Sunday, April 12 1:04 pm

10 Days In

Sitting here at the Aquone lodge (beautiful) eating a large pepperoni pizza by myself.  I hiked in from the shelter and decided to do a Nero day to rest my swollen, throbbing Achilles.  So much has already happened.

I started at Springer with my friend Jade, who soon after discovered she is not the wilderness type. Her shelter consisted of a hammock with a variety of tarps Jimmied around it. At one point she was sleeping in a foil bivy type bag. One hiker, CaveMan asked her what it was and she responded “I think it’s called a Dutch oven.” And she was not kidding. Also the same night Jade and I went to hang the bear bag. In the end, Jade smashed her face, (no marks though), with the rock and walked away without speaking. Even though she got a little cranky Jade’s company will definitely be missed.

And already I’ve had to face one of my biggest fears out here on the A.T. Earthworms. After a nasty rainy cold day Jade and I were hiking with Snart. He snores and farts. Anyway, as we were hiking through the beautiful wilderness,  I noticed that Snart was creepily hunched over. I asked him what are you doing? He told me he wanted to see me meet my nemisis. I knew it was a worm, so I cautiously trekked over to Snart. But as I started hiking again I saw one close by. Then another. And a gross swollen one writhing miserably in the mud. The few seconds it took me to realize that I was surrounded by hundreds of earthworms felt like hours.  I felt like I was in the middle of a particularly bad nightmare as I sprinted down the rest of the mountain, noticing every worm I passed by. Afterwards I was so flustered that I missed the water source and had to hike the remaining 4.5 miles by suckling the rain water out of my hair.

I have encountered quite a bit of trail magic so far. Bananas and PBR’s and hotdogs and homemade cookies. I worry though, that too many good things are happening.

At first hygiene was such an issue. But once you get passed the fact that your freshly scrubbed feet still look and smell like troll feet and that your previously oniony smell has evolved into something much more complex then it’s fine. You get used to eating out of the same pot without really washing it.

On a final note, my armpit hairs are up to a half inch long now, I’d say. And yes, I have pooped in the woods.

CHEERS.