Day 16: First Day of Rest

Well, I made it into Waynesboro, Virginia yesterday and today I am taking a much needed day of rest...no hiking!! I am spending most of my time in town gorging myself on all sorts of bad foods. :)

The past two weeks have been filled with ups and downs. Overall, things are going well. I struggled a lot the first week with loneliness and being homesick. But, I think I was starting to get into the groove of things the second week. It is taking a lot of getting used to...being by myself so much. I've always been very independent, but its pretty extreme out here when you go a whole day without seeing another human being.

In general, the weather has been up and down as well. I've gotten stormed on many times and none of my stuff ever seems to dry out. The days it's not raining, it's so hot that I am completely drenched in sweat so it might as well be raining. :)

Here are some excerpts from my journal over the past couple of weeks:

Day 3
"...after mom and I said our goodbyes, I started off on the trail. I hiked for about 5 minutes and then I heard mom start up the car and drive off...she was honking the horn the whole way...I was sobbing...I miss her terribly already..."
"...I came across a turtle in the middle of the trail and not 5 steps later, a copperhead snake was in the middle of the trail eating a mouse...or so I assume, only a leg and tail were hanging out of the snake's mouth...gave me the willies!"

Day 4
"I camped by myself for the first time ever last night. I think I was so tired that it didn't matter..plus I'm sure the Tylenol PM helped..."
"Of the 8.7 miles that I did, 7 were uphill. The climb up Floyd Mountain was brutal...about 1/2 mile from the top it started monsooning. It felt good at first, but after 30 minutes of downpour, it sucked."

Day 5
"It rained all day today. If it wasn't for the rain, it would have been a beautiful hike..."
"...my feet are a mess from the blisters and then being wet all day..."

Day 6
"Well, it rained and it rained and it rained last night. The tent started leaking at 9:00pm. There was nothing I could do. I was up most of the night and I finally crawled out of my wet sleeping bag at 8:00am. Thankfully it was no longer raining, but everything was soaked...and I mean EVERYTHING. I didn't start hiking until 9:45 cause it took me so long to wring everything out and pack up."
"I was really nervous to hitch-hike by myself for the first time. The first car to come by was a pick-up truck. I nervously stuck out my thumb and he pulled over!! The first car!! I hopped in the back and he took me to Wildwood Campground. The owners here are so nice. They hooked me up with a tentsite and I got to take a shower and do my laundry...I feel so much better now."

Day 7
"I loaded up my maildrop into my pack and boy was it H-E-A-V-Y. I knew then that it would be a slow day but I had no idea it would be so bad."
"...the first problem was that the water sources were 9 miles apart and most of those 9 miles were uphill. I was severely dehydrated at the end of the day and I kept getting really dizzy..."
"I finish my last climb and I start on the last mile descent into the shelter. I come to a piece of paper in the trail...it says, 'wasp nest 5 ft on left and rattlesnake 20 ft on right'...grrrreat. Didn't have a run in with either but boy did it make me jumpy."
"I think I'm going to slow down to 8 or 9 miles a day until my feet get better...they are a mess with blisters."

Day 8
"I have so many emotions in me right now. I'm homesick, lonely, scared, and yet still happy to be out here...I'm just not enjoying it right now."
"I'm going to target getting into Waynesboro on Sunday and taking Monday as a zero day. That's an average of 7 or 8 miles a day all this week. Hopefully my feet will start to feel better. I think that will help with my mindset too."

Day 9
"When I got up this morning and went to the privy, I met a girl from Ball State who was doing a 3-month section hike as well. She was nice, but she was hiking in a skirt...absolute craziness!!!"
"...I'm starting to worry that I am going to turn into Tom Hanks in Castaway. I need to pick up a volleyball in the next town. I've already started talking to my tent...I've named him Patches."

Day 10
"...I hiked up Cold Mountain which was this beautiful grassy bald. I was hoping that Jude Law would be at the top waiting for me, be he wasn't :( So, I called Ashlie instead."
"...Ashlie read Tunde's blog to me and I guess Virgil isn't doing too well with Mitch...lovely"

Day 11
"I think my feet are happy with me because they are starting to toughen up. It was a good idea to slow it down into Waynesboro. Only a few of the blisters are still causing me problems."
"Today I started a new game of 'What Does the Bug Bite Look Like?' I found one today that looked like a dragon when it was new. Now it looks like a star among all the other bug bites that make up the constellations on my legs and arms."
"OK, I am completely losing get. I'm reading a book and it says, 'there are shenanigans pulled...' and I stop reading and say to Patches...'mmmm, Bennigans'"

Day 12
"Boy did it storm last night. I'm talking some SEVERE storms blew through. I thought that lightning struck right next to my tent at one point. Patches didn't hold up too well. I'm gonna have to give him some TLC in Waynesboro and if that doesn't work, we may have to put him down. Don't really want to buy a new tent out here, but Patches let the flood gates open last night."

Day 13
"It wasn't raining today, but all the weeds were wet and hanging in the trail, so my clothes got soaked in the first mile. Then the toe of my right boot came apart and my right foot turned into a swamp. I had to stop and wring out my socks all day. I'm not on speaking terms with my boots anymore."
"So, I started hiking the 1/2 mile to the parkway and right before I get there, an old man comes hiking towards me with nothing on but a day pack, hiking boots, and a walking stick. He was totally naked!! So I stepped off the trail so he could walk by . As he comes up to me, he says 'Nice day, huh?' and then proceeds to slip on the rocks and fall on the ground...in all his nakedness!!! What do you say to a weird naked guy who just fell right next to you? 'Uhhh, are you ok?' to which he responds 'yeah, be careful of the rocks, they're slippery.' I could not feel more awkward. I think I am scarred for life."

Day 14
"I got to the shelter and read my book the rest of the afternoon. The father & son with another son that I met yesterday showed up around 6:30. I hung out with them all night and played poker. I had a blast. They were so fun and it was great to hang out with actual people for a night. Plus, I beat them all in poker. :)"

Day 15
"I only had 5 miles to hike today into Waynesboro, so I hiked with my weekend friends the whole way out. It was nice to have company on my hike."
"I washed my hair 3 times and I turned the washcloth brown...ewww."
"I gorged myself on a #4 super-sized (or 'Go Large' or whatever) at McDonald's. It was delectable!! I've spent most of the afternoon getting caught up on my MTV reality shows. Its been a perfect afternoon. Just got done shoveling Papa John's down my throat. I now feel sick...shocking."


Here are my next couple of mail drop locations for those of you interested:
Mail Drop #3 (ETA 08/01/05): Harper's Ferry, WV 25425
Mail Drop #4 (ETA 08/13/05): Boiling Springs, PA 17007

Thank you to everyone who sent me e-mails keeping me updated on what's happening back in the real world. I miss you all very much!!

I'm hiking out tomorrow and then my mom is coming out to visit next weekend...very excited about that! I should have internet access within the next two weeks for my next posting. Hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer!!

Here are some facts about my hike so far:
Section Hike #2 Total: 133.7 miles
AT Total: 847.7 miles
15-day Average: 8.91 miles per day
Longest Day: 13.1 miles
Shortest Day: 4.6 miles