Hello Internet. I am honored to be writing a guest entry blog for my little sister, her husband, and my little bro.
Hiking the Appalachian trail is absolutely amazing for day hikers. Walking the entire thing, day in and day out, is quite an impressive feat, I am extremely proud of all three of them for taking on this journey.
To be honest I wasn't even planning on seeing them on the Friday afternoon that I did. I just happened to be working in the area at the time. Jeff went off on a wild tear after a verbal argument with Maggie that morning, and started walking South, so I spent the afternoon driving through trail towns looking for him. I didn't find him before I met up with Maggie and Robby, but the first thing they had me do (after they ate the Subway I brought them) was take them to the bus station in Frederick, Maryland to try to save Jeff from hopping on a bus. It was synonymous with the final scene in a movie: we show up to the Greyhound station to save Jeff from himself and the three of them walk the Appalachian trail happily ever after, but he was already gone(Jeffy is back on the trail already. He told me he regretted it the next day and couldn't wait to get back on the AT.)
The timing of my arrival to the party was perfect Maggie had been upset about Jeff leaving, Robby had been consoling her, but they were both in need of some comedic relief (just picture the skipper walking to the mound and tapping his right arm at the bullpen, that's me running out of right field). The timing may have been perfect but my preparation for a weekend on the trail wasn't. I honestly thought I was going to go buy them some provisions, walk up to the campsite, eat dinner then head home. Somehow I ended up sleeping next to a campfire for two nights in a $10 Walmart sleeping bag, my golf shoes, a pair of khakis, a button down shirt, and my winter jacket that happened to be in my back seat. Sleeping on the ground, outside for two nights, next to a fire doesn't sound like something that most people would find enjoyable. However, it was a soul soothing experience to just listen to the sounds of the wild while gazing at the moon and stars. It's funny how the best things in life truly are free. I highly recommend to anyone that needs to do a little self reflection, get out in the woods with your loved ones and a few libations. You'll know what's important when you get home. Connecting with mother nature really lets you know how insignificant your problems are and what's really important in life. I spent the entire weekend at peace with my life thinking of my beautiful wife, crazy family, and adorable daughter.
Maggie (trail name bubbles) had told me on our trip to Wal-Mart that afternoon of the wonderful and eclectic group of people they had met on the trail and how excited she was for me to meet some of them. She also explained to me the definition of trail magic, which is doing good deeds for strangers and making positive things happen. I decided to make trail magic the mission of the weekend and it was a success. The first night at the campsite I met some really cool people. The first was a gentleman from West Virginia who had just retired (trail name T-Bone.) T-bone had come up to sit around our campfire and share a drink with us. He is a prime example of what my little sis and her husband Robby (trail name Sprout) had told me about the people you meet out on the trail. We discussed classic rock concerts we've attended, he told us about his daughter getting married this summer, his expeditions hiking various trails in Virginia and West Virginia and the places he recommended to check out. All in all, what a cool guy. T-bone retired back to his tent shortly after dusk and we poked around the fire howling at the moon late into the evening. That night, well after AT midnight (9pm I believe), a couple of guys, who were out on the trail for the weekend to attend the flip flop festival in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, set up camp next to us. They joined us at the fire and presented me with my first taste of trail magic sharing their provisions. We were hanging out like we were old friends staying up to the wee hours of the morning discussing bears. These guys were obsessed with bears, every conversation with them somehow circled back to bear talk. It started off as a bear here or there but ended up full blown bear talk by the end of the night. They hoped to sight some bears on the trail but to their dismay none showed.
