Date: 2003-07-31
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Thomsens', Laurel, MD
Miles today: 9.6

I just had the tastiest breakfast concoction!Truth be told, I¢m a little tired of oatmeal. I didn¢t really want anything cooked or heavy, my appetite¢s been smaller this week (probably the lower miles and less challenging terrain), and I kind of ate too much last night (is that possible on the Trail?! Leave it to me to find out!). I was chilly though, so I dug out my stove to make one packet of oatmeal.(I know ¢ get to the tasty breakfast concoction already! I¢ve been called the ¢preface queen¢ . . .)Light bulb! Instead of oats I poured my last dried cranberries and Bing cherries into boiling water, with a pinch off coconut, and let it simmer for a few minutes. Yum! Then I was left with a delicious fruity broth to sip, too. That would make a great light supper, too, and I bet most any dried fruit, alone or in combination, would be yummy.Well, must pack up . . . Anxious to get on the Trail this morning as it¢s ¢town day¢!No view from Chimney Rocks this morning ¢ just fog. I don¢t think it ever rained but it was a misty morning. I caught up to Steve at the junction to the trail down to Rocky Mountain shelter, but neither of us went down since it was .2 miles off. We debated whether to wait for Jerry or not, but I was chilly so we went on.The descent was an easy one. I noticed how off to the west the woods seemed to go on and on, but to the east the sky was visible through the trees, indicating a drop off.Steve and I both arrived at Caledonia at about 12:30 pm. I felt kind of bad because I was pushing hard to ¢get there.¢ For some reason I¢m more anxious than ever this time to get somewhere to get clean and have a break. I told Steve later that it seemed like after I¢ve been out this long and covered this many miles, it¢s not really about enjoying the scenery. It¢s kind of about getting to the next place as fast as I can. Which is sad; and actually something Matt and others observed about my hiking style before I started the AT. And, not the style I intended to have out here!At any rate, I hope my hurrying didn¢t detract from Steve and Jerry¢s experience this week, or imply that I wasn¢t glad to have them along.This is a pretty state park; the AT runs along a stream from US 30 into the park. Open fields of grass, trails through the woods, picnic grounds and pavilions, as well as a public swimming pool (the main attraction) make up the park. I went and cleaned up a little in the restroom at the pool and then called my family to try to arrange how to get home. Jerry¢s friend was to pick us up at the park, but I needed a way to get back to my parents¢ from the Bowen¢s in Hagerstown, an hour and a half or two-hour drive.My sister and brother-in-law said they¢d come up but want to stop at the outlet mall on the way back. Ha! Just where I want to go straight from five days in the woods! Oh well, beggars can¢t be choosers and I¢m grateful they can and will come.I find this state of having to be dependent on people to get around both humbling and intensely frustrating. Humbling because some are so willing to help; frustrating because I fear I¢m being presumptuous to ask or expect them to help.Once we got to the outlets my first priority was food. I hadn¢t eaten much today, and even while I was eating I felt like I¢d never be full. That taken care of I went to browse through the Gap Outlet (my favorite store!). The funniest thing happened. I do stink. Even though I¢d changed into my ¢camp clothes¢ the BO is pretty bad. I was checking out this one display of folded shirts when a girl and her mother approached. The girl sniffed a few times and said to her mother, ¢It stinks in here!¢ Both amused and horrified, knowing full well it was me she smelled, I moved on to another display ¢ and they kept following me. That was mildly embarrassing, but I crack up every time I think of it.At last we got home to my parents¢ and it¢s decision time. Steve has to go back home to Chattanooga tomorrow; am I going with him, and pick back up at Catawba as planned? I feel like I need a couple more days; do I try to find another way to get down there on Sunday or Monday? Or will I just pick up from Caledonia when I feel ready?