[at-l] A shuttle report

[DaRedhead@aol.com]

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men - I didn't get to hike at ALL this 
weekend.  However, did a lot of driving around the countryside aimlessly, 
eventually ending up in Hot Springs about 3.  I was expecting a lister to 
show up that night, and I was shuttling him to Sams Gap the next day.  Toney 
and I pitched the tent down by the river, as far away from other campers as 
we could.  The weather couldn't have been nicer.  Since we were camping, not 
hiking, we had all the comforts of home :)  Even though it wasn't the same as 
if we were hiking, I was happier and more relaxed than I have been in a long 
time.  The fire, the river, the wood sounds at night (the train screaming 
through occassionally) all lent themselves to a great sense of happiness and 
well being.  I valiently tried to stay awake long enough to make sure the 
lister found our campsite - but finally crashed around 10:30.  The wind was 
rather ferocious, but my Walrus stood strong.  It was also a happy occassion 
to awake to no condensation in my tent.  This was the first time I have used 
the tent that Mom and I bought for our thru - I am quite happy with it, 
although I think I like the "clips" as opposed to the "sleeves" - it is a bit 
quicker setting up my old Eureka.  When I woke up the next morning, there was 
a nice looking SUV parked next to my vehicle, so I assumed he found us. :)  

So I'm sitting there, drinking my coffee, and the classic "tall, dark and 
handsome" guy crawls out of the SUV.  I'm thinking, (shallowly, I agree), 
"Gee, I should have left the soon to be ex at home." <vbg>  So anyway - we 
commence to make breakfast (or Toney does - steak and eggs, yum :)) and the 
lister pulls out his cell phone, commenting that he is surprised he couldn't 
get service there.  I reminded him of where we were :)   Anyway . . . after a 
slow starting morning, he pulled out his scanner to check the weather.  We 
had a debate about the best way to get to Sams Gap from Hot Springs, so then 
he plucked a GPS out of his pocket and started mumbling some things.  (At 
this point I am beginning to wonder if the technology police could possibly 
be far behind him, and felt that so blatantly displaying this stuff in Hot 
Springs might not be such a good idea ;-)) After pointing out that my front 
left tire was low on air, looking rather flat, he rummaged around in the SUV 
and pulled out a small air compressor.  (No, he wasn't carrying THAT in his 
pack :)) Flat tire fixed in no time.  He showed me some of his cool gear 
(including titanium pots, by the way <vbg>) and we headed out of town.  We 
got confused at one point on which direction to go, but the lister pulled out 
his handy dandy GPS again, and it quickly confirmed that we weren't going in 
the right direction.  We stopped for directions (and the women on the list 
won't be surprised to know that *I* went in to ask, as neither Toney nor the 
lister seemed inclined to do so <g>) and found we were on the right track.  
Go figure.

So we dropped him at Sams Gap, where it was MUCH colder than it had been down 
in the valley (how odd <g>).  I took a few pictures to document the start of 
his trip (and the cell phone and GPS he was carrying for later blackmail 
purposes <g>) and away we went.  Nice drive thru the country, taking our time 
getting back to the "real" world.  So - can't call it a "trip report" - but 
it was a nice interlude in the woods, and a pleasure to meet a lister I 
hadn't met before.

The Redhead
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