Date: 2007-05-23
To: Jesse "No Trail Name" Jackson
Miles today: 0.0

Hello fans of Henry! I wish that I could say that I've waited so long to write in his journal about our adventure because I was really soaking in the experience, trying to find what it all meant to me and all that, but the truth is, I'm just lazy. I decided to hook up (not that way you dirty birds!) with Henry in Viginia, because after all, Virginia is for lovers and well, maybe...nah. Anyway, I drove down and met up with Henry at about 10 at night...the lone headlamp shining in the parking lot was like a beacon of hope after a 6 hour drive. We hiked up to the shelter and had a little whiskey from the flask that I brought (you might think that Henry is alcohol deprived, but fear not, he's being taken care of in that category). Woke up and I realized that everyone had trail names but me! I felt lame, but I can't just give myself a name, so I waited for someone to give me one, but it never happened. Then we hiked a pleasant 20 mile stroll through the forest, me trying my hardest to keep Henry's mind off of thinking about one of the three things these hikers think about most: 1) the weight of the pack, 2) food, and 3) sex. I got pretty desperate sometimes. Typical trail conversation:Jesse: So, you had any good storms since you've been out?Henry: Nope, but they said that we could possibly get tornados out here. You ever been in a tornado?Jesse: Yep a couple. Henry: Are they worse than a hurricane?Jesse: Well, let's just say that getting in a lightning drill won't do you a damn bit of good with a tornado.And so on and so on for 20 miles. I did meet some of the charachters that he's hiking with, good "chaps" as Henry (now known as Yorkie by his fellow trail-heads) would say. I got to pass the 500 mile mark with Henry, which was really cool to do, we celebrated with, yep, you guessed it, more whiskey. And we also ordered a pizza, which was delivered to the trail head. They didn't have pineapple, but I just had to keep reminding myself that we were "roughing it", and that got me through. I tell you, these through-hikers are a tough lot, I bet that they could survive for weeks on nothing but food, water, and shelter! Thanks to Henry and the other AT'ers for being so damn nice while I was down there, even if I didn't have a trail name. To complete this essay that was assigned to me by Henry, I would like to leave you with a little AT story that didn't make the papers: My feet hurt a little after the hike, but otherwise I was okay. I felt good, it was really nice to see Henry and after spending much of my time now in Indiana with people who are completely happy to never do anything more exciting with their lives than go to the casino once a month, it was really nice to hang out with people who had a little adventure flowing through their veins. I listened to their stories and talked with them about what they thought of the trail, why they were on it, etc. As I was driving home, I started thinking about these guys out there hiking day in, day out, 10, 15, 20 miles at a time, stopping at their shelters, meeting there everyday to go over who's gear is the lightest, having the occasional night at a hotel and some drinks, and getting up and doing it all again the next day. I think it really sunk in when I pulled into the driveway of my apartment complex, and I remembered that I had hit the odometer button right before I left the trailhead in Virginia. It read: 500 miles. Hike on, hikers. Hike on.