Departures

Yesterday Raindancer, an intricate member of Comedy Central left for Portland, ME to catch a flight back home. Comedy Central misses her terribly but will have to keep moving towards Katahdin.

After a whole day thinking about it I have come to the conclusion that the biggest thing the trail has thought me is how to say goodbye. I have met wonderful people on the trail that have made me want to hug them after 10 minutes of talking to them. On the trail everybody has a different pace, some people do 10 miles a day every day, others do 25 miles a day every day, and even others do 30 miles every other day. These differences make it so that you hang out with some people for a day and you move on never to see them again, or you stay with the people you like and adjust your mileage accordingly.

Comedy Central was formed because we all liked each other. The first week that we all hung out I cried every single night from laughing too hard. It did not make sense for me to move on alone after finding such good chemistry. Yesterday I had to say goodbye to one member of the family, and at the end of this part of my trip I will have to say goodbye to the whole family. It will be terribly sad but life is like that, I have to move on. I will find friends again, and I will keep these friends for the rest of my life.

I'm not saying that goodbyes don't weigh less on my soul, I'm saying that they are easier because I learned that there is friendship material everywhere.

Irene

Irene is headed for me up here in Maine. I'm holed up in a hotel and will be fine.

No reception ATM. Will try to get back to everybody ASAP.

The Bugnet

Handstand did not have a tent or a hammock, he would sleep on the ground on a Tyvek sheet in a sleeping bag under a tarp. This worked great until the bugs would eat him alive in the middle of July. To save himself from the onslaught he had a bugnet.

The bugnet did not work. He would sometimes wake up with 10 mosquitoes in the bugnet. As you may expect he grew very upset at the bugnet and talked about burning it for weeks.

After Handstand recieved his hammock, we ceremonially burned the bugnet. These are the pictures:

The participants were Gumby, Icy Hot, Raindancer, Larb, Handstand, Jackrabbit and Pink Floyd.

Blogger friends

Day by day accounts of our days together. Also funny pictures.

Pink Floyd: http://rootmypc.net/at/

Beautiful pictures and a good cause.

Bo Knows and Terminator: http://www.hikeforcam.org/photos/

Pictures

COMEDY CENTRAL

Raindancer (Girl next door)

Pink Floyd (Dad)

Jackrabbit (Adopted brother)


Handstand (Creepy Uncle)

Larb (Brother)

Other pictures

Pre Pie


Post Pie


This is a part of the AT.


500 miles to Katahdin with Raindancer checking the Trail Magic


Best day ever


Top of a Fire Tower in Virginia


After a fun night


This picture describes the Vortex where we stayed.


NEW HAMPSHIRE


The cure for Giardia


Pink Floyd, Larb, Jackrabbit and Handstand with the phallic symbol in the background.


Crotch view, Raindancer is not looking. I carried a 1/2 lb clown with me for 2 days just to be creepy.


Handstand being a good father to his bag.


We stayed at Tom's house, the first question he asked was "Would you like some ice cream?"


Shopping list


Missed Connections


A normal day...


Train stop in the middle of nowhere.


Oldest tree on the AT.


Some heaven.


Animal Connections


The family that considered me Neo-human for doing the AT.


Food in NYC


NYC


The other end of I-84

Lookout in Vermont

Pretty much describes how I feel about this trip.

Nightmares

I never believed any of the people that said that they got so used to sleeping outdoors while they were hiking the AT that they couldn't sleep inside anymore.

The last 4 times that I have stayed in a hostel or any other 4 walled structure I have had nightmares.

Now, I really prefer to wake up in my tent and smell the outside and hear the birds chirping when I wake up. I usually get up and feel way more refreshed.

It sounds stupid and I don't expect you to believe me since I didn't believe it myself but life has thought me differently.