Got back from that, packed up, and ran into Laughs-a-lot, who was finishing up his south hiking section. He was meeting his wife in Erwin, so he got someone to shuttle him north so he could walk the next thirty miles but end up back in Erwin. So he's technically 30 miles ahead of me. He'll spend several days with his wife, though, so he'll probably end up behind me... Depending on how these UK games go. Hope I run into him again.
Also met Beandip, the Aussie. She was passing out Vegemite. I tried warning people, but almost everyone tried some. Including me, because I couldn't remember what it was like, only that I disliked it intensely. Still do. Outside of that, she seemed pretty awesome. She was with Pintsize and Shorts (Who wears short shorts? He wears short shorts). They rented bicycles and rode off into town, and I talked with Dragonborn and Baird. I find the two of them quite fascinating, but they are proceeding at a pace much too slow for me at the moment, sadly. If I had the time I think I would do the same.
On the hike out, I ran into a couple who were day hiking. They were RVers, so we will call them Lord and Lady RV. They had a golden retriever with them, so we discussed the vicious maulings golden retrievers were known for. Then they asked me my trail name, and when I told them they told me they'd heard of me. Lady RV said "you're infamous." They also asked to take my picture, a first for me. Other hikers had told me they had had that happen. We talked for quite a while, they were a very interesting couple, but I eventually had to move on.
So off I go to see the wizard. The wonderful wizard of food. AKA Freshground. He was setup a little over 9 miles down the road, at the 350 mile mark. I think he needs a break. His dog died, which is always traumatic, and he's been putting up with ungrateful hikers for