[at-l] A Report From The Village of Delaware Water Gap

[kahley7 <kahley7@ptd.net>]

Reposted with permission from Kendall....whose is right on
as usual!


The following hikers have passed through the Village of Delaware Water
Gap:
(I missed about 20 names last Thursday -- somebody swiped a page out
of the
register).

Riff Raff, Desperado, Jingle, Nutbar,
FlowEasy,  BlueMoon, NoNameYet, BreakAway,
JustPlayinJane, DuffBuster, Hootie, Hammer, GucciBoyz,
Kodiak, MappieT, Confucion, LarsThunderFoot, BellyButton,
BillyTheKid, Jeffe, OlManRiver, LandScape, SightSeer, Destiny,
Critter, Ender, 30Seconds, JimblewillNomad, FrankNPops (a couple),
SpiderGirl, WalkAbout, LongDistanceMan, ModelT, Sunburn, JosepyRyder,
EnlightenedRogue, Greg, SonRay, WardButcher, PhoenItBH, and last but
not
least OlFhart who carried
a peel off label with his name, nick name, address, phone, several
symbols
and a complete profile of the AT from GA->ME, and email address.  (My
spell-checker really begins to smoke after skimming through this
list!)

I ran across five of these hikers over at the local mall.  They were
huddled
together around a table in the food court.  The table was piled high
with
pizzas, burgers, hot dogs,  Chinese food, pretzels, chocolate chip
cookies,
Dairy Queen ice cream cones, sodas, malts, shakes, a pile of Arby's
roast
beef sandwiches, several bowls of salad, piles of candy, popcorn, and
soft
drinks.  This was a  young skinny emaciated  little bunch of homeless
hobos.
They  all wore polypro shirts, Tevas or flapping boots and dark shorts
and a
brooding haunted look.  The guys had hair on their face, and the girls
had
hair on their legs and underarms and between their toes.  They smelled
so
bad you could actually see the vapors raising above them like a storm
cloud...no one else would sit near them.  The fumes set off the mall
smoke
alarm at one point.  They were eating, writing post cards,
journalizing,
examining their blisters and soaking up the civilization.  When I sat
down
with them, they could not figure out how I knew they were hikers, 
"Come on,
Mr. Ed, tell us....how did you know we were hikers?"

I offered them a ride back to the Gap where they were staying.  "Could
we
swing by the laundry?"  They were all doing fine.  "Is that a
Wal-Mart....can we stop?"  They were glad to be finishing the rocks of
Pennsylvania.  "Do you know a good cobbler?"  They had started mostly
in
April.  "Look, a Kentucky Fried Chicken....ooh."  They were really
eager to
get back on the trail.    "Is there a good outfitter around here?"  
"Do you
know a doctor who could take a quick look at my ankle?"  "Look....a
health
food store...Wow...we could get some dried veggie's......".   "Is that
a
Dunkin Donuts?  oooooh fresh hot bagels......".       ....a few days
later
we got back to the Gap...they were holding their tummies like a woman
.....eight months pregnant with ....say..... triplets.    "Hey we
forgot the
Coleman Fuel!!"

There are two kinds of hikers who really break your heart.  The first
is the
thru-hiker who runs out of money.  They raid the hiker box at the
hostels,
look for scraps at the shelters, eat your leftovers, and pray for
miracles.
A meal at an AYCE makes them sick, because they eat too much.  They
have to
quit their hike simply because they have run out of funds....they were
undercapitalized.  They call Mom;  they call Dad;  they call sisters
and
brothers and old friends to beg or borrow some more money to keep
going,
....but sometimes it's just no good.  They have to hitch hike
home....hungry
and defeated and mad at the Capitalist Establishment for not providing
some
kind of scholarship for thru-hiking.  I met one hiker who tried to
thru-hike
by hiking from food-bank to food-bank.  It didn't work.   The village
poodle can spot a hiker like this.  He nudges his food bowl under the
porch.

The other kind of hiker that break's your heart is the hiker who
mistakes
trail hospitality for an invitation to join the family.  There are
some
folks out there that have never really known a close loving
community....never gotten any recognition for anything.....never been
a part
of something big...something grand....never felt that he was a special
person in any way...never got a slap on the back and a cordial
reception.
They sometimes mistake the encouragement and hospitality offered by a
trail
town, a motel owner, a hostel, a church,  even a trail side home or B
and
B --as someone who might like to take him in....to raise him as a
son....to
love him and provide for him forever and ever.  "This is better than
home........here.... I AM SOMEBODY.....I AM AN AT  THRU-HIKER". 
"Because
you love me so much  I will give you the pleasure of staying a few
more
days."

Four more days till the Fat Boys Hiking Society -MR. ED, RESTART, and
CASTOFF hit the trail for the last 432 miles of AT fun....huffing and
puffing over the Whites to Kathadin.

I should be able to crank out one more list on Friday morning.
* From the Appalachian Trail Mailing List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================