Date: 2015-07-09
From: Route 7

To: Tyringham 
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: few clouds

MY BEDROOM SMELLS LIKE DIRTY HIKER EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NOTHING DIRTY IN IT. I have taken two showers in the last two days! That's practically unheard of! Why does it smell?! Will the stink never fade?! Is it ingrained in my skin now, or something?Also, I think that pretzel M&Ms are the winner. I really do like mint, too! But for some reason I always think of them as a winter flavor.I enjoyed an extremely nice hike today, after mom and I dropped off some more trail magic. I passed Klank (AGAIN!) not-so-stealthily stealth camped just north of Route 7. He packed up his tent while we talked for a few minutes. Every time I talk to him lately, he keeps saying that he feels lazy doing less than 20 miles. I've been averaging less than 20 a day this week. I have been slackpacking and going home at night, and you would think that this would allow me to do more miles in a day, but that's not the case. I end up starting my hike later and ending earlier because it takes time to drive to the trail, and then I want to go home early so I have time to shower and relax. And eat lots of food. I have been eating so much food. The hike today really was nice. The terrain was pretty easy. The forest was beautiful. Lots of pine trees. The floor was carpeted with a thick layer of leaves and needles, allowing me to silently sneak up on and scare about a billion little chipmunks and squirrels throughout the day (not intentionally).I passed quite a few day hikers and TWO big youth groups. I don't know if it's because it's now summer vacation, but it seems like there are a lot of groups of teens out now. Summer camps, YMCA, outward bound... so many people! It's great that everyone is enjoying the trail.I got a little disoriented this morning... disoriented and confused and lost on the trail. Often, when there are places where the trail is unclear, people lay branches and sticks across the part that's NOT the AT so you know you're not supposed to go that way. At one point today I almost ran right into a stick that had been painted with "STOP" and an arrow pointing right. It was very helpful, because I would have kept going straight otherwise.Another time, however, I walked RIGHT over the sticks, following a path that some hooligan made to take a shortcut to a view. I halted, confused, mid-trail, trying to figure out what I had done wrong. Another hiker, at the viewpoint, pointed to my left, indicating that the trail was that way. I was totally in the wrong spot. Oops. I backtracked, looping around on the CORRECT trail. The guy looked at me like I was nuts. He had been coaching me as I wandered around, "It's over there. You have to go up and then come back down this way." I explained that I wasn't just crazy, I had gone back to fill in the part that I had missed. I'm not a psycho purist, but I try to hike the WHOLE AT, without leaving out sections.So I loved today's stretch, loved the pines, loved that wonderful smell, loved how the cool air seeps up out of the crevices between boulders. I passed through a grove of pines (or spruces, I wasn't paying enough attention) that made me feel just SO small. They were thick and tall, stretching high up into the sky, while I stood like an ant beneath them, peering up at their majesty. How old are those trees? How many hikers have passed between them? I always wonder about things that I will never know the answers to.I even felt very energetic. This could have something to do with the fact that I ate 900 M&Ms last night, of multiple varieties. It could have something to do with the fact that the pizza fairy bought me Powerade and I have been getting lots of electrolytes. It could have something to do with the fact that I slept really well last night (I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning, I was so comfortable). It could also have something to do with the fact that I have been eating lots of fruits and veggies lately, and less processed crap junk food (though still a lot of that, too... just... less.) I have been enjoying the endless benefits of being near home.Also... I got a stupendous trail magic lunch which gave me a wonderful boost. Eric and Abby, a couple who are hoping to hike the AT next year, stopped at a trail head to spread trail magic in anticipation of the magic they hope to receive during their hike. They didn't even question if I was a thru-hiker (and I certainly didn't look like one with my little day pack) before asking, "Would you like a pulled pork sandwich for lunch?"Cheeseburger, a southbound thru-hiker who had arrived just about the same time as me, answered for me as I hesitated, "YES." Barbeque sauce is one of my new addictions. I couldn't resist. And it was homemade! People are awesome. It was so much better than the pathetic leftovers that I had packed for my own lunch (pasta salad that I made for the picnic... nowhere near as good as Aunt Bonnie's, which I had already devoured).I felt a little guilty about partaking in trail magic while slackpacking, but