Aloha Everyone...
How is Many Names at a computer, yet again, you ask??? I am a big time slacker!! I don't know what happened to me recently, maybe the heat, humidity, mosquitos, blah blah whatever......but here i am taking another break after staying at a hostel (the famous 'Mayor's House' former mayor of unionville, NY now takes in hikers at his home......treats us like gold and gives us much inspiration to keep on keepin on. Amazing, really) just a couple days ago.
I don't know..i keep rolling in and out of this funk, not that i'm deppressed, perhaps maybe bored?? i mean, the trail is the trail is the trail. i get up and walk..the state, the terrain, the weather changes but i'm still just walking, taking a stroll of various levels of difficulty. It's really the people and my experiences with them that are meaning anything right now. So, i'm finding that without the peeps around, i lose my motivation and have to start thinking about what could possibly inspire me...to give me some energy.
Today, i slept in...i had been really super tired yesterday, only did 12 miles, took a nap under a pine tree and camped early. There were also some minor inconviniences experienced today that sort of set the dark cloud over my head. I had only gone about 4 miles this morning when i came across a bunch of gallon jugs of spring water left there by a couple of 'trail angels'.The water sources were not going to be entirely reliable today, so that was great. They had left some business cards with their # and if anyone needed a break to call. I thought about it and was just like, 'screw it. i don't care if this is lazy. i just don't want to do this today' So i called, John, the husband, picked me up with their two awsome dogs. I am the only hiker here. It's really peaceful. We'll have dinner together later. It's really just what i needed...a break without the high energy of a busy hostel. Hopefully, my vibe will be elevated tomorrow and i can rock the trail and love it. I've already hiked 1,370 miles, and have 807 miles to go......and miles to go before i sleep
I can do that. I'm not far from Conn. and then it's just a skip into Mass......
I don't think i have anything else to say. I'm going to have a glass of wine and sit outside and play my guitar.
Peace and Love Ya'll
~MANY NAMES~
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
थे जौर्नी ऑफ़ मानी नमस कांतिनुएस
Greetings my lovely ones
I am a hare's breath away from New Jersey. I got into Delaware Water Gap, PA this afternoon and am staying the night at my friend wild bill's parents house, Yaay! Thank you jane and john...shower, laundry, company..sweet. So that makes 1,286.3 miles so far and only 895 to go, pretty cool. PA just flew by, it was totally rocky, kind of an ankle turner, but fun. Yesterday we did some real climbing,and it was so fun to something different, i kind of felt like i was out west..Hmmm..
I spent the last few days hiking with ProffMark(who just finished his PA section hike today,Hooray!!)and Nattie. We camped out last night on this high clearing to watch the sunset and this morning i got them both up at dawn, made some coffee and we chilled while the sun came up, and all the mist and clouds in the valley looked so amazing.
I couldn't possibly go on any further without mention of 'The Doyle', short for the old Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA. This place has been in operation for over 100 years, and i don't think they've done any repairs in that long. I can't believe the place isn't condemned, but I, for one am so glad it's not. There's the bar and pool room on the 1st floor, the balcony, the old locked up ballroom and lobby with the red and white checkered linoliem floor on the second, and rising up two more floors around the lobby off a big rickety spiral staircases are the rooms.Mine was great, it didn't have mold on the walls, i especially loved the extension cord running up from the floor to the naked light bulb in the middle of the cieling. Enough description. That night so many hikers came in to stay at the doyle, it just kept filling up,the bar got packed, people everywhere playing guitars, singing, freestyling...a creative mystical vibe seemed to filled this creepy old place. Some of us were playing music in the 2nd floor lobby and looked up to see two floors of people just hangin' over the railings, i guess the music had traveled up through the hallways into the rooms and eveyone just came out. Someone on the 3rd floor found a bible and was reading a sermon, wearing a top hat...i just remember hearing his finishing words "And it was good!" over the music. Ah, the Doyle. I turned in early, but that party rocked till the wee hours. Oh, Yeah.
And how could i foget to mention that i also got new sneakers! Fascinating to all i'm sure......but i had hiked the 21 miiles into Duncannon in my crocs, cuz the boots were not rockin' my world and i was in agony!!! (I actually just met a guy named CrocStar, but he was wearing sneakers..so....)New sneakers...Great!! I am flying..it feels so good to have light feet. Of course, i am, as i write, nursing a new blister. That will pass, hopefully by tomorrow.
