Today was a zero. As if that wasn’t good enough, we also got to see our friends Amy and Daniel! These two moved to Maryland a while ago. When I told Amy we’d be hiking the AT, she immediately said she wanted to meet up when we were near.
To give you an idea of what kind of people Amy and Daniel are, they didn’t just take care of us, they took care of other hikers too! Amy said she wanted to do a bit of trail magic and asked what kind of things we like. I gave her a list and she decided on Vitamin Water (umm… yum!) and ice cream/popsicles (even more yum!!). At first we were going to try to hit a road crossing to set up at. Failing to find a good spot to do so, we landed on sitting outside of the ATC headquarters. We remembered how we had pushed so hard to get there, not eating and running out our water, we figured other hikers would probably do the same too. We were right. Most thru-hikers we saw arrive were tired and thirsty. A drink and ice cream brought immediate relief. We watched thru-hikers devour their ice cream. The men getting it all in their beards, kind of like the scene from Beauty and the Beast when Beast is eating his porridge or whatever it was in that bowl. I laughed, but quickly remembered how we did something similar the night before as we tried to slay hiker hunger. We sat there for about an hour or so, took them inside to show them our photo, and then decided to pack up and head out.
Just down the road was a pizzeria. Ah, pizza! I’ve been craving a good slice (or rather, many slices) for a while now. It didn’t disappoint. The crust was the perfect consistency and the cheese was so stringy, it would pull for what felt like yards and yards.
Then it was time to hit the winery! Wonder Woman has been talking about this place for some time now. Her grandfather’s friend owns this winery, so of course we had to visit. The four of us; Amy, Daniel, Warthog, and I all did a tasting. Afterwards, we decided to enjoy the outdoor lounging space for a while. We probably sat for at least an hour and a half just visiting, catching up, and talking about the trail. While we were there, Snow Monkey, Wonder Woman, and their families arrived. We introduced everyone, took turns getting group photos for each other and then left to go back to Harpers Ferry.
My trail runners are almost dead, it’s time to get shoes before it’s too late. Thankfully Amy and Daniel actually seemed excited about going to look at shoes. Both of them are extremely active people, so they wanted to do a little shopping themselves, if anything interested them. They are the second group of people I’ve held captive while getting new shoes. The first was mom and dad Jonkman. This trip wasn’t as long as the first, but it was still longer than it should have considering he first brought me a pair of size 8.5 and 9 shoes when I’ve been wearing a 10 since I was sixteen years old. My last Altra shoes were a size 10.5 (I had to go up a half size to give my toe some extra room). I thought I was about the learn something extraordinary about my feet, but guess what… I left with a 10.5. Don’t interpret this story as me saying that the guy at the outfitter was unhelpful. He was absolutely helpful and I had a very positive experience there. It just took a few times pulling shoes for me to get the size I knew I needed.
Once we had my shoes, we walked two buildings down to the ice cream shop. Two shakes, one cone, one snow cone later, we sat under a colorful umbrella and talked about normal life things. Warthog commented on how nice the day has been, being able to get out and do fun things, not just errands. It truly felt like a mini vacation from the trail. I fully agree. It was amazing. I feel so lucky that Amy and Daniel were willing to drive the hour out to spend time with us. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
But it wasn’t over with the ice cream. When we had devoured our goodies, we decided to walk around the historic town a bit. The buildings are so old, you feel a bit insignificant knowing you are just a blip in all that these bricks have seen. If a town like this could make me feel that way, I can only imagine what a truly old town in Europe would be like. As much as we enjoyed seeing the sites, we didn’t walk around for too long.
Amy and Daniel took us back to the hotel. They came in for a bit and we played Spades near the pool. I knew it was getting late for them, they like to go to bed pretty early. After four rounds of cards, they decided it was time to leave. I was sad to see them go. I had so much fun blending my normal life with trail life. I enjoyed catching up. But most of all, I was glad just to get to see them, my friends. If this trail is teaching me anything, it’s reiterating how important people are and how it’s even more important to slow down and connect with one another.
After they left, I called my sister and caught up with things happening at home. Then, we went over to Wonder Woman’s room and had birthday cake to celebrate Kirby. His birthday is this coming Wednesday. And again, I was reminded of how blessed I am to love and be loved by so many people. It’s not the first time I’ve had this thought on the trail. I expect it won’t be the last either and that’s such a wonderful thing to know.
-ansel