Date: 2009-07-02
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: Lott Rd, Unionville
Miles today: 20.1

To the Mayor¢s!   It started raining around 2:30 in the morning. I didn¢t mind because it stopped the mosquitoes from buzzing around my hammock. But this meant I wasn't going to get an early start. I had 20 miles to get to the mayor's house. Around 6:45, the rain started to slow, so I got up and started packing. ¢Wendy?¢, I heard someone call. It was Sir Richard! He had gone to sleep in his tent before I rolled in last night so we did not know the other was there. I told him that I was going to head out and that I would see him in a few minutes. By this point in the journey, I had slowed down a lot, while the others seemed to have gotten a lot faster. It didn¢t take long for Sir Richard to catch me and we hiked together. I was expecting some packages at High Point State Park, and I told Richard that if he was with me when I got there, I would share it with him. I didn¢t want to slow him down, though. He said he liked the pace I was going- and that it was better for him. When he hikes alone, he tends to go a lot faster and ends up hurting his shins (he had to take many days off in the Shenandoahs to heal his shin splints). We made our way to the pavilion on Sunrise Mountain, which was fogged in, took a break at Mashipacong shelter to read through the register, and as we stood at the turnoff for Rutherford Shelter to eat a quick snack, the rain started falling again. We made it to High Point State Park and I collected my boxes: my regular maildrop from Erik, a large package from Charlie and Dorinda containing a lot of granola bars and cheese-its, some chocolate-covered plums and a new package of body wipes from Erik¢s mom, and a postcard from a former lab mate who now lives in France. She suggested that after I finish the AT, I could recover in Paris. (Not a bad idea, actually!). While I dug into a delicious chocolate loaf that Erik sent, I supplied Richard with a bunch of snacks for the next several days. I made two phone calls and then tried to stuff all of my new possessions into my pack (including a new water hose that Erik had sent). I felt a bit rushed as Richard doesn¢t usually take long breaks and I didn¢t want to hold him up. My pack was now extremely heavy and lopsided, and I wondered how I was going to get through the last 9 miles... I tried to gather all of my strength and energy as we left, and did not feel like talking, as I needed to conserve the energy I had. I felt pain in my back, my shoulders, and my knees from the extraordinary weight of my pack. This was going to be tough.      When Richard pointed out a stonewall, a little ways off, I asked if he wanted to go see it. I was hoping he would so I could drop my pack and take a break! But he said no. The straps of my pack were cutting into my shoulders. I told Richard I was going to have to take it off for a minute. I hated holding him up. As we continued along, he sensed my discomfort. I had to stop again in the forest. The mosquitoes instantly swarmed us. We had to move. I wasn¢t enjoying the scenery. I was in too much pain. After climbing a small hill, I could not get my throat to clear. Richard finally left me to suffer alone. He said he felt like he was pressuring me for the last two miles. I was disappointed in myself. I felt slow and weak, but I enjoyed Sir Richard¢s company. Oh, well. I had about 3 and a half miles to get to the road which led to the mayor¢s. The terrain was swampy- mud and water were everywhere! My feet were wet and blisters started forming. I lost track of the roads I was crossing and had to ask a man what road he was parked at. I knew I had just one more to get to, but a gigantic, steep hill lay in the way! Slowly, slowly, I made my way up it while my feet and shoulders screamed at me. Finally, past barking dogs, I reached Lott Rd. I pulled out my cell phone and called the mayor¢s house. No one answered. I left a message telling him where I was. I felt like I couldn¢t walk any further. The Pack of Divas emerged from the woods and changed into their crocs to head into town. I realized no one was coming to pick us up, so I shouldered my pack once again and headed toward town. But where was the mayor¢s house? I asked a man on the street who pointed me in the general direction. And then, I saw Pusher with a bag of chips, coming behind me. He led me to the house. It took everything I had to get there. Finally, I dropped my pack for good, took off my shoes, and washed the mud off of my legs with the garden hose. I stepped up on the deck, to the kitchen door.       ¢Will you marry me?¢, the mayor immediately asked. I laughed. ¢I¢ll take this as a yes.¢ He gave me a big hug, pulled away and started to shake my hand, and then said, ¢Forget that shit¢ and hugged me again! He told me that the house was already crowded, but that Butch would help me find a place to sleep, and that I should take a shower. I found a spot to lay down my sleeping pad and bag on the basement floor next to Kog, and went back out to the deck, where everyone had gathered for dinner. The mayor came out and talked to us about how this whole operation had begun- and with tears in his eyes, how we owe it all to his now deceased wife. Dinner was sausage and peppers on French bread, cole slaw, bean salad, corn on the cobb, and watermelon for dessert. After dinner, I chatted with the mayor and his cohorts, and he wanted to give me another hug ¢to see if he still had it.¢ I asked him if he remembered Bones¢ and his rendition of ¢Somewhere Over the Rainbow¢, but sadly, he did not recall him. Easy come, easy go, I guess...      I made several calls and wrote e-mails to take care of my duties and then went to sleep after 11. Andy, Kog, Pusher, and Red Leg were all sleeping on the floor of this basement room. I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.