April 22, 2008

Still feeling sick all day, very weak and feverish. Two highlights to the day.

The first is running into Guns. Guns is a former Army sergeant that I hadn't seen in over two weeks. He's a character. Whenever someone mentions bear problems, his solution is always to suggest the bear be shot. He's prone to saying things like "I have 10,000 rounds of ammmunition and a six-man cell." Mention to him that you've only ever fired a shotgun and a .22, and he'll tell you that a .22 is a good gun for killing guard dogs. Still, he good company.

The other good thing was some serious Trail Magic. Around 6:15, Guns and I reach Allen Gap, where there is a road crossing. A sign there promised us food if we'd go to a certain house about 400 yards off the trail. If we could make it by 6:30.

We made it, and met Hercules and Fal '99 thru-hikers who have retired near the trail and provide magic to everyone who stops by--waffles, stew, dessert and lots of lemonade. I really needed that meal. After the meal, we find out why they do it when they asked us what we think about life after death. They're Christians and this is their ministry.

Over the next few days, I hear a lot of opinions about Hercules and Fal. Everyone agrees the food was awesome and they were nice people--the debate is whether or not people felt ambushed. More than a few do. I guess I did, a little, but it didn't really bother me much, as I was so glad for the food. Which pretty much the way I feel about the whole thing: they could just put on the sign that a religious discussion would follow the free meal, and I'd bet 90% of the hikers would still stop.