Date: 2007-07-05
From: Trail Angel Mary's House; Duncannon, Pa

To: Trail Angel Mary's House; Duncannon, Pa
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This was a wild day of cooking; driving around; and sweating which ended with me going to bed around 1:30 am with Mary still cooking and still no "Baltimore Jack". I dont know what she would have done. She prepared part or all of 6 meals for 50 hikers for 3 days in one night! FLASHBACK: Earth Day 1990 a little north of Springer Mtn, Ga. I am going to wrap this story up of my 1st attempted thru hike here. If you remember, I finally got to the AT after having shotgun's pulled on me and weird hitch hiking rides and my buddy from Dallas, "Mountain Mike", went off and left me. I was so happy to be at this mythical place called the Appalachian Trail. Even though I was penniless and had the terrible emotions associated with chasing someone up the trail who, I felt, had totally changed my hike towards a negative direction. These emotions were so intense that my trail name was "The Day Stalker". It was a take on the old horror TV show called The Night Stalker. It was about a guy who went around chasing evil in the city. Anyway, I met two guys named "Daydreamer and Grasshopper". These two guys would hike with me off and on to The Mount Rogers National Recreation Headquarters. I learned so much from them. I had come from a very conservative home and then a stint in the military. These guys were real hippies. You really dont see hippies anymore like these guys, especially young ones. They introduced me to "treading lightly in the wilderness" and The Grateful Dead. They did not know what to think about me and this mission to catch this guy that had done me wrong. I dont think they even really believed me! They slowly taught me about the other side of life. Everyday, patiently, they would teach me about the plants, animals, people, gear, and lifestyle of the trail. I had been reading and preparing for this hike most of my life; but, until you get out here, you just do not know what your going to experience. It is totally different from what I expected. I remember this each time I met someone on the trail for the first time and try to help them settle into this "strange new world"; just as Daydreamer and Grasshopper did for me. First of all: there is not solitude. Secondly, you are never geared with the latest gadgets. Someone always has something that is new and unknown. Thirdly, it is much colder and wetter than what I ever expected. This can even be true in July and August. And finally, choose your hiking partners wisely. Relationships are very intense on the trail. You spend your time all day with this/these person/people and you become intimate very quick. This is a 24/7 relationship where you spend more time with someone, probably, than you have ever spent with someone in your life. Think about it. How much time do you really spend with your friends or significant other in society? I have seen the trail break up long term relationships very quickly and make long lasting powerful friendships that last a lifetime, just as quickly. Well, as we hiked north, I would read in the registers about what Mountain Mike was up to and my "blood would just boil"(dont betray a Virgo). Anyway, I heard he got off of the trail around Gatlinburg. When I talked with him at my wedding; {He was one of my groomsmen(see I can forgive)}he told me that it was just too damn cold and he also was robbed at gunpoint during a hitch hiking ride from Fontana to Bryson City. He was lucky to be alive. This is one of the reasons why I do not like to hitch. It is a roll of the dice everytime. We kept hiking north. There were not many services back then. You had Neel's Gap; The old Rainbow Springs Campground at old NC 64; A rafting company in Wesser that had bought a hotel on the trail(now the NOC sprawling facility); Fontana Village; nothing at Davenport Gap; Elmer's in Hot Springs, The old Jesuit Hostel and a small rafting company; In Erwin there was only the Nolichucky Campground; The Place in Damascus; and where I finished, there was no Partnership Shelter at The Mount Rogers Headquarters. I know this is getting long; but, two more stories about this year and I will wrap it up. Ok in Hot Springs, I almost got "sucked in"(a hiker term for spending too much time in a town due to too much admenities). I had not ever been in a spot like this before. The town still has this feel somewhat; but, not like it did back then. It was totally a hippie spot; as compared to todays Hot Springs Vegas. Hell, the hot springs themselves were open pools that you could just walk down to an jump in. Today it is like, 25 dollars an hour. Anyway, I stayed at the Jesuit Hostel and worked for stay. I helped split this giant two foot thick slice of hardwood that was about 8 feet across. I barely split it in half in two hours! Everyone else stayed at Elmer's. Elmer took Grasshopper and I to Asheville to an Earth First meeting. They tried to recruit him and I to chain ourselves to the Forest service headquarters to stop their business for a half day. We declined. OK, the end of this thru hike. When I got to The Mount Rogers headquarters I said goodbye to Daydreamer. I told him that I did not have any energy left. Ill never forget the look in his eyes and the pain in my heart. I laid there for 3 days trying to get my energy back to no avail. Today I am 6 foot 1 inch and 190 pounds. I was down to 156 pounds. When I pulled out and walked down to the Marion, Va bus station; I was so emaciated that a woman walked up to me and said, "here is 5 dollars, go get you something to eat."