I feel good when I have my pack on, and I'm heading up the trail. I know I have good gear, I'm in shape and my body feels like it is made for this effort. I feel like this for a while, at least until 2 girls in their early 20's go dancing by up the mountain with packs as full as mine, and stuff hanging out everywhere. Funny thing is I can remember being 18 years old and climbing Mount Adams with Paul and my Dad. I can remember being down on all fours, wondering how anyone could do this with a pack, when two little old ladies went dancing by us up the mountain. I'm still wondering, when is it gonna be MY turn? I have a feeling that a life in Florida does little to help us for mountain hiking.
The two young girls were ahead of us and playing around on McAfee Knob, when we finally dropped our packs and sat down to enjoy lunch. The taller girl reminded me of my neice, Taylor Snodgrass, long raven hair, a flannel shirt tied around her waist and playing with her friend like they had been here many times. The other girl was a petite blonde and had enough energy for the two of them. She did all the talking and just made you feel that there was nothing better in the world to be doing that day than hiking in the woods. They had been dropped off for a two night section hike, like we would take off for a day at the beach. I'm pretty sure they just grabbed a pack and threw some stuff in it and ran for the car. Not planning for days, not pouring over maps, not wondering if there was something that weighed 1 ounce less than the coat they were wearing...just having fun like it was nothing. Meanwhile, Paul is holding on to a tree for dear life. You see besides Paul's penchant for naming mountains after clothing stores, he has a little bit of cliff fear. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but he was even afraid that the girls were too close to the edge and that bothered him.
Surprisingly, Paul faced his fear head on and walked really close to the middle of the rock, almost near an edge, close to a tree. Hard to believe that this is the same guy that was climbing on the roof when he was a baby. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't live in fear, it's only when we are on top of mountains that have big rocks and steep cliffs. Me? I'm just worried about losing something I need to survive, like the woman in the movie that accidentally drops her shoe over the edge. That kind of thing was the real fear for me, like cooking your last cup of coffee and then spilling it before you even had a taste. That is the kind of fear I lived with.
The girls were having a great time, and Paul was feeling pretty good about getting to McAfee Knob and getting a photo taken to prove that he could almost get near the edge. We finally caught up to the girls at the shelter and they were surrounded by the through hikers. For some strange reason, Paul and I were the only two to sleep in the shelter that night. Everybody else was sitting around a campfire with the flannel girls. One guy, who didn't seem to get or care that the girls were a couple, was Max's owner.
Max was a black Labrador Retriever dog that carried his own pack and loved everybody. He also loved everybody's food and thought the top of the picnic table was where he belonged. The flannel girls loved him, as well as did everyone except for one old couple that seemed to think dogs belonged on the ground instead of on the table. We heard great stories and learned even more about the world of through hikers. We got a lot of examples of luxury items people like to bring on the trail. As Paul brought out his cherished folding chair, one other guy was showing around his flask of whiskey. I was determined that once I finally got to the convenience store that was the stuff of legend, I myself, would grab a prize piece of luxury to bring back on the trail. I was already drooling a bit, thinking of restocking on coffee, and creamer, which was all but gone. A real sandwich, some Gatorade, and it was all starting to seem that it was really going to happen someday soon. I was thinking of all this when the flask guy said that "You know? I like having a taste of whiskey once in a while on the trail, but what was really special, was that damn trail magic brownie!"
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