Date: 2007-06-25
From: Michaux Road

To: PA 34
Miles today: 11.3

(The Bad Influence Tribute Entry)Today had both high and low points. Junker dropped us off at Michaux Rd. in the morning. I slept on a four foot long love seat last night with my legs hanging over the end of the sofa armrest, but I was so exhausted that I slept like a baby. At Michaux, Junker offered to take our packs the three miles into Pine Grove Furnace, a 3 mile slack! Bad Influence, 1/4 Moon, Ohm, Michael, and I walked into Pine Grove and bought our 1/2 gallons of ice cream for the half gallon challenge. 1/4 Moon, Ohm, and Michael ate their whole half gallon, while I made a mess of mine, dipping my face into the box and giving myself a mint chocolate chip hiker beard. It was a disgusting train wreck, and I don't think I've eaten like that since I was in diapers.Bad Influence had to meet Junker to get a ride to Harrisburg at noon, so after our disgusting 1/2 gallon dairy disaster, we waddled the mile up to the official halfway marker for photo-ops and sad good-byes. It felt good -- really good -- to sit in front of that sign (even if all of our bellies were reeling in horror at the amount of dairy they were dealing with. To add to the horror, Bad Influence and I bought uber cheap mini bottles of champagne which we shook up and sprayed all over the front of the store's lawn before making champagne floats).The the time came for Bad Influence to end his 3 month, 1088.9 mile stint on the A.T. We've been hiking buddies since Gooch Gap (mile 14.9) and have had a tone of excellent and beligerant times on the trail. It was hard to see him walk down the trail without me, but I'm glad that he'll be home with his wife who he's missed more than I've seen anyone miss another person. He'll be back out to finish the trail next season.In honor of Bad Influence's completion of 1/2 the trail, here's a list of things he will be missed for:1.) His post 3:00 p.m. beligerance. After 3:00 p.m. on the dot, he'd get beligerant about trail design, weather, annoying people, or anything else worth griping about in a funny way.2.) His skirt....I mean his high performance wicking sport kilt. Any guy with the confidence to wear a skirt in Southern Appalachia is worth his weight in pop tarts. His skirt combined with his skull and crossbone bandana created a bold statement, "I dare you to mess with me."3.) His love of Budweiser. No other grown-up on the trail with a decent hiking budget was willing to drink this cheap swill (ie: "Butt-Weiser") with me on such a regular basis.4.) His wild array of life experiences. Bad Influence has been a commercial diver, a gaucho in South America, a camera man. He's had attempts made on his life including a fall off of a cliff and a run-in with a murderous Jamaican. His stories were better than T.V. -- WAY BETTER.5.) His good heart and excellent friendship. Bad Influence doesn't really take to too many people, but if he does like you, he's a friend for life.After seeing Bad Influence off, I said good-bye to Michael who was on his way to Boiling Springs for the evening. I was glad that we ran into one another and had the chance to do some quality hiking time together.This left 1/4 Moon, Ohm, and I to walk north together. On account of our dairy-disaster-site bellies and my need to zero in Boiling Springs on the 27th, we have 2 days of super small mileage planned. We moseyed our way to Pine Grove Road where we were planning on eating at the Cherokee restaurant. Unfortunately, the place had changed its hours and wasn't open, so we took off to the Deli at Rt. 34 where I had the best philly steak sandwich ever. We're stealth camping in the oh-so-classy stand of scrub brush between the railroad tracks and the highway. We had hoped to score a box car to sleep in but had no luck. We did manage to make it to the deli literally 2 minutes before a huge thunderstorm and downpour.