Goodbye, Dad!
Twas the night before Day 15
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse,
When suddenly I sprang from my bed,
And took the best dump of my entire life.
7am, on the button, I took care of business old school. Now I'm ready for the trail. Dad and I walked across the street to the diner and ate pretty light. Took our last showers at the hostel and bid the staff farewell. At the outfitter I got a new watch band and hooked it up in a futile effort to avoid thinking about Dad's departure. The van pulls up, his pack goes in, one last picture and hug and he's gone. I felt very alone all the sudden. I realized I had nothing left for me in Hot Springs and 11am is plenty late to start a 11 mile day. I picked up a can of V8, an apple, a snickers and a smooshed fruit for lunch. Went to the post office and discussed my detest for V8 with a loitering local, dropped off 8 post cards and I'm out! Down the trail. 31Lbs of fully loaded hiking fury. I tore into it, really enjoying my pace. I will miss having Dad here, especially during breaks and at campsites. This adventure is new and totally different from the last two weeks. Also, I am a day behind. I'll spend the next two days at this schedule, but will (in 3 days) double up two 10.x days for a 21 mile catchup. That will be a good day's work but I will stay in a hostel that night I think. I'm in my tent tonight, the Spring Mountain shelter was dank. They've been going downhill since the smokies. Met Craig and Lisa on the trail and they're camping nearby. Danny and Nikki showed up late and will be coming up here too. I have a fire ready to light; it should be a good night. So lets talk about how my thoughts differ when Dad is not around:
Thought Breakdown With Dad:
What are my Feet/Hands Doing? And when will this downhill end? 20%
Personal Biz, Move, DC 10%
Friends/Family 5%
Boobs 5%
Is Dad about to Die?/Am I slowly killing Dad? 30%
Cliff bars, snickers, dried fruit, coffee, breakfast specials, beer, steak … 30%
Without Dad:
Boobs 20%
Move to DC 10%
Crazy, Zany Inventions. Future trips. Plans w/ friends in the future. Random Plots 30%
Boobs 10%
FOOD 30%
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Climbed to the fire tower before Spring MTN, met locals, one gave me a trail magic cookie. It was delicious. Took some good pictures, too.
Fire Tower
A Trail Magic Cookie?
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