Date: 2003-07-27
From: Shenandoah Tenting Area

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today is for Margaret Bannon and family, Littleton. Remembering my good friend Con. Drops of rain had me up and packing around 6. But they were only a few drops. Ate a little breakfast and packed before heading out at 6.45. Downhill to the Horntontown Road Shelter where Morph, Karma, Skittles, CC and Chicken Legs were consuming large quantities of food and needed help. Cornpatch and I obliged. They had been to town the previous evening and had overspent and now that they had to carry their pack, they were quickly offloading. Skittles, a young 18-year-old from Georgia, had bought 1 dozen eggs, ate 6 and could get no takers for the remaining half dozen. Nobody wanted the bother of cooking them. Fortified with all sorts of calories, I set off again. Soon I came to the Taconic State near where you said Pat Costigan lived. The morning was lovely as I climbed Hosner Mountain, thinking of you all at home on a Sunday morning ¢ going to Mass, the dinner and the match. How different it all is here. I stopped at a lovely overlook for some grub and was joined by Cornpatch who wished to join me. He is one year older than I. Started in Georgia on March 20th with his wife Jean. She got off the Trail at Harper¢s Ferry. He is a nice guy and we get on well together. We walked on together uphill till we came to NY52 and then with Morph we walked down the road 0.4 miles to a Deli. We were joined by Tinamu, Karma and Skittles. Mountain Dew and a large Chicken Supreme works wonders. I had been feeling very tired again this morning but when I shared my thoughts with the other lads, I was both surprised and relieved to hear that they were all feeling fatigued. The heat and humidity was something else. I packed the remaining half of my sandwich and put the caffeine loaded Mountain Dew in my water bottle and walked back to the Trail. 3.9 miles to the next Shelter ¢ taking in a nice climb up Mt. Egbert (1,329). I was wondering how the Tipp v Offaly match was going. Would Christina have a laugh at us if ¢the Faithful County¢ won? Morph joined me on the final stages of the climb and we walked together to the Shelter. He is 60+ and remarkably fit. He is also very witty and great company. I ate the remaining part of my Deli lunch and walked alone to NY55. It was very hot and the water was getting low. Luckily, I met a couple in a car and put on the poor mouth. A little bottle of fresh water ¢ not Tipperary Spring but who cares. Cornpatch and I were directed by the same couple to a nearby house where we could ¢load up¢. We also had a ¢shower¢. 4.3 miles to the Shelter and the evening looked like rain. We walked around a radioactive lake and again climbed ¢ this time West Mt. Morph again passed and I waited for Cornpatch. Again the raindrops were falling but we made it to the Shelter dry. There was this big fat lump of a guy down from Iowa sprawled all over the Shelter. He started in Georgia on April 15th (so he says), walked 30 miles, got off the Trail for 3 months and had rejoined today. He was a sorry sight but we told him to get his ass into gear and decide where he was going to sleep. We thought he might die (but no such luck). He snored like a train ¢ never changing or eating a bite. He claims to be a Thru-hiker, Skittles kept saying.