Date: 2008-04-04
From: Helen

To: One more day in Helen
Miles today: 0.0

Hi allI logged onto my journal today and was overwhelmed with the number of messages I received, from so many people I have never met. Hoosier Bens wife was kind enough to write to me, when out on the trail Hoosier (this is a term to say you are from the state of Indiana) almost exlusively talks all about his wife, I loved teasing him about being under the thumb. He is an amasing character and had all us other hikers in stitches with laughter. His cooker was probably bigger and heavier than most of our packs. He smokes so much, and yet was hiking further than most of the guys who were a third of his age. His phrases and terminology were so different to anything I had ever come across, it is only when you take on an adventure like this one that you get the joy of meeting such colorful characters.Thank you to twinemans wife I assume. I read over twinemans journal and was really suprised that he was struggling so much over the first few days, he sure is good at internalising such thoughts. He never complains, just soldiers on, I really hope that I will catch up with him later down the trail.Thanks for the advice Foot Notes, I entirely agree with all you had to say. I was walking beyond Helen to go to an outfitters and to do some exercise, picked up a fishing pole hiking stick thing, they did not have proper hiking poles, and a nylon columbia top. I now wear a small when it comes to tops, only a few months ago I would not have fit into a XL. When I was hiking back into town, a big truck pulled up with plumber written down the side. "Where you headed son!" Just back to my hotel in town I replied, and he kindly gave me a lift. I did not ask for it, did not have my thumb out, it was just offered. That to me pretty much sums up the south. It turns out he had hiked the trail back in '82, and he and his son gave me a lift straight to the library, so I avoided the rain. You have also got to see how kind the people at my hotel are, each time I go down to pay it always takes me so much longer as they always want to chat, and I love it. The service I get is incredible, never experienced anything like it before in my life. When all you meet are such king and generous people it makes me ask one question, how did this area ever have slavery, and such a brutal apartheid system. If you did not know the history of this part of the US, and you came here and experienced what the people are like down here, and then someone told you what had happened in the past down here, you would not beleive it. Things must have changed very dramatically in this part of the US over the last 40 years or so, talking to locals they do tell me there is still a long way to go, but I do like to remind them just how far they have come. It is such a fascinating transition, and it is a period of history that most australian school children learn about, it has been great to witness it all first hand. Layered over this history is the Civil war, and also the fight against the British, and so much of it all happened in the mountains and regions I have been hiking along. I must say Australian history is dead boring compared to the US. The one thing most Americans on the trail have asked me about is our treatment of the Aborigines, it amases me that so many of them know so much, and both Briar and twineman, and a few others actually knew who John Howard was. I was told that most Americans do not know anything about Australia, but a few on the trail know quite a lot, but it is definitely the question of our treatment of Aborigines that is the most interesting question to them. Both our countires have dark parts to our history, yet layered over this is real kindness and compassion, and it makes you wonder how these things were ever allowed to happen. It is very thought provoking to be here in the US, as most people on the trail have a great knowledge of american history and politics, the discussions in the evening are always very insightful, I have learnt so much so far. It is not opinionated rubbish that people talk either, most people are informed and insightful. Mostly we just have a good laugh out on the trail, and just enjoy each others company.Thanks to Peter McGlamery, I was actually looking at the ULA at Neels gap, kind of kicking myself that I did not pick one up, Barramundi has one, and he raved about it.To Bluebearee I will certainly look out for you, it would be great to meet you.Thanks to Rod Deakin's email, he is a lecturer of mine from the Department of Geospatial Sciences at RMIT. It was an interesting read, because I have been asking many people on the trail where do the accents start to change? Where does the North turn into the south, and no one has a definitive answer until now. Of course the answer can be found in Surveying, and in particular the Mason-Dixon line. I know that Mick Stevens will find this interesting, and some others who are reading along, so I have reproduced some of what Rod wrote, and I will definitely be crossing this line. "If you cross the Mason-Dixon line give a thought to those old "surveyors". Mason was an astronomer and Dixon his assistant and they were sent to Sumatra to observer the Transit of Venus in 1760 (they actually made their observations at Cape of Good Hope I think) and did a spot of surveying in America on the way home."I went and read some of this to find out a bit more about the linehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason-Dixon_lineWent for a bit of a walk around Helen today, and it is a town that was principally built in the 80s to look like an old German town, but it has a fair few Swiss flags flying as well. The towns in Switzerland on the German side like Zurich, you can certainly see the influence. To see a fake German town in the middle of the South is a real laugh for me, particularly after seeing the real thing. Can't help but think of some of the gorgeous things I saw in Switzerland, it was so incredible, some of the old homes are so huge, it was not uncommon to see 4 and 5 story, they would be the size of a block of flats at home with views over a lake flanked by massive snow peaked mountains with blue skies all around. Somethings in your life are permanently ingrained in your memory.I am going tohike on tomorrow, today it is raining, and the forecast is the same for the next few days, but after that it should clear up. I am going to try and make my next stop in Franklin, it has a proper outfitters, might swap out this current hiking pole I just bought for some proper hiking poles, anything to reduce impact on my delicate knees. If only I had walked up and down the stairs to level 10 and 11 over the last 3 years, or stayed out of the cafeteria, if only if only. I dont think it is my knees that are the issue, it is no exercise for 3 years and then bam, two months walking around Europe and then straight on the trail. You may not hear from me until I reach Franklin, and that might take a week.