The next day I woke up at dawn. Actually I had to get up a few times to put some logs on the fire in the middle of the night because the temperature dropped down into the low forties. When I awoke I had one thing on my mind, trail magic. The fellas at the campsite packed up their stuff and were gone before I could reciprocate the favor and sprinkle some trail magic back their way. Bubbles and the Sprout woke shortly after and made me some cowboy coffee which I am now obsessed with. The Sprout and Bubbles had a plan to keep on hiking but I'm just too sweet (NWO for life) so they had to take a zero day to hang. A zero day is a day for rest and relaxation with zero miles hiked on the trail. Bubbles feet were something out of a horror movie, her boots weren't manufactured correctly, and her one foot was in bad shape (serious hammertoe). She had tried to boil some water to soak her feet in epsom salt the night before but her trail pot was too small so by the time she boiled the last of the water it was cold when she put her feet in it. Of course I, sprinkling trail magic every which way I looked, sprung into action taking the Sprout with me to a different walmart to buy a bigger pot and more provisions. The grueling .7 miles I hiked back and forth, twice, was rough but I'm an appalachian trail hiker now so it's no big deal. When we got back to the campsite you would never know these two had been outside for a month because I went a little Poppa Lip overboard on the food (my dad is notorious for overpacking in that department). We had stuff for hobo pies, sandwiches, breakfast essentials, a pork tenderloin, s'mores, chocolate, candy, hot dogs, and plenty of cold drinks. It was a really good day. Bubbles and I spent the afternoon sending enthusiastic Cleveland Browns videos to our family (it's the best time of the year to be a Browns fan; the off season). I'm not going to lie, I really enjoy having a campfire, I burnt pretty much everything I could get my hands on (that Bubbles would let me throw on the fire). The Sprout was definitely on the burn team too. We spent the evening giggling like school girls and eating like Americans. Trail magic was just everywhere. The night before T-bone had told us that all he really missed on the trail (besides his family) was coffee. Guess who got a cup of cowboy coffee before he left camp...TRAIL MAGIC. That evening a group of Boy Scouts invaded the campsite. Obviously, it was time for more trail magic. Operation "s'more some boys" took place that night when the Sprout and I walked into their campsite and gave them the remaining s'mores supplies. These Scout masters really need to get their act together! Who takes two dozen kids into the woods without s'mores materials? I mean honestly. Although the pork tenderloin was a little peppery that night it was a blast. The next morning, as the boy scouts left camp, Bubbles launched operation "Skittle Scouts" by giving every Boy Scout an overflowing fistfull of skittles on their walk out of camp...TRAIL MAGIC. For some reason I pictured the bear enthusiasts loving operations "s'more some boys and Skittle scouts". I think they would have been proud of me sprinkling fairy trail magic dust everywhere I went.
The last morning was a little somber for me. I longed to throw away my responsibilities and continue walking with the party but it just wasn't in the books for me at this point in my life. I'm sure my wife and baby would've been there for me at the end of the trail but probably not my job! I made us scrambled eggs with cheese, some bacon, cowboy coffee, and toast on the fire, which had, at this point, been burning for almost two days. One of my favorite parts of the trip was drinking filtered spring water, it was so tasty. The Sprout and I were talking about how cool T-bones trail name is. I was saying mine should be rib-eye or something like that jokingly and then a stroke of genius hit the Sprout and he gave me my trail name "Porterhouse". I then helped pack up camp, pick up all the trash I could find, hugged it out with my sis and brother, and walked south as they continued north.
The experience was completely revitalizing. On the .7 mile walk back to my truck I thought about the inspiration for their journey. Our mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis over twenty years ago and is bedridden. Maggie told me how every time she thinks she can't proceed she thinks of our momma and then presses on. Our mom isn't looking for sympathy, she literally has a sign over her bedroom door facing her that reads, "Paradise is a state of mind". She is a perfect example that you get to pick which side of the bed you get out of every morning. She can’t even get out of bed, but still stays positive everyday. I thought about how our mother's condition, strong christian faith, and positive outlook on life has helped mold us into the good people we are today. She is an inspiration to us all. As I walked down the mountain I thought about this and wept tears of joy.
Best Regards,
Johnny "Porterhouse"
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| Camping by the fire |
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| Beautiful |
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