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Stank was Re: [at-l] Bill Erwin
My sister and I just laughed about that a couple of days ago. When I
pulled into Kent, Connecticut to take a few days off, do food drops to
Maine and such, I hadn't had a shower since Deleware Water Gap. Not
only had it been hot, but EXTREMELY humid. I don't think my shoulder
straps or hip belt had dried out since even Harper's Ferry. I'm ripe.
I didn't notice. I COULD, however, pick up "civilians" scent 10-15
minutes (half a MILE?!) ahead, either with cigarettes or
perfume/cologne or deoderant or even shampoo scent. (Can still do that
somewhat, but I know I don't have the range anymore.)
Anywho, all my gear except my sleeping bag (which I kept scrupulously
clean) had a bit of mildew here and there. I guess I did too. I waited
outside the pizza joint, and when she pulled up, I siddled up to give
her a hug. Quick lookover, quick hug, quick kiss, then this peering
look into my eyes, searching for...what? She didn't find it, whatever
it was. She looked at me quizzically, like she didn't understand
something, and said "Boy! You STINK!" ("Well!" thinks I, "there's
quite a welcome!") "Well thanks, Kathy."
So we grab my pack (as I remember it), load it and me into the car,
and commence the familiar drive back to the parents' house on the
coast in Milford. We're tooling along, at a pretty good clip, and
Kathy opens her window. All the way down. The wind roars. Her nose is
wrinkling. "Do I smell?" I ask innocently? "Oh, Tommy," she says,
"It's not like B-O or anything. It's like this ANIMAL thing....But BOY
it's powerful!"
I honestly couldn't notice a thing. But I know that even as late as
Labor Day (Davenport-->Hot Springs), I thought the H.O.F. (Hiker Odor
Factor) was diminishing with each day we were out. I am probably wrong
about that too. By the way, I never noticed another throughhiker's
smell, either, although I admit I mostly saw others only in towns,
post-shower. But my sister still remembers that pick-up, in detail!
So lift a toast to the smelly hiker: "May you be downwind while
hiking, and upwind when not!"
Have a great weekend, everyone.
--TMc
Sloetoe'79
downHILL'??
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Subject: [at-l] Bill Erwin (if e-mail doesn't delete my message again
Author: hudsom@us.ibm.com at ima
Date: 1/15/99 3:10 PM
One of the newspaper articles about Bill and Orient mentioned that Orient
used the scent of thru-hikers to follow the trail; I was impressed (for
about 2 seconds) until I remembered what thru-hikers smell like....
Skeeter
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