Well after Duncannon i was off solo style again for a bit. I was thinking that i wanted to be alone, and it was great for camping, privacy...but i was really starting to go a little crazy in my head. Too much alone can be tricky. It's hard to know when to stop. It wasn't until i ran into my old friend Jim Dandy, who i hadn't seen in months, at a shelter the other day. It was so good to catch up, find out about certain people. He was so suprised to see me! I met the guys he was hiking with,Amero, Nattie and Bee Man. They were heading to a B&B right on the trail about 4 miles away, for a meal. I ended up going too, then it started pouring and the owner suggested we camp out in the backyard under the pavillion....That was awsome. There was a good band, good company, beautiful morning the next day, refreshed after the rain. It felt like crispy fall before it got hot. And all of a sudden i felt like a normal person again.
Life is good. I still love this friggin' trail. There were so many blueberries the other day, i filled a ziplock bag...ate all the berries in it, filled it again, ate it again and filled again for later. They were so good and beautiful!
How can i forget the completion of the Many Names Missing Glasses story. Long story short...I lost my glasses on the trail, near a place called 'Lost Spectacles Gap' thought they were gone forever, but someone (mommallama, who i ended up meeting later) found them and through the magical workings of the trail, got them back to me. We met weeks later and became friends.She insisted that her textiles-major daughter would fashion me a glasses case to attach to my pack so i would never lose the specs again.Well, i just picked up the case at the outfitter in Port Clinton where she left it (she is way ahead)and it is so amazing! Way more than i expected. It's organic hemp or cotton, lined with silk with a little bell on it, and on the outside it says my name, Many Names..and on the back it says, if lost please return to.........all that info. She even put her tag on it..it was so proffessional. All week i was like, 'don't lose the glasses, don't lose em', you're almost in port clinton, almost there!!'
I met a hiker yesterday who actually made the mistake of wiping with poison ivy.Hmmm. I felt bad about that.
Anyway...off to bed.Pleasant dreams.
Peace
~Many Names~
I am a hare's breath away from New Jersey. I got into Delaware Water Gap, PA this afternoon and am staying the night at my friend wild bill's parents house, Yaay! Thank you jane and john...shower, laundry, company..sweet. So that makes 1,286.3 miles so far and only 895 to go, pretty cool. PA just flew by, it was totally rocky, kind of an ankle turner, but fun. Yesterday we did some real climbing,and it was so fun to something different, i kind of felt like i was out west..Hmmm..
I spent the last few days hiking with ProffMark(who just finished his PA section hike today,Hooray!!)and Nattie. We camped out last night on this high clearing to watch the sunset and this morning i got them both up at dawn, made some coffee and we chilled while the sun came up, and all the mist and clouds in the valley looked so amazing.
I couldn't possibly go on any further without mention of 'The Doyle', short for the old Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA. This place has been in operation for over 100 years, and i don't think they've done any repairs in that long. I can't believe the place isn't condemned, but I, for one am so glad it's not. There's the bar and pool room on the 1st floor, the balcony, the old locked up ballroom and lobby with the red and white checkered linoliem floor on the second, and rising up two more floors around the lobby off a big rickety spiral staircases are the rooms.Mine was great, it didn't have mold on the walls, i especially loved the extension cord running up from the floor to the naked light bulb in the middle of the cieling. Enough description. That night so many hikers came in to stay at the doyle, it just kept filling up,the bar got packed, people everywhere playing guitars, singing, freestyling...a creative mystical vibe seemed to filled this creepy old place. Some of us were playing music in the 2nd floor lobby and looked up to see two floors of people just hangin' over the railings, i guess the music had traveled up through the hallways into the rooms and eveyone just came out. Someone on the 3rd floor found a bible and was reading a sermon, wearing a top hat...i just remember hearing his finishing words "And it was good!" over the music. Ah, the Doyle. I turned in early, but that party rocked till the wee hours. Oh, Yeah.
And how could i foget to mention that i also got new sneakers! Fascinating to all i'm sure......but i had hiked the 21 miiles into Duncannon in my crocs, cuz the boots were not rockin' my world and i was in agony!!! (I actually just met a guy named CrocStar, but he was wearing sneakers..so....)New sneakers...Great!! I am flying..it feels so good to have light feet. Of course, i am, as i write, nursing a new blister. That will pass, hopefully by tomorrow.
