Virginia
Now it's the end of May. This is called the Place and it's our home for the next 6 days. Stopping in town for way to long is getting to be a habit. Icky's mom is real upset because were not making good time. We stay in this town for so long, we get a membership card and the local video store! My wife is getting pissed also, because I should be further ahead than I am. We have a real good time here! Icky makes fun of Grumpy Squat so bad, he doesn't talk to anyone for a week! We watch movies and eat ice cream.... Life is good.
So eventually we have to start hiking again. We head out of Damascus on the Creeper Trail. We go through the Grayson Highlands where the wild ponies run.... wild! One of the Nicest days of my life was spent there. Clear blue skies, about 70 degrees and easy walking. What more could you ask for?
Here's a perfect spot for lunch, eh? Moose and Spliff are on the rocks and Icky's on top.
Here I am just before we got to Pearisburg. There is an awesome hostel there run by a church. We were there for a couple of days hanging out. Icky had to go home to graduate, so we were waiting until he left. On June 9, I called my wife to see what was up, and I realized immediately I was screwed. She was crying and real upset. She wanted to know how I could be away for so long and she told me that she never thought that I would make it. She thought I would be gone for two weeks, give up and come home. Sure, I was goofing off and stuff, but I did walk 600 miles so far! The next day Icky and I hitched 70 miles in Roanoke. We got a room, a good meal, saw a movie and watched some O.P.! He got on a plane back to Indiana and I was on a bus home. Lame!
So now I'm home and I'm miserable. I go to another wedding and start to settle back in to the grove. I've been on the trail for two months and I'm really pissed I didn't finish. So what do I do? I drive my wife nuts, of course! She sees that I'm obsessed. (C'mon, when am I ever gonna get the chance to do this again!) We agree that I should finish my hike and she comes back with me for a while!
Here's me and my hardcore honey! She does 16 miles her second day with 1 boot and 1 flip flop in the rain! Uphill! We meet up with icky and he is immediately scared of Lori. Spliff and Grumpy squat are nowhere to be found. We meet up with Huma, who should be 500 miles in head of us, but he just got out of jail. (never walk the streets of Front Royal, VA drunk!)
Yeah, I'm back and now we have to get hardcore. Icky, Huma and I are way behind and the money is getting low. heading into West Virginia we realize we had better change our hiking style!