Hoowwwdeee from Palmerston, PA

Well, I've crossed the Mason-Dixon line a little over a week ago, and I haven't had sweet tea in that same time. Nor a shower. Nor have I updated the blog in a while. Well, we all do without.

I'm sitting here in the library in Palmerston, PA...the PERFECT hiker town. Absolutely wonderful. It's a nice quiet town without much traffic and just one main strip with all the shops, so everything is walkable. The town center lets hikers stay and shower for free!! Well, I guess you can tell that I'm excited to be here. I've been in a funk for the past few days. I think the excitement of crossing the halfway point has worn into the realization...dear god, I've got a thousand more miles to hike. Am trying to push on. Soon enough, I'll hit the point where sheer stubborness will win through. But, as always, it's not all bad. I picked up a free book here at the library...A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek by Annie Dillard. I happened to cross over Tinker's Creek a few hundred miles ago, so it will be interesting reading about it, plus she's a pretty good writer. Also, Sarah Marcum, if you happen to read this, she mentions a book that I thought you would like, "Space and Sight" by Marius von Senden who describes the experiences of people who gained sight after cataract surgery became a possibility. I think an obscure book, but it looks fascinating.

Right, so, I have 60 days left to hike if I am going to get done by the first of September and 940ish miles to go. That's about 16 miles a day without taking any days off. Hopefully, I'll average about 20 miles a day and earn a day off every four days. That, I think, will be key to keeping the spirits up. I'm going to try not to do the math very often, though and just run with it, take it as it comes, else It'll dominate my hike, my mood, etc.

A brief recap? Why not...

So, since I last wrote, I've gotten in to DC. I pushed rather hard to get there and get there before the 10:30 train left, and I had a mini breakdown as I was night hiking to Harper's Ferry. It was about eleven, and I thought I'd been making good time and passed Crescent Rock early on, only to discover that, about an hour later, I was just then passing Crescent Rock, and I still had 17 miles to go to town. Not only that, I had left one of the neatest hostels on the trail, stocked with a couple of friends, to get into town. Well, already sleep deprived, I was about to give up, and I lay down for a nap. But woke up two hours later and decided to give it another go and get seven miles out of the way. I ended up getting about 11 miles from H. Ferry before passing out again for another three hours, then making a death march into town from 6-9:30 that morning. About the hardest thing I've ever done. And the train was late by like an hour and a half. Bah.

But getting in to DC was great, as was seeing Andres and Veronica, who were both gracious hosts. I only wish I had come on a weekend. Besides the city, it was neat to see their relationship...it's really the first functional, adult relationship I've gotten to see among my friends (I sure hope I'm not unintentionally offending anyone with that remark). Anyway, they are both looking after each other, struggling a little with life after school, maybe, but building a life for themselves in the city. Neat.

Alright, so my manic writing mood/muse has departed, so I'm going to fill in a bit more later. After some food. Lots of food.

Hiker Trash

A Long Way to Go

Best Sunset Photo I've Taken

Moe and Red Lion

Caught in a Hail Storm

Team Triple Crown

Part of a Rattler

Roller Coasters

It's amazing how quickly fortunes and moods can change out here. My mood will vary from minute to minute depending on the terrain sometimes or hour to hour depending on whether I'm eating enough or day to day depending on weather, people, or I don't know what.

The day before yesterday was one of the hardest I've had on the trail. It had been raining off and on for several days, the trail was rough, I hadn't eaten enough, and I had kinda been ditched (not really, but I was hiking alone) by the people I had been hiking with for a while, and I had lost my headlamp. But, the weather cleared off, I got a ride into town, had a great AYCE meal, met the people I had been chasing all day, and got a good dry place for the night. The next day, I had an easy hike over good terrain, saw several people I hadn't seen in a while, picked up two hitches real easily, found the guy with my headlamp, helped return a tent to a hiking buddy I had passed on the trail, and he bought me a burger and a coke. (Wish I had time to flesh this out better and more clearly)

The weather was beautiful, and the views were great from Mckafee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. I tried to cowboy camp (camp without setting up tent or getting in a shelter) on the top of the cliffs and watch the sunrise to cap off a wonderful day, but then a storm rolled in at 3:00 in the morning last night, and I had to pack up and race down to a shelter crowded with Boy Scouts, cram into a spot, only to have a leak spring right above my head and drip on my sleeping bag. Then the scouts got up at 5:30 in the morning and made noise until they left around 8:30. But they made up for it by giving me beef jerkey, pop tarts, oreos, and some trail food, and the scout leader was very friendly. And today I had a really nice 9 mile stroll into town, had some good conversation along the way, and there was cold beer sitting at the trail head. And since then, I've been eating pizza and ice cream, drinking beer, and sitting in the sun by the pool with some guys I've been hiking with for the past few days. Sometimes, life is good.

