Date: 2004-05-27
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2

Prozac is only going as far as Harper¢s Ferry.    The Pokey Puppies were an older couple I had stayed in a shelter with before, but had been sleeping when I arrived so I never actually met them.   Also in the shelter last night were a couple of guys from Falls Church, Virginia who are doing a section ending with the northern terminus of Shenandoah National Park and a guy who keeps calling me ¢Lucky Leki.¢ I¢m not sure if he thinks this is my name, but I suspect he just says it cause he likes the way it sounds. It will annoy me every time I hear it.   I plan to do 20 miles today. This would be the second 20-miler in a row, with a 19.4 mile day just before that. I truly just want to catch up with the group I had been hiking with before Trail Days. Flora & Fauna. Camel. Tinder. Patrick. They¢re all ahead by a couple of days, and I intend to catch up with them soon. Even if I have to hike back-to-back 20-milers. What I won¢t do, however, is save time by passing up the first wayside concession area.   Loft Mountain Wayside.    I take out my map and search for the most sensible route to the campground in which the wayside is located. The AT skirts around Loft Mountain Campground with many access points, but the Frazier Discovery Trail, marked further north, seems to be the shortest. By the time I reach the turn-off, my stomach is growling fiercely. By the time I reach the wayside, I¢ve discovered that, sure, it was the shortest way, but it was also the steepest. And of course I¢ll have to go back up the trail after I eat so as not to miss any white blazes.   Me and my stupid rules.   I end up eating faster than my stomach can handle¢burger, fries, ice cream with blackberry syrup¢and go into a food coma. I know I won¢t be hiking 20 miles today. I knew this halfway down the Discovery Trail. I put my head down on a picnic table and nap.   After hiking back up to where I left the trail and continuing along, following the white blazes ever northward, I start having problems. Stomach problems.   Jesus Christ. When will it end.   I reach another side trail and a couple of hikers I had seen at the wayside are coming down the trail toward me. Turns out this trail wasn¢t much longer and was completely flat.    I need to learn how to read maps.   The good news is that they had just passed a building that looked like it may have been a privy. I take the chance and hike back toward the campground. I do indeed find a privy just as the clouds start to lightly drizzle. By the time I¢m done, the clouds have passed. It was both a quick rain and a long privy break. I can¢t wait for my stomach to feel normal again.   Reaching Pinefield Hut, I am 40% done with the trail. That¢s not nearly as exciting, however, as what I¢m about to find out.   Talking with some people at the shelter, I find out MC, Willow, and Sweet Cheeks are here. I¢ve finally caught up with some people I know. I follow the path to where I¢m told they¢ve set up their tents. Hugs are exchanged and we grab some dirt and catch each other up on what¢s been happening.    Turns out MC is sick. Real sick. Has been for a few days. Symptoms sound like exactly the same bug I had. He¢s just as bad as I was a week ago.    There¢s another reason I¢m glad to catch up to MC. He doesn¢t know it, but I owe him five bucks.    ¢What are you talking about? You don¢t owe me five bucks.¢   Yes I do. There was an error when I went to pay for the room we split at a hostel in Damascus. They ended up only charging us for one night. So I owe him five bucks. I try handing him the bill, but he won¢t take it.   ¢Man, just you telling me about it makes you good with me.¢   A hiker I just met for the first time a few minutes ago has been enjoying the scene, his smile reflecting the sincere display of joy that can only be found during a reunion such as the one before him.    ¢Nothing like catching up with old friends,¢ he says. ¢Eh, Leki-Less?¢   He¢s right. There¢s nothing quite like it.