they insisted. They were so gracious and excited about actually having hikers to pass on magic to that it that it soothed my spoiled heart. As I departed after my lunch, I told them that I hope they get to hike next year, that it's a lot of work but totally worth it, and that I'm having the time of my life. I am. Today passed through Beartown State Forest (also gorgeous), where some families were hiking a loop trail, which intersected with the AT, around Benedict Pond. I could hear the voices of young children echoing across the water. When I headed up to The Ledges, I passed a group of boys sitting and eating lunch. "Hey, guys," I greeted them. "How are you today?" and, as I continued on, "Have a good day!""You, too!" some of them called to my back. I crossed Jerusalem Road and peered up and down to see if I could spot the farm my dad was visiting for work (super convenient that he had a farm right by the trail, right where I was hiking, that he needed to go to). I climbed up Cobble Hill and looked out across the land at the farms and homes in the distance. Just as I was about to reach the Main Road in Tyringham, where dad was supposed to pick me, up, I saw trail magic tucked into the tall grass on the side of the trail. And what was written on the top?"Trail MagicRed Panda ClanHelp Yourself"It was in my dad's handwriting. It wasn't leftover goods from the picnic. My dad had gone out, purchased two more styrofoam coolers and a plastic bin, and filled them with fruit, Gatorade, BandAids, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, granola bars, power bars, chocolates and candies... and left them, along with two jugs of water, next to the trail on his way to the farm.I almost cried. There was a GRAPEFRUIT on one of those coolers. A FREAKING GRAPEFRUIT. Fruit trail magic is rare enough as it is. I have never seen anything as fancy as a grapefruit.When he pulled up 20 minutes later in my car, I leaned into the driver's side window and told him, "Dad, that was the sweetest thing I have ever seen."I'll say it again, just for the heck of it: I have the best family ever.I drove us back to Route 7, and we picked up the other trail magic that mom and I had dropped off this morning. The cooler was filled with garbage. One of the best forms of trail magic can be as simple as taking a thru-hiker's garbage. That stuff builds up, and can be heavy and annoying.Someone asked me about garbage at the picnic the other day. When a hiker goes shopping, before they fill their food bag, they try to get rid of every bit of excess that they can. Boxes are broken down and thrown away. A box of mac and cheese is poured into a ziploc bag and the box is tossed. Containers are chucked. Everything is made as compact and space-efficient as possible. No one wants to carry extra trash or waste space in their pack.Another thing: ziploc bags! The currency of the trail (not really, but they are everywhere). They are omnipresent, which is why I asked people to bring some to the picnic. So useful! They are lightweight, keep things dry, and are cheap and easily replaced. My phone, my electronics, my guidebook pages, my journal... all of these things are placed in ziploc bags. Most hikers have a stash of empty ones somewhere, because they are always in use. Auntie Pat gave me some AWESOME small ziploc bags at the picnic, which I have already used multiple times, replacing old and ripped bags to keep my things safe and dry.After picking up the rest of the snacks, and cleaning up the empty wrappers and cans, dad and I went home. We passed about three road crossings I had hiked earlier in the day. We sang to Elton John and the Marshall Tucker Band as dad played them from his iPod through the car radio. What an excellent memory I will have of this day. What an excellent adventure this continues to be.Overall, I am so happy with today. I am exhausted, and could barely function after getting home. A shower, dinner, and 800 snacks later, and I am just ready to crash. I can sleep late but have so many errands to do tomorrow. Real life is overwhelming! I just want to live on the trail forever, it's so much simpler. Maybe not easier, and maybe not less busy, but definitely simpler, and I love that.There are only 647.6 miles left of the AT for me. At least, in this journey. 647.6 miles in which I hope to catch up to at least some of my favorite hiker bubble-mates. Chris is taking time off in Vermont to see his family, so I may be able to catch him before Katahdin, but I doubt that I am likely to see the Aussie Legs again, unless they stick around Baxter State Park after they complete the trail (they were considering doing so, to cheer on friends at the finish).I am thankful for a beautiful day, and thankful that the rain didn't start until this evening. I am thankful for my health and my family. I am thankful for pulled pork sandwiches, barbeque sauce, and gifts from amazing strangers. I'm thankful that I get to sleep late tomorrow, will have time to do errands, and then will get to celebrate the beginning of wedding weekend with Jeralyn. I haven't seen her in SO LONG, I am psyched!