Friday, April 19th

I woke up already knowing that today's song would be "If I Only Had a Brain", from The Wizard of Oz. Catchy little tune. It's going to drive me nuts, trying to get it out of my head. I woke up around 9. It was raining outside, and a fog thick as dryer lint had covered the mountain. I even heard a clap of thunder. Monsoon, Comet Kid and Icculu packed up and left by 10:30, just as High Tech pulled in from Slaughter's Gap. I had a breakfast of pancakes that I found in the refrigerator.

Around noon Lisa and Grant came in, looking like they'd spend the morning in the spin cycle. They both enjoyed long showers and nuked lunches. Kevin came in soon after for more of the same. Tim, the Marketing Manager at Comet.Net, showed up around 3:00. He drove all the way down here from Charlottesville to bring me supplies. They didn't have enough time to mail it, so Tim brought it! He was the reason that I planned on spending two nights here. I spent the rest of the afternoon admiring gear that I need. A pair of Leki poles. A Dana Designs dry rib to keep my maps in. Some Thorlo Trekking socks. A lighter sleeping bag for the summer. A porter to carry my gear. Just some simple stuff.

For dinner, High Tech, Kevin, an employee here (Clay's his name), the local Ridge runner (the trail maintainer) and I went out to a Chinese restaurant about twenty minutes away. It was fabulous. People didn't even look twice at me, wearing long johns, shorts and a bandana. I love trail towns.

"Nothing says it like a toenail." - The Purple Pirate on how to relate trail experiences to folks back home. His toenail was falling off.

Next Entry