[at-l] And the Ruck goes on . . . kinda long ;)

[DaRedhead@xxxxxxx (DaRedhead@xxxxxxx)]

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I'm back!!! On the list, and home from the Ruck.

Can we say food?  And more food?  Geesh.  After standing in line for dinner,
and being dazzled by all the food ('cause last year the end of the line had
slimmer pickings and this year the plates weren't big enough :) ), we were
herded out the back door onto the porch and back in the other door, and
outside on the porch was a huge picnic table literally covered in desserts -
pies, cakes, cookies, brownies (whoever made that peanut butter fluffy type
pie - most awesome).  Two actual southbounders arrived there (on foot, they
were actually arriving there ON their hike, how uncanny).  They apparently
had already biked thousands of miles, then boated many more miles, and
started on Katahdin for a SOBO at the end of September.  And they weren't
from around here - at least not this particular continent ;)  I can only
think that they were really happy hikers with the food available, although
they might have been overwhelmed by all the people.

And the people - well - the people.  Isn't that why we were all there?
(although next year we may come back just for the food <g>)  To be gathered
together with a hundred of our closest friends and previous strangers who
became friends, who share an obsession with being dirty, smelly, cold, hot,
hungry or tired?  Bliss.

So, the people.  It was a pleasure to see Baltimore Jack there this year - if
I'm not mistaken it was his first mass exposure to listers in person :)  It
appears he survived, and he even found a ride back to Hanover!  There were
some good natured jokes about how long his talk ran, but near as I can tell
he had an audience the whole time, so I'm guessing what he had to say, backed
up by his experience, was appreciated.  All the other usual suspects were
there - Felix, Pittsburgh, Jim and Ginny, John O', Skeeter, Leapfrog, some
guy named Ray, Dee, woodelf, (aka Friar Tuck(erizer)) . . . the roster runs
pretty long, so I won't try to list and remember everyone, although a final
attendee list would be cool.  Slide shows, informal talks, food, one on one
conversations, small group conversations, large group conversations, day
hikes, campfire conversations, leaf blowers, food, smiles, hugs,
encouragement, food, advice, laughter - lots of laughter -  did I mention
food? - gear displays and demonstrations, Dice Kwon Do, music of all sorts by
Big John, Leapfrog, Tacomeh Ted, and even our host Sean on the piano, caring
and compassion, inspiration - just no end to all the moments.  All those
moments sum up why people drive or fly hundreds of miles to be there.  Som
eone mentioned how incredible it is that so many people make such a huge
effort to travel so far to be there.  But to me, it really isn't that
incredible.  A Ruck is worth however many miles it takes to get there,
however you do it.  I was particularly happy to see John and Lois there -
Earl was greatly missed this year, and memories of past Rucks with him were
honored by their presence.

For those who were at the campfire Friday night - all I can say is, a leaf
blower isn't particularly light weight, but - wow :) it sure adds something
to your average campfire . . . (that one guys hiking boots were pretty
sturdy, you could hardly see the melting, I wonder what brand they were . . .
)  Oh yea - new verse to the PBR song -

"Might have been the split logs, might have been the twigs,
Might have been the gas powered leaf blower, I don't know,
But the fire was sure darn big"  (edited for family content, sorry Jester <g>
)

Kudos to Bag O' Tricks and Funkee Munkee for superior campfire building
skills.  Granted, Kampfire is better at it, but . . . (just kidding, guys <g>
)  Speaking of which - we were missing a few people this weekend, like
Twilight, Kampfire, Stitches, Datto, Sloetoe, Snail No More, Weathercarrot,
Hummingbird and Dutch Treat, Mags, Sly and Cheryl, Cherrio . . . we missed
you all!!

And hey, Felix - I like my coffee strong too, but yours appeared to be solid
- what was up with that? :)

So - another Ruck come and gone.  It was hard to leave, and as always I felt
a sadness as I left, knowing I had to go back to the real world where the
people just aren't as . . . well, they just aren't.

It's good to be back on the list - I missed you guys!!!!  Sorry so long, but
really, I could have wrote a lot more because the weekend defies description,
so I keep wanting to add more to at least get across what it was all about,
and I keep feeling like I'm failing, because I can't really describe it.  If
you weren't there, be there next time!  If you were - then you'll forgive me
for writing so long, because you know what it was like. Did I say awesome
yet?  All that and more.

And oh yea - Felix - it was the 3rd quarter when I got home (Not Miss Janets
fault, we ran into a snow storm or three), and I was glad I was spared the
misery.  Probably be another 19 years before we get to the superbowl again :(

The Redhead