TRAIL DAY 100
Mon, May 30, 2016 I was up at between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. There was no sign of my Indian benefactors. They must have partied, packed and departed. Here one moment – ever so much here – a large presence – gone the next. Was it a dream? Who was that masked man? You probably have to be over 60 to get that reference.
I prepared breakfast on the picnic table and then took a quarters-in-the-slot shower, resupplied, packed and departed myself, Theo in tow.
It would be a short day over moderate terrain going from one campground to the next. The sun would be out most of the day waning with evening and incoming clouds.
A couple of hours into our hike, I saw an Asian couple approaching from my right. We stopped and chatted. They were Matt and Elizabeth from not too far away. He was a professional photographer and was out for a photo shoot.
About an hour later I stopped for lunch off to the right of the trail and made myself comfortable leaning against a tree. Before long, a middle-aged hiker came southbound and greeted me with, “Is this the 75-year-old lawyer I’m supposed to talk to?”
It was as if there was some kind of telepathic current running up and down the trail from end to end but at least within a few hundred miles of my current location. I‘m sure I expressed my surprise at his question with something like, “How the heck did you know that?” I don’t remember his answer, nor why he was supposed to talk to me. I wrote down his name and email, however, and I have tried to reach him for reasons I’ll explain.
It wasn’t long after “my new client” showed up that Matt and Elizabeth reappeared. We all chatted while Elizabeth came over to pet Theo. A deer passed by slowly and took in the scene, alert but showing no concern for its safety.
The photographer in Matt gradually emerged and he asked if he could take some photographs of me. Finding me a worthy subject, he took many photos from different angles as if we were on a professional photo-shoot. He then asked if it would be OK for his wife to take a picture of him with me which she did. He took my email address and promised to send me the results. I never saw them. He could well have lost my contact information. Maybe someday, he’ll read my blog or book or simply search me on the internet and I’ll have a nice surprise. As it is, I have many photos of me on the trail and off – but it would be fun to see professional, high-quality shots of my bearded mug on the AT in Virginia.
We all dispersed. Matt and Elizabeth must have headed south, from whence they came. I never saw them again. “Need A Lawyer” continued on his way. I have since tried to reach him to see if he had valid contact information from Matt and my email bounced.
Time to continue northward. The trail was long and straight and unencumbered. We crossed SLD at miles 56.4, 55.1 and 52.8 where there was a parking lot to the east. I crossed the road and walked the trail just west of the lot and came upon a young couple packing up their car. I stopped to say hello and learned they were Anna and Eric from Boulder, Colorado. They seemed so clean-cut and nice and I wanted to remember them so asked if they minded my taking their picture. No tripod. No bulky camera equipment to unpack. Take the thin sliver of metal and glass out of my pocket hold it up and touch the screen. Big deal! But it is a big deal – to have the picture. It’s acquired so easily and captures so much.
I remember this dear couple as if I were standing there with them now. A split millisecond of time and the essence of two souls appears forever – in a heartbeat. Truly, just a momentary window into who these fine people are but enough for the knowing within to have made an eternal connection. Seems silly to say. . .but I love them and I love how they open up my heart.
In short order we came to Tanners Ridge Road (gravel) and a cemetery where graves were honored for Memorial Day. It was a privilege to be there in the mid-afternoon sunshine with ones who had gone before for family, for country, for eternity. My phone had run out of charge so I took pictures with my tablet and plugged my phone into the backup battery. It would be nearly 4 hours until my next picture.
And guess who would be my first subject. ECHO!
She was so put together and with it. She seemed to know just what she was doing and that she could do it very, very well.
I’m a little confused as to where things went from here. I recall arriving at Big Meadows Campground and choosing my spot or maybe even setting up my tent and then going back to take some late-afternoon photos. It might have been on this return trip that I saw Echo. I remember a father and son enjoying the same scenery I returned to capture and talking with them. They were glad I was willing to spend the time and that I was not a gotta-rush hiker. I have heard from the father since my return via some media and we had a brief electronic exchange, happy to be connected.
What is puzzling me is the timing of some of my photos but also that Echo showed up at my campsite – aaaah, the timing thing may just be coming clear. I think Echo had gone to the registration office as I was taking my pictures and she had been told that there were no spots left. She found me on my return and asked if she could share my spot and, of course, I said “SURE!” The tables were turned from when I was less fortunate in looking for her.
Next to me were – are you ready for this? Mike and Debbie.
Echo, Soren, Mike and Debbie at a campground, one of the hikers out of luck and needing a place to pitch a tent – an echo of circumstances just 3 days apart.
Life does have its astounding moments, ain’t? As the Pennsylvania Dutch say in Lancaster County. I guess they shortened “ain’t that so” to save breath – and don’t we all. In my household I have shortened “what are you eating?” to “ch’eaten?”
Across the drive from me were Steve and Gail, a nice couple in a trailer motor home who let me plug in my battery to charge it. They were not connected to power so turned on their generator. In spite of my protest, they insisted. They told me about the campground, where to do laundry and eat, if I chose. As I was concluding my time with them, Echo came over and Steve took an awkward picture of both of us, Theo in the center.
Some time that evening, Echo mentioned that she wanted to pitch in on the price which I declined.
Mike and Debbie, just like 3 days ago, let me put my food in their car to keep it from bears. Judging by a pile of scat nearby, this was a good idea.
I went off to do my laundry on the way to the nice lodge for supper. Theo stayed put, leashed to a table. The attendant at the laundry gave me some detergent for my wash and said she would be gone when I returned.
There was a long building with nice individual shower rooms on either side running at right angles to the laundry. I added my dirty clothes to my other laundry in the shower room, showered and then headed for the washing machine in my rain gear. That’s what you wear without a substitute supply of odd garments from a hostel. I started my laundry and headed for dinner at the lodge.
My table was in the near right corner, not far from an outlet where I charged my phone leaving something on the table to remind me it was there.
While I think of rain gear, I’m not sure I mentioned that the rain pants do not have pockets, just slits through which to reach your pants pockets. Extra care was required not to put whatever you were putting away down the leg of the rain pants. I did this once somewhere in the south with my AWOL section and realized my error within about .2 of a mile and was able to retrieve it just as another hiker was coming along who saw it and may have delivered it forward to me.
Dinner at the lodge was started with Gin on the rocks and then a favorite of the house – call it Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and lots of gravy. Super supper!
After supper, I returned to the laundry, put my load in the dryer and read magazines while the machine did its thing. There was a table near the machines with some hiker food on it. I took a couple of packs of oatmeal for the trail.
I got my laundry and returned to my tent just as it began to rain hard. What could be cozier?
Day #100 Lewis Mountain CG > Big Meadows Campground 9.1 miles