Let me tell you a little bit about camp etiquette. You would think it’s a no-brainer, but apparently it is not. Here you go… Don’t keep everyone in camp awake just because you are. Respect the people who are sleeping and keep your voice down. As we laid in our tents last night, trying to fall asleep, a drunk hiker came back from the brewery. He used his “daytime” voice and at full volume proceeded to comment on how full the moon was, while trying to take a photo of it… flash on. Then for the next twenty or so minutes, he continued talking to himself and making drunk noises in his loud voice. I started laughing at the absurdity in my tent. Earlier in the day, we saw them setting up right next to Lotus. She said, “I bet they snore”. Lotus can’t sleep through snoring. I thought to myself, “I bet she wishes they were snoring right now.” Finally I called out to Lotus, whose tent was probably eight feet away, and commiserated with her about this moron that is keeping everyone awake. She finally asked him to quiet down, he seemed to sincerely apologize and then got quiet… for a moment. It all started up again pretty quickly. Another five or ten minutes go by with him talking to his friend. His friend was half answering, half trying to go to sleep himself. Then U2’s, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, started playing. It was 11:20p. That’s when we all lost it and simultaneously asked him to quiet down. He wasn’t listening to any of us. His friend said from the tent, “Juergen… Juergen… Juergen… Nein!” (He is German). Juergen responds to his friend and turns the stupid phone off. He says loudly, “It was just a call!” Then rolled over and shouted a couple of expletives at us. The talking was over… but I heard a whole lot of angry shifting coming from inside his tent. That’s fine, be mad. At least I can finally go to sleep.
I heard Juergen break down camp in the morning. We were going to the same place, breakfast at “The Summit”. Warthog and I gave him a head start so he could be good and done by the time we got there. Hopefully letting us avoid any confrontations. I was still pretty angry. Well, I was tired, which made me angry.
Breakfast was good. Lotus, Atlas, Warthog, and I ate together. Afterwards we sat out at tables under an awning until the 10a shuttle arrived. The brewery will shuttle hikers back to the trail – an extremely thoughtful and appreciated gesture. It was almost 11a when we got back to the trail. There were so many of us that they had to do two runs. We got on the second.
Our goal was to hike either eleven miles to a tent site or fifteen miles to a shelter. At the end of the day, we only made about eleven. We were all enjoying the trail, the overlooks, etc., so much (plus I was tired… thanks Juergen), that we moved a bit more slowly than expected. It all worked out. It allowed us a long lunch to appreciate the valley and mountains around us. About a half mile after lunch we hit trail magic. After spending at least an hour there, we hiked to our site. A low mileage day, but a good day.
Trevor and Kim were the hosts (angels) for our trail magic. Their son and daughter hiked the year before and they wanted to be a blessing for some hikers. It was awesome. They had drinks and ice cream. You never see ice cream at trail magics! We sat with new hikers, learned their stories as well as Trevor and Kim’s. While we were there, a young family that had been day hiking came out of the woods. They joined us all. The husband was particularly interested, he’s dreamt of hiking the AT since he was a kid. When we left, he said he hopes to see us all again sometime. I said, “Maybe then we’ll be giving out trail magic and you’ll be the hikers!” Whether or not he hikes, I hope we are an inspiration.
The last four miles after the trail magic were easy. Actually, today has been easy. It’s been rocky, but easy. The rocks make me nervous because I regularly almost roll an ankle. Of course, if it isn’t rocks, it’s a root. Sometimes it’s even my own trekking poles. You should see me on the trail. I’m so incredibly graceful, I’m like a cat (by the way, that was sarcasm).
We were getting water just before our campsite for the night when we saw a hiker named, “Adele”, and his dog. We had just met them at the trail magic. Adele is so named because he sleep talks and apparently one night he called out, “Hello…” like the start of the Adele song. It’s one of the funnier naming stories I’ve heard yet. His dog is Ike. Adele adopted Ike on the trail. Apparently he started following hikers one day and they didn’t know what to do with him, so Adele took him. He tried to find the owners but didn’t have any luck. Now he has a trail dog. Ike is a goofy dog. When he gets to a water source, he likes to lay in it. Then he likes to roll around on his back afterwards. It’s amazing to me how many people either adopt a dog on the AT or find them.
We got to our site at a decent time with plenty of daylight to set up camp, make a fire, and relax. We are sharing the site with a German man named, “Tunnel Vision” – the complete opposite of Juegen from the night before. He joined us around the fire and we learned it’s (knock on wood) his last night on the trail. In 2015 he started a flip flop and hiked half of the trail from Waynesboro, VA to Katahdin. Then he was given a job offer back home. Originally he wasn’t interested. Eventually he decided to take it. In April of this year he started up the second part of his flip flop. He hiked from Springer Mountain and tomorrow will hopefully complete the trail in Waynesboro, VA.
It was such an honor to share his last night on the trail with him. He sat with us giving us advice in the most humble way. He was someone who you wanted to listen to because he was so sincere. You could see some of the emotions that he was working through; sadness to be nearly done, disbelief that the end is here, and also appreciation for the time on the trail. As we near the midpoint, the trail and what we are accomplishing is being firmly rooted in us. I think we all watched him closely, knowing in just a few months, we would hopefully be in the same position and processing similar emotions. I’m not sure what to compare it to, maybe watching a colleague accomplish some big life goal.
One thing he affirmed was the amount of “luck” that is involved with the trail. All it takes is a second, one misstep or something else to cause a trail-ending injury. That’s why I am so thankful for the many, many, many people at home wrapping our journey in prayer. We need it. It doesn’t matter how careful we are being, we really need it.
The time with Tunnel Vision, the fire, the gorgeous site… all made for an incredible evening. Now I write, listening to the wind in the leaves, it reminds me of the ocean waves. Wind through trees always remind me of ocean waves. Nature surrounds me, it’s quiet and peaceful, my heart feels full.
-ansel