Pearisburg, Va.

Virginia has been great so far, but the rain came this morning, and a group of us have stopped and are having a zero. Up till today, I've had a week and several days without rain, and the weather has been pretty cool for the most part. The few views that we've had have been fantastic; everything is green now, green and wonderful. Have seen several deer and a badger but no bears yet ;/ Staying tonight at the Rendezvous Motel. Will push on tomorrow, rain or no, and head for Catawba, where I've been told is some real good country cooking.

I'm sitting here in a library at the moment, and it of all things is making me think about home more than I have in a long while. I'm seeing lots of books and authors that were all around the bookstore (noticed that the new Ludlum/Lusteberger book is now out in paperback), and, it being a rainy day, I am somewhat pining to sit inside on a sofa and read a book.

Out here, life has no narration. While we are all on our way to Katahdin, how we get there, how long it takes, and so many of the things in between are unscripted, and I find myself pining for stories, something with characters, heroes, plot. I suppose these are things I naturally long for and usually find fulfilled through books, news, community but have just not found to the same degree out here. No books, no news, no steady community (but great people), just wilderness, a trail, and a destination. Wonder if I will find myself pining for this situation when I have it reversed.

Well, I'm over a quarter of the way there. 625 miles. I'm hoping to finish by the middle of August (maybe summit Katahdin on my bday), and then there is a canoe route just north of Katahdin I think I would like to check out, and we'll see after that (I'll come home eventually, Mom).

Veronica just sent me a wonderful video for Queen lovers: http://vimeo.com/1531870 which I've been listening to over and over. I miss music, too.

Atkins, Va.

Well, the internet has been scarce out here (and sometimes expensive when you find it. I'm paying 5.00 for 30 minutes, but the people at the gas station here are awesome and doing their best to cater to hikers, so I think it's justifiable.), but so have showers, laundry, and various other important things (I'm washing my clothes for the first time in about two weeks.).

For the past few weeks, the hiking has been pretty good. There was a week long stretch of rain, but that is over, and I've been enjoying sunshine and good views through the Grayson Highland area and thereabouts. And I've run into a bunch of great people, but it's proven difficult to keep everyone together with injuries, family emergencies, and different paces. Oh well, it at least helps to know they are out there and to run into them from time to time. My crew for the past bit has been Big Tuna, Red Lion, Hardcore, Moe!, Rocket (i.e. (Snot Rocket)), and Lucky Joe. Interesting names, pretty good assortment of people.

I promised to try not to do stream-of-consciousness-blogging, but given the conditions and the amount of stuff I could say, it's really hard not to. I hope to get pictures up sometime and to show off the beard, but it will take some doing to get that done. But I do have one question for you...I know I made a vow to not shave the beard until I crested Katahdin, but am I allowed to trim it? Right now, the whiskers of the mustache are beginning to creep down in front of the lip, and I've gotten ketchup and other savory bits mixed up in it already. Am I allowed to trim this area, or do I have to buy wax and work out some handlebars? I will take your comments in mind.

No bears yet. Some raw spots on feet but no blisters. More tan than ever...really bad farmer's tan. Still smelly after shower.

Alright, enough for now.

Hey from 60 miles south of Damascus

Wow, life happens fast when you live it. I have no idea what all to say here, but I'm having a good time and have met lots of good people. Hopefully I'll have time to collect my thoughts in a bit and post more. (Shocked from just finding out about Farai and Stacy!! Congrats! I now have a deadline for my hike.)

-Junior

Off Again

Well, I'm sitting here about to head out again, and I feel I should have some inspiring quotation or other to mark the occasion. I know Will said some things about going once more into the breech, and there is the famous,] line about try, trying again, but they don't strike me. So I'll just share a few of my favorites for the sake of sharing.

It was their way of defying that tricky place Earth. That place will hurt you if you let it get the hop on you. They spooked the Earth spooks away with their stories. They whistled in the dark.

-R.A. Lafferty

To you who are scattered and broken, gather again and mend. Rebuild always, and again I say rebuild. Renew the face of the earth. It is a loved face, but now it is covered with the webs of tired spiders. - Lafferty

"There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

-Kurt Vonnegut (a character is Baptizing some babies)

"Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the mooooooooooooon?" -Vonnegut

I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. -Vonnegut

If you get to the fork in the road, take it. -Yogi Berra

She looked as if she had been poured into her clothes and had forgotten to say "when."

-P.G. Wodehouse

And pictures of a guy with a "pet" bear.