Date: 2008-03-16
From: Longing for that Rain on the Tarp...

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I visited Son Number One in Chesapeake General Hospital yesterday. They moved him out of the ICU, but he¢s still having fever and pain issues from his spinal surgery. Son Number Two drove me back to Fredericksburg in the rain and the whole way home on those greasy roads, all I could think about was how my fellow trekkers are doing at altitude in this stuff.I¢m truly sorry that I¢m missing all of that great Trail Weather with you folks¢¦ *laughing to myself* I¢m certain there¢ll be plenty for me in about ten days¢¦ From what I¢ve observed over the last several years, however, is it really doesn¢t matter because it all seems to even out by around Damascus, Virginia [Early Starters encounter weather and take more zero days, and Late Starters encounter less weather and almost no snow/ice, and therefore can make up the miles by then].OK, next verse of the Appalachian Trail Song:VERSE:Inn-Keeper, would you help me please?        I need a place to get some ¢Z¢s¢A shower and a decent meal,        A talk with some-bod-y who¢s real¢¦REFRAIN:A North-Bound hike is painless        It brings on many changesAnd I can take what comes for six more monthsMiss Janet knows that everything I say is all in fun¢¦ To be honest, the only time I¢ve met her in person, she was busy as the Master of Ceremonies as she introduced me on stage at last year¢s Hiker Talent Contest at Trail Days¢¦ We didn¢t get to talk much, but I feel a bond with her as with many others who serve the Trekking Community.She, and others like her, are the ones who receive frantic calls from poor, wet, cold, and miserable hikers and who fire up the old van to pluck folks from near disaster¢¦ They bring us out of the craziness and allow us to rest, tend our blisters, dry our gear, buy some more groceries, and perhaps go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant.I can¢t imagine what it must be like to listen to disheveled and discouraged trekkers vent about what that, ¢Mean Old Trail,¢ has done to them¢¦ To hear the same words from almost every mouth¢¦ To know what they¢re going to say even before the words are formed¢¦ God Bless You, Oh Brave and Noble Inn-Keepers of the Appalachian Trail!Well, it¢s still raining here in Virginia, and I¢m about to throw-on the backpack for some more conditioning. Thanks for reading. It¢s difficult to know what you folks want to read, so if I¢m not ¢doing my job,¢ then use the little Suggestion Button, below¢¦More Appalachian Trail Corollaries to Murphy¢s Law:- The rocks in Pennsylvania are the Trail Designers¢ way of telling you to slow down and enjoy the journey¢¦- Many Georgians don¢t know the difference between Homeless Wanderers and Thru-Hikers.- The propensity of one¢s trekking pole to collapse is in direct proportion to the need for support on the trail at the time.- A friendly wave from the Pedestrian Bridge over I-70 might cause an accident.- A Thru-Hiker who fails to shower before attending church will sit in his/her own pew¢¦p.s. By the way ¢ who is this mysterious World-traveler from Australia who posts hundreds of pictures of statues in France and other places most of us will never see, yet fails to post just ONE of HIMSELF? Ben, I¢m already your friend, but perhaps you could turn the camera around on yourself or find another tourist to snap your picture at a fountain or some such place so we¢ll recognize you when we see you on the Trail¢¦? You know who I¢m talking about ¢ ¢The Boy From Wherever-That-Place-Is¢ *laughing*SIDE NOTE: ¢¦and this is exactly how we use the Trail Journals found in almost every shelter, hostel, and even some outfitters¢¦