There were stops at two groceries for resupply, and at the dump to get rid of the remains of the breakfast and the night before. It was well on to noon before I set foot on the Trail, well past my 7:15 standard. And I had pretty much told Miss Janet half my life story before we got there.Once on the Trail and by myself, the emotions of the morning easily expanded and gave me much to ponder about regarding the homework I needed to do. My stop for lunch near a small stream and an hour with pen and paper allowed me to finish a major portion of what I had to do.(It is now two days later, and I am sitting in Miss Janet's kitchen early in the morning of the day I leave Erwin, so I must put this entry to bed and move on to others.)Hikers met today:Vocal; N R Chi; Rock Steady; Chigger; Dingle; Heidi Hobbit; Holly Hobbit; Sweet Leaf; Bookworm, plus a lot more at Miss Janet' whose names I haven't yet learned.See you on down the Trail