THE GATHERING

Friday, October 10 - This morning, we began our trek down to Hanover, N.H. for The Gathering.  This is a weekend event sponsored by the Appalachian Long Distance Hiker's Association (ALDHA) in October of each year to honor all hikers who have completed the trail, past and present, and any and all long distance hikers.  It was held this year on the campus of Dartmouth University, so we had a way to go from Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  If you are planning to through-hike in 2004, you should check and see where The Gathering will ble held this year.   It may not be Hanover - sometimes it is held other places.

You know that Greenman, Sunkist, and I have been staying the last few nights with Greenman's parents in their RV.  It took us about 9 hours to get to Hanover, and it was nighttime when we arrived.  We got lost in downtown Hanover, but finally got directions from a policeman to the campground.

The ALDHA leased the entire campground for us long distance hikers and ex-hikers who had come up for the fun.  Remember that the Trail comes through Hanover, and there are no inexpensive hotels here.  We were lucky enough to get to stay at the Sigma Nu Fraternity House, thanks to Bearclaw, a member of the Fraternity who Graymatter and I hiked with a couple of days as he was section hiking out of Hanover. So the campground was greatly appreciated.  My Mom says that when she retires, she is going to build a hostel up here since there are none and get Baltimore Jack to run it.  She will call it "Jack's Shack."

Billville had set up a big camp at the campground.  You will remember them - they are the ex-hikers that bought the 25 cent red t-shirts in Damascus some years back, namely, Jester, Bag of Tricks, Big Bird, and Baltimore Jack.  Hanover is also the home of Baltimore Jack.   Anyway, Billville had guitars, harmonicas, a banjo, and we really enjoyed their music.  Did I ever tell you all that I have a banjo, a really nice one I got for Christmas one year.  Maybe next year I will bring it and play along with Billville.  These guys also had all-you-can-eat hot dogs one night.  They are one great group of guys.

I should tell you now that we missed the first day - Friday - as we were traveling.  Had we been able to summit on schedule two days ago (Wednesday), our travel day would have been Thursday, and we would have been here Thursday night.  As it was, we missed the ceremony Friday, honoring all the hikers that finished the Trail this year.  So I did not get honored.  All you 2004 and 2005 hikers out there might want to remember this in your planning.

There was a great "gear" show in one of the auditoriums which I enjoyed.  There were reps from all kinds of companies, and you could buy almost anything you wanted there.   There were also lots of seminars, lectures, and talks scheduled throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday.  Jack was one of the speakers at a talk called "Twenty Questions with Baltimore Jack Tarlin".  The audience  could ask any questions of interest or concern about the AT or hiking in general.

I met Bill Erwin, the blind through-hiker who has a book and tapes out on his AT hike.  He was there with his wife and seeing-eye dog.  He is now a nationwide motivational speaker.  I also joiined the ALDHA while I was there.  It is another good way to support through-hiking and keep up with friends and events.  They publish a newsletter periodically - I just received the latest one.  In it they published their membership - by hiker name, city where you live, and your real name, address, and phone number.  A good address book to have.

We stayed the first night in the RV, and after Greenman's parents left we camped in our tents at the campground.  Me, Greenman, Sunkist, Bodhi, Chigger, Mr. Pumpey, Peanut, Leif,  Peach Monkey, and Roman Around.  Also, Miss Janet was there.

We had a ride back to Miss Janet's in Erwin, Tn, with Sasquatch.  Remember, he is the preacher-hiker (hiked most of the Trail in 2002), who married Fubar and Tripp in Damascus, Va. during Trail Days.  A through-hiker (flight attendant) had given Miss Janet a round-trip airplane ticket to The Gaathering so she was flying back home.  So on Sunday evening about 6:00 p.m. we headed out to Erwin.  Me, Sunkist, Roman, Sasquatch, Greenman, and a co-worker of Sasquatch's.  This is where it begins to really hit home - everyone is splitting up and going in different directions.  Hikers you have spent the last six or seven months with who feel practically like family.  It is really quite sad.

Sasquatch  works at a Wilderness Camp for troubled kids, located about an hour and a half from Miss Janet's.  He and his friend had to be at work Tuesday afternoon so we had a lot of driving ahead of us.  We stopped in Burlington, Vermont  to pick up a Southbounder named Blue Grasshopper.  We had met him earlier at a hostel in New Jersey.  He seemed okay for a Southbounder.  He had gone back North to make up some miles he had missed and was now headed back South.  We drove all night Sunday and all day Monday.  It was pretty crowded in our "hippie" Van, with seven people and seven backpacks.  You could not move.  My butt went to sleep several times.

Finally, about 2:00 a.m. in the morning (Tuesday), we stopped at a hotel in Pennsylvania.  In true hiker fashion, we got one room - even bargained it down from $75.00 to $60.00.  It was a nice Holiday Inn Express.  Sasquatch and his friend took one bed - Sunkist, Greenman, and I took the other bed - and Roman and Grasshopper slept on the floor in their sleeping bags.  We were so tired we just took our shoes off and fell in the bed.  That morning we took turns going to the free Continental Breakfast - in teams of twos.  The look on the maid's face as we were leaving the room was priceless.  She was out in the hall with her laundry cart as first one, then another, and another, and another left the room.  She just stood there with her mouth open amd gasped, "Gooooood Lord - how many more?"

We got to Miss Janet's later that day (Tuesday).  Thatr night we went to the next town from Erwin, Johnson City, to eat Mexican Food.  The first "real" Mexican food below the Mason-Dixon line, and boy was it good!

