It was 11a before we left the hotel. We had hoped to get a better start on the day, but couldn’t get moving fast enough. After devouring the continental breakfast and packing up our room, an Uber driver popped up as available… perfect timing. We waited for him outside of our hotel. I always wonder if Uber drivers see we are hikers and consider driving off. At least now we are clean hikers, but our gear still stinks.
We kept joking that we want to get a hitch from an Amish person since we are in Amish country. No joke, our Uber driver was Amish. I know, I know… an Amish guy with a car? Apparently he’s “Modern Amish”. He didn’t grow up in the religion. I asked how he decided to start attending an Amish church. He gave me a story, but not a direct answer. It was a good fifteen or so minute drive. We had some really interesting conversations.
Dave dropped us off at the state park where we needed to pick up the trail. We pointed to a beautifully graveled path and told him that’s the AT. He was blown away. Even though he’s a local, he didn’t realize the trail came through such a popular place. He said he might take his wife and two year old child for a walk on it in a day or so.
Kirby was waiting for us right where we got dropped off. After a couple of minutes, we were ready to hit the trail again! Well, most of us were anyway. Warthog was still a little off. He’s better, but not 100% yet. It was around noon when we left.
We had a slow start. I was carrying extra weight to keep Warthog a little lighter. He was inching along because his body still hurt. We would walk for a bit and then break for a bit. There were a couple of times where he had to run off into the woods urgently. His stomach gurgled loud enough that even I heard it. I know what it’s like. I was sick like that just after Erwin, TN. It’s not fun. We had hoped to hike fifteen to eighteen miles today. In the end, we covered around eleven. That’ll give us a twenty three mile day tomorrow because of when we hit a stretch of trail where you aren’t allowed to camp. I hope we are ready for that big of a day. It’ll be our longest one yet.
While we were hiking, we passed a man named “Paw Paw” going southbound. He stopped us and asked what our trail names were and if he could take a photo of us. We happily obliged. As the usual, when Warthog said his name, Paw Paw’s brows furrowed and I could tell he would want the story behind it. Most people ask him. Apparently Warthog is a weird name out here. Paw Paw asked, “Are you a pilot on the A-10?” Warthog corrected him and told him he was a crew chief. I was surprised. He was one of maybe two or three people on the trail so far that immediately jumped to the aircraft. Turns out, Paw Paw served eight years in the Air Force and piloted the OV-10, one of the predecessors to the A-10. It was neat to meet Paw Paw. He slack packs with another man, “Soul Patch”. Both are thru-hiking up to Maine. I hope we see him again on the trail. I told Warthog that Paw Paw seemed like someone I’d like to sit down and have a long conversation with.
Not much else happened on the trail today. It was mostly walking and resting. At one point, I almost rolled an ankle. It seems as if I do that everyday, but this time was a little more intense than others. Warthog and Kirby (both were behind me on the trail) commented on the sick angle that my foot and ankle were at. I saw it too. I was able to catch my weight on the trekking poles I was using. I think it’s the only thing that saved my ankle from a major injury. It was a bit uncomfortable, but thankfully, there was no acute pain. I’m always clumsy, but the extra weight made me even more so today.
Late in the day we passed by Wind Jammer and Sun Fish, the two guys we met in the state park the other day. They had zeroed yesterday and got back on today. We told them how Warthog got sick and Wind Jammer said he vomited as well. Only for him, it was just once and all was fine.
Another .4 miles or so down the trail was our site. Snow Monkey, Wonder Woman, and Kirby were there already. They nicknamed the site, “Poison Ivy Camp”. The plant was everywhere. I chose a nice clear spot to set up while Warthog rested. I’m hoping with this low day he’ll be feeling better and ready to go tomorrow.
As I organized our food for tomorrow, Warthog walked over to me. He said, “I caught something for you” and held out his hand. A tiny little lightning bug was resting on his finger. It turned and took flight. I watched, thankful for this gift of thoughtfulness from my man. It flew about three or four feet and then lit up for us. I love summer. I especially love summers with my husband.
We made camp, ate dinner, and jumped in the tent as soon as possible. My goal is to be sleeping by 10p. It’s 9:40p now. The forests are quiet with the exception of fireworks we can hear but not see and the occasional gurgles coming from Warthog’s stomach. I gave him the nicer sleeping pad again so he gets another night of solid rest. Yeah… he’s already snoring.
-ansel