Well after Duncannon i was off solo style again for a bit. I was thinking that i wanted to be alone, and it was great for camping, privacy...but i was really starting to go a little crazy in my head. Too much alone can be tricky. It's hard to know when to stop. It wasn't until i ran into my old friend Jim Dandy, who i hadn't seen in months, at a shelter the other day. It was so good to catch up, find out about certain people. He was so suprised to see me! I met the guys he was hiking with,Amero, Nattie and Bee Man. They were heading to a B&B right on the trail about 4 miles away, for a meal. I ended up going too, then it started pouring and the owner suggested we camp out in the backyard under the pavillion....That was awsome. There was a good band, good company, beautiful morning the next day, refreshed after the rain. It felt like crispy fall before it got hot. And all of a sudden i felt like a normal person again.
Life is good. I still love this friggin' trail. There were so many blueberries the other day, i filled a ziplock bag...ate all the berries in it, filled it again, ate it again and filled again for later. They were so good and beautiful!
How can i forget the completion of the Many Names Missing Glasses story. Long story short...I lost my glasses on the trail, near a place called 'Lost Spectacles Gap' thought they were gone forever, but someone (mommallama, who i ended up meeting later) found them and through the magical workings of the trail, got them back to me. We met weeks later and became friends.She insisted that her textiles-major daughter would fashion me a glasses case to attach to my pack so i would never lose the specs again.Well, i just picked up the case at the outfitter in Port Clinton where she left it (she is way ahead)and it is so amazing! Way more than i expected. It's organic hemp or cotton, lined with silk with a little bell on it, and on the outside it says my name, Many Names..and on the back it says, if lost please return to.........all that info. She even put her tag on it..it was so proffessional. All week i was like, 'don't lose the glasses, don't lose em', you're almost in port clinton, almost there!!'
I met a hiker yesterday who actually made the mistake of wiping with poison ivy.Hmmm. I felt bad about that.
Anyway...off to bed.Pleasant dreams.
Peace
~Many Names~
Friday, July 10, 2009
हाफ गल्लों चैलेन्ज इस दिस्गुस्तिंग एंड ग्रेट एंड तोताल्ली नेसस्सरी !!!
Greetings Friends nad Neighbors !!
It's blueberry season in Pennsylvania!!! Hooray! They just appeared the other day, a glowing blue out of the corner of my eye. I was needing some blue in my life. I am a believer in the 'rainbow diet'...eat all your colors and your will be healthy and vibrant! Sometimes blue is hard to come by. But i got plenty of green the other day with my 1/2 gallon of mint choc chip ice cream!
It has been a long time tradition for thru hikers when they reach the halfway piont on the trail they stop at the Pine Grove Furnace general store, get a 1/2 gallon of their desired flavor and eat it in record time...i don't know why, possibly a marketing scheme that i, and thousands of other thru hikers fall victim to. so, to celebrate i got my ice cream..took a painful 1HR 10 min to 'finish'..i left a 1/2 pint of ice cream soup, so technically i did not conquer the '1/2 Gallon Challenge' as it's called. It's distgusting. And yet, I still feel victorious! Why? Cuz I'm a BADASS!!!Period.
So getting back onto the trail after my 2 weeks off has been awsome, but did not start off so sweet. I always write about these amazing and magical things that happen. Well sometimes things just suck...and when they do, it spirals into something almost unmanageable..not physically, but just mentally being able to deal. So 4th July i roll back into Harper's Ferry, WV amidst the throngs of tourists asking me one stupid question after another becuase i seem to be the only backpacker around. (Where is everyone?) I am the last hiker on the planet. Got my semi new boots..hope they work out, my pack is once again ridiculously heavy becuase i want to be healthier out here so i've got avocados, a couple tomatoes, extra nutritional backup stuff.....=extra weight.I was just feeling wierd and detatched from everything and everyone in the world. So i only hiked 4 miles and wanted to stop to camp by these sweet cliffs over looking the potomac river and the vally. Good views for fires works too. Got my tent pitched, took my food bag out and realized my bottle of 'louisianna perfect' hot sauce had broken, slicing thru it's protective ziplock bag, spilling over everything, and pooling in the bottom of my food bag. Great. Awsome. I only have a liter and a half of water and that's for tonight and to get me to the next water source tomorrow(there was no water at the cliffs, but i wanted to be there) Huge meess, spent an hour and 1/2 getting everything separated, organized, into different bags, trying to keep the smell contained to not attract animals. So then i had about 2 LBS of disgusting trash to pack out. So that's all set. I went to hang my bear bag over a tree branch and the line (that has been fine for 3 months) broke, snapped back and hit me in the forehead. No big deal, didn't hurt, i fixed it easily, but, i mean, Come on!! It was seeming like too much, maybe just because i was deppressed. So i went to sleep, and by the providence of the divine spirits, i slept like a baby, and woke up the next morning to the most spectacular sunrise i have seen on this entire journey.
Things have a way of balancing themselves out, don't they. I got everything cleaned up the next day at a restroom not to far off the trail, and once again, things were returning to a familiar rythm.
The next night i camped out another set of beautiful cliffs, the Annapolis Cliffs. I met 2 super cool guys, Manimal and Ananook. They camped there too. We all cooked dinner together and watched the sunset, played music(manimal has a guitar as well) and watched the full moon rise. I woke in the morning to a person walking along the cliffs shouting happily, "Victory! Victory!", then he said 'oops' and i heard nothing. I asked the boys if it was them, no it wasn't. Hmmm, i wonder who my victorious friend was. ?
It's definately been a different trip this time around, all my friends being so far north now. I am essentially alone, meeting a few people here and there, but i am really diggin' it. I have camped by myself everynight, not at shelters, but at perfect intuitivly found campsites wherever i feel like stopping. The other morning i just made coffee and played guitar for 3 hours before heading out.That was just over the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. It took 2 days to cross MD. some people do the '4 State Challenge..they camp just on the VA/WV border and begin there hike VA -WV - MD - PA in under 24 hours....my friend hobbit did it in 20...aw, she's so cool!
I heard a noise in the woods the other night that made my blood freeze in my veins. I was in my tent, maybe midnight and i heard this sound from way down that sounded like a thousand voices of the dead combined into one, spouting out something in a wierd language. Was it a feline creature? Was it someone on a megaphone from the town/ camp below? I heard it again and it was so bizarre, almost like words...must've been an animal...or??? But i will say that it made me think of things i'd see in a movie that i would watch with my sister Kathy or Elise Ulrich. That's when i just visualize my third eye and chant myself to sleep. Sorry if i've creeped ya'll out...i'm still here so.........
Anyway, i am writing from boiling spring, PA, an awsome town. I stopped to visit my childhood friend of the family (Ned, Boots) , his wife Wendy and their new daughter Melody(she's gonna be a little rock star so she's cool in my book, and soo cute)...and Wendy's parents Buck and Diane. I'm staying at B + D's house right on this beautiful creek that ned and i went tubing down today....awsome! Took a zero day here today tryng to mend my poor feet. I've got some blisters from my boots that i have stopped wearing. I 've just been hiking in my crocs...liberating, yet not sustainable. I'll be heading out tomorrow, hopefully get some hiking sneakers in Duncannon on sunday. It has been so nice staying here, the hospitality is amazing.
Alright, it's late, must sleep.......peace and many blessings to all....don't be freaked out by my story of the strange sound in the woods(mom, sisters)...
All is well.....and i may catch up to some friends after all...everyone seems to be seriously chillin' here and there and i'm on-na move!!!
Oh Yeah! Many Names got her Mojo back brothers and sistas !
Peace Out Ya'll !!
It's blueberry season in Pennsylvania!!! Hooray! They just appeared the other day, a glowing blue out of the corner of my eye. I was needing some blue in my life. I am a believer in the 'rainbow diet'...eat all your colors and your will be healthy and vibrant! Sometimes blue is hard to come by. But i got plenty of green the other day with my 1/2 gallon of mint choc chip ice cream!
It has been a long time tradition for thru hikers when they reach the halfway piont on the trail they stop at the Pine Grove Furnace general store, get a 1/2 gallon of their desired flavor and eat it in record time...i don't know why, possibly a marketing scheme that i, and thousands of other thru hikers fall victim to. so, to celebrate i got my ice cream..took a painful 1HR 10 min to 'finish'..i left a 1/2 pint of ice cream soup, so technically i did not conquer the '1/2 Gallon Challenge' as it's called. It's distgusting. And yet, I still feel victorious! Why? Cuz I'm a BADASS!!!Period.
So getting back onto the trail after my 2 weeks off has been awsome, but did not start off so sweet. I always write about these amazing and magical things that happen. Well sometimes things just suck...and when they do, it spirals into something almost unmanageable..not physically, but just mentally being able to deal. So 4th July i roll back into Harper's Ferry, WV amidst the throngs of tourists asking me one stupid question after another becuase i seem to be the only backpacker around. (Where is everyone?) I am the last hiker on the planet. Got my semi new boots..hope they work out, my pack is once again ridiculously heavy becuase i want to be healthier out here so i've got avocados, a couple tomatoes, extra nutritional backup stuff.....=extra weight.I was just feeling wierd and detatched from everything and everyone in the world. So i only hiked 4 miles and wanted to stop to camp by these sweet cliffs over looking the potomac river and the vally. Good views for fires works too. Got my tent pitched, took my food bag out and realized my bottle of 'louisianna perfect' hot sauce had broken, slicing thru it's protective ziplock bag, spilling over everything, and pooling in the bottom of my food bag. Great. Awsome. I only have a liter and a half of water and that's for tonight and to get me to the next water source tomorrow(there was no water at the cliffs, but i wanted to be there) Huge meess, spent an hour and 1/2 getting everything separated, organized, into different bags, trying to keep the smell contained to not attract animals. So then i had about 2 LBS of disgusting trash to pack out. So that's all set. I went to hang my bear bag over a tree branch and the line (that has been fine for 3 months) broke, snapped back and hit me in the forehead. No big deal, didn't hurt, i fixed it easily, but, i mean, Come on!! It was seeming like too much, maybe just because i was deppressed. So i went to sleep, and by the providence of the divine spirits, i slept like a baby, and woke up the next morning to the most spectacular sunrise i have seen on this entire journey.
Things have a way of balancing themselves out, don't they. I got everything cleaned up the next day at a restroom not to far off the trail, and once again, things were returning to a familiar rythm.
The next night i camped out another set of beautiful cliffs, the Annapolis Cliffs. I met 2 super cool guys, Manimal and Ananook. They camped there too. We all cooked dinner together and watched the sunset, played music(manimal has a guitar as well) and watched the full moon rise. I woke in the morning to a person walking along the cliffs shouting happily, "Victory! Victory!", then he said 'oops' and i heard nothing. I asked the boys if it was them, no it wasn't. Hmmm, i wonder who my victorious friend was. ?
It's definately been a different trip this time around, all my friends being so far north now. I am essentially alone, meeting a few people here and there, but i am really diggin' it. I have camped by myself everynight, not at shelters, but at perfect intuitivly found campsites wherever i feel like stopping. The other morning i just made coffee and played guitar for 3 hours before heading out.That was just over the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. It took 2 days to cross MD. some people do the '4 State Challenge..they camp just on the VA/WV border and begin there hike VA -WV - MD - PA in under 24 hours....my friend hobbit did it in 20...aw, she's so cool!
I heard a noise in the woods the other night that made my blood freeze in my veins. I was in my tent, maybe midnight and i heard this sound from way down that sounded like a thousand voices of the dead combined into one, spouting out something in a wierd language. Was it a feline creature? Was it someone on a megaphone from the town/ camp below? I heard it again and it was so bizarre, almost like words...must've been an animal...or??? But i will say that it made me think of things i'd see in a movie that i would watch with my sister Kathy or Elise Ulrich. That's when i just visualize my third eye and chant myself to sleep. Sorry if i've creeped ya'll out...i'm still here so.........
Anyway, i am writing from boiling spring, PA, an awsome town. I stopped to visit my childhood friend of the family (Ned, Boots) , his wife Wendy and their new daughter Melody(she's gonna be a little rock star so she's cool in my book, and soo cute)...and Wendy's parents Buck and Diane. I'm staying at B + D's house right on this beautiful creek that ned and i went tubing down today....awsome! Took a zero day here today tryng to mend my poor feet. I've got some blisters from my boots that i have stopped wearing. I 've just been hiking in my crocs...liberating, yet not sustainable. I'll be heading out tomorrow, hopefully get some hiking sneakers in Duncannon on sunday. It has been so nice staying here, the hospitality is amazing.
Alright, it's late, must sleep.......peace and many blessings to all....don't be freaked out by my story of the strange sound in the woods(mom, sisters)...
All is well.....and i may catch up to some friends after all...everyone seems to be seriously chillin' here and there and i'm on-na move!!!
Oh Yeah! Many Names got her Mojo back brothers and sistas !
Peace Out Ya'll !!
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