Date: 2004-11-22
To: Home :-(
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This is my last entry other than a follow up or two. I know we summited yesterday but today was special because so many friends finished and it was our planned summit day.   We slept in as we are just a couple of minutes from the summit. Just as we are ready to head up with Voice to see him finish, Tortoise, Brun, Paul and Single Track show up. We all go up together. Brun and Paul inform us that Tink has decided to finish with the rest of the crew. In fact they had all stayed at Hawk Mtn. Shelter (Brun, Paul, Tortoise, Tink, Wal Mart, The Spice girls (Steady,Finn, and Spork), and Jack Straw. Brun had family there to see him finish. Steady had an entire entourage there for her including her special parents, Mommy Hugs and Perigrine '73. Steady's bro, who also hiked sobo a couple of years ago, is present too. They are some of our favorite peeps! As everyone climbs up, it is touching to see everyone's reactions/emotions, some joyous some crying. We all shuffle around getting pictures and re-uniting with each other.   We were so happy to see Tink. The Spice Girls entertain us by doing a photo shoot for Glamour Magazine. It seems that they can get their photo published in the mag by holding up a copy of the mag in odd places. Look for it in Glamour! Cow Web, who we haven't seen since Stratton, Maine hikes up! It was good seeing him again.   We were overwhelmed with Wal Mart's summit. He hiked up naked with a huge crowd present. Not only that, he was swinging a raw turkey neck, smoking a cigar and playing a harmonica. That's talent! We could have all done without seeing that. I'm sure nightmares will follow! The story is that Brun and Paul had double-dog-dared him or something. It is rainy the entire time up there but luckily it's light and intermittent. We talk with Voice and Single Track while we wait for Loot.....where is he? ST offers to give us a ride to Gainesville to shorten the drive for my Dad. Luckily I get reception and pick a rendezvous spot with my Dad. We decided to skip the approach trail since the weather is crappy. We'll return another day with better weather! Tink uses our phone to speak with her Mom and we could tell it was emotional. We sure are going to miss our trail family. Of course Leo gets his other bone and scampers off to find a quite spot to snack. Poor Leo doesn't realize our trip is over. We all start to get a little concerned about Loot. Cob Web said he didn't see Loot when he passed by the shelter nor anywhere along the trail. We don't understand because he seemed excited about the party. It also seems hard to believe that he could have injured himself on such easy trail? Cold and wet we leave the summit and head down to the shelter, hoping he is there. Nope, but Brun's uncle is there grilling hamburgers and hotdogs for us. We all eat a few while we wait. It's too bad we will miss the party. Cold and wet Tortoise, Flounder, Voice, Leo, ST and me head down to the parking lot. Saying goodbye to Tink was hard. We all felt real bad about leaving her but she will be among friends. I guess, Cob Web, Brun (and some of his family), Paul, Loot (if he shows), Wal Mart, Numb, Rabbit, and Laz, should all be there. We miss seeing Loot finish as we had to catch our ride and could wait no longer. We also missed finishing with King David, Laz, Shredder, Focus, Comfortably Numb, Rabbit, Eco and Bojangos who all finished days ahead of us. Cogratulations all! Down at the parking lot we say goodbye to the Spice Girls, and Steady's parents and.... still no Loot. We load up and head down the mountain with ST. Being finished hits like a ton of bricks. ST must have sensed we were troubled and kept us talking about anything but the trail, mostly mountain biking. Part way down, Voice spots his friend driving up and before we know it he and Leo are gone too. Our whole world is falling apart right before our eyes. The drive is uneventful and we thank ST for all he has done for us. Another special person to remember. It's nice to see my Dad. He celebrates with us and treats us to a hotel room and dinner. We couldn't have made a trip like this without the love and support of our parents and soooo many other people. It was a tremendous experience.