Wednesday - Sunkist's dad came to pick her up.  He handles prayer requests for the Billy Graham Crusade.    I really hated to see her go.  I went to pick up Miss Janet's kids from school this afternoon.  Bohdi got here this afternoon.  He had a ride with someone else from The Gathering.  There is also a section-hiker named Nova here with her dog.  Miss Janet is letting us work for our stay.  I did some laundry and cleaned the bathrooms.  It is so comfortable here at Miss Janet's, like one big happy family.

Thursday - My good friend who I met on my Website while I was hiking - Bgone and her sister, Appalachian Annie came by Miss Janet's this morning.  They were on their way to do a day hike.  Miss Janet gave them some advice on where to go.  It is really neat to get to meet Bgone face to face.  She wanted to get a feel for gear and talk to us about several things as she and Annie are planning a through-hike in 2005.  Since then, she bought Pooh Bear's backpack.  It is a really good one and practically like new. 

Mom and Pooh Bear missed Bgone by several hours.  They left Dallas on Wednesday and spent the night in Memphis that night.  But Nashville, Tn. was just too much to pass by and so they decided to go by the famous Ryman Auditorium and Orchid Lounge before coming on to Miss Janet's.  Mom couldn't believe her eyes when she saw me - I was so skinny.  She said I looked like I was fifteen years old again.  I was glad to see them.  I have never gone seven months in my life without seeing my Mom.

Mom got to see Miss Janet give Roman a haircut and after an hour or so, we headed out.  Me, Mom, Pooh Bear, Roman, Greenman, and Bohdi.  For a minute, I didn't think we could get four big backpacks, plus Mom and Pooh's overnight bags in the trunk of Mom's car.  But Mom has a nice, big black Cadillac DeVille, and we finally got the trunk closed.  Inside the car was another trick.  Greenman, Bohdi, and Roman sat in the back.  Pooh Bear had to sit on my lap in the front passenger seat because there is a large console between the driver's seat and the passenger seat.

We went as far as Helen, Georgia, and had a devil of a time finding a hotel room.  They were having some kind of convention there, and we went to about six different hotels before we found one with two vacant rooms.  Needless to say, it was not exactly what we had in mind but it was too late to go from one mountain town to another, trying to find a room.  Mom, Pooh, and I shared a room, and Bodhi, Greenman, and Roman shared a room.

Helen, Georgia is the quaint little town that looks like an Alpine Village from Europe.  All the buildings are built like the little villages in Switzerland or Austria.  It is about eight miles off the AT, and a lot of hikers come through here for a day or so.  Pooh and I stayed here for FIVE DAYS, trying to get her knee well.  It did not get better, and she finally left the Trail here in Helen.

We ate at a really good buffet - all you can eat - and since we got there about thirty minutes before they closed, we just ate everything that was left on the buffet.

Friday - We drove from Helen, Ga. this morning to the Walisi-Yi Center at Neels Gap so that I could complete fourteen miles that I missed at the beginning of my trip when Pooh's knee started hurting.  Roman's Dad picked him up there, and so we were down to three - me, Greenman, and Bohdi.   Greenman decided to hike with me so we started out to hike the infamous Blood Mountain.  Since it is the first challenge you come to when you begin your hike, you think it is really hard and some hikers drop out shortly after that.  After you have hiked Mt. Washington, Stratton Mountain, and Mt. Katahdin, it is a piece of cake.  Just remember that when you start out - it seems hard but it is just getting you ready for what is ahead. 

According to tales, the Creek and Cherokee Indians fought a fierce battle on this mountain that left so many dead and wounded that the "ground ran red with blood", hence the name - Blood Mountain.  It is the most visited spot on the AT south of Clingsman Dome.

Mom, Pooh, and Bohdi drove over to Blairsville for lunch and then came back to Walisi-Yi Center to wait for us.  Mom really loved the mountains of Northern Georgia, so much so that she would like to rent a cabin for a month somewhere in this area.  It is really beautiful up here.

We finished the hike about 4:00 p.m. and hit the road again, this time headed for Alabama to take Greenman home.  We stopped to eat at a Mexican restaurant in a town along the road.  We had fantastic Mexican food before we headed on to Atlanta and a good night's rest at the Holiday Inn Express.  Saturday morning we let Greenman off at his home, right off the Interstate in Alabama.  This was probably the hardest thing I've had to do.  Greenman and I have been through so much together since we met at Miss Janet's at the beginning of our trip.  We just hit it off so good - and stayed together for the most part for the rest of the trip.  It's hard to imagine getting up each day and not having him around.  We plan to stay in touch and do more hiking together.

After leaving Alabama, we stopped in Louisiana for an early dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  Mom treated us to steaks and all the trimmings.  Bohdi said the best he had ever eaten was on the trip home from the Trail with Mom.  We were taking Bohdi to his dad's house in Greenville, Texas.  When we got to Greenville, we almost got lost trying to find Bohdi's dad's house.  It had been a long time - several years - since he had been there and it was pitch dark, way out in the country.  We let Bohdi off, and headed for Midlothian, Texas. 

That night I got to sleep in my own wonderful big bed, the first time in over seven months.  And now I begin the rest of my journey - life off the Trail.

Next week, I will give you my thoughts of how it is when you get home and have other things to do when you wake up other than to eat, pack your things, and walk all day.  Also, I have news  of Bohdi's new adventure, as well as the recent adventures of Dirty Frank and Dirtnap.

And I will have, coming soon, a gear list, an expense list, and general advice  and tips on what worked for me and what didn't work, and problems that came up for me and other hikers, that hopefully will help you future through-hikers.

All of you, keep in touch.  It means a lot to me to hear from you.  And if any of you are leaving out in March to through-hike, let me know and we will follow you on this Website.  Then in 2005 it will be Bgone and Annie.  See you next week.