[at-l] a sobo remembers....The Man In Plastic

[southwalker99@alltel.net (South Walker)]

The Man in Plastic





Going south from Hemlock Hill Shelter, the rain continued for the 2nd day.
Not a day to be sightseeing so I had my head down and was walking fast.



Which might explain why I didn't see him sooner. I was just cruising along
when I glanced left and saw a man, kneeling beside the trail and holding a
very large butcher knife. My system went on full alert and then just as I
began to get my feet going I remember saying to myself. "Wait a minute, he
is oriental and dressed in plastic." Why exactly that mattered totally
escapes me but I stopped and while I was saying a few words to him about
scaring the wits out of me I noticed that he was indeed dressed neatly in
garbage bags. A kilt, shirt and a hat he had folder entirely out of bags.



With his hands he pointed to a large mushroom and explained that he was
harvesting it for dinner. When I asked why he didn't wait for a prettier day
he explained that the mushroom, which he referred to as a "Hen in Woods",
would soaked up massive amounts of water from the rain and by tomorrow would
weight perhaps 20 pounds. It had to be done today.



We talked for a few minutes, he again apologized, and I headed down the
trail, in the rain, more alert that before the encounter.



South Walker
ME-GA 1999
In hiking there is no special recognition given for speed, style,
or finesse. There are only those who do the hike and those who don't.