July 2: Hearts of gold

The day off with the Dinsmores has been absolutely wonderful. Andrea and Jerry, a retired long-haul trucker and a retired truck mechanic, respectively, have opened up their home to us and a few other hikers here this weekend. And we couldn't have felt more welcome and relaxed. Andrea walked me through the house, pointing out relavent items -- the hiker box, the box of socks she had gotten donated from Thorlo, the shower, the bedrooms, the hot tub (!), the computer, the kitchen. In the kitchen she turns and says she wants to make it clear -- eat whatever you want, don't ask, if you see it, it's game. Unbelievable. But it was true. And I did. I cooked for half the day, making omelettes and eggs for everyone for breakfast, a big fancy salad and beans and veggies for burritos for dinner, cookies and brownies for dessert. It was a decadent day.

Along with being comfortable and relaxed, Eliza and I were both able to get a lot done in terms of the little, nagging things that come to mind throughout the week as we are hiking -- particularly within the first five minutes or so after leaving town. I spoke to six or so family members and friends on the phone, e-mailed a bunch, did my banking. We were even able to successfully track down another -- yes, another -- missing box which (this time, it was definitely our fault). I incorrectly addressed to a place which no longer exists. That's taken care of now.

This stopover at the Dinsmores has been great, as well, in that I feel again that I am out here along with a community of other hikers and of supportive, caring helpers. One other hiker was here when we arrived, Freebird, a guy in his mid 30s, a Yale grad, who lives in Hawaii and is a retired Wind Surfer. Now he just hikes to have fun. This is his second PC hike and he's done the AT three times. He had lots to say, lots of stories, a big laugh. We had fun with him. Later on in the afternoon, Shade showed up, a guy we had met in Southern CA -- ex-Air Force, Peace Corps volunteer, elementary school teacher -- along with a woman he had just met at the trailhead, Nomi, who is a Princeton alumnus, climber who has been driving around the country climbing since November. We all had dinner together along with Jerry and Andrea and a couple of their biker friends who were up visiting and celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. At face value, we were such an unlikely crowd of people -- a bunch of Ivy League hikers, the leather-clad hog riders sucking down their cans of Miller (the guy wearing a dirty tee-shirt which read "I like big jugs"), and the proud, old truckers, holding court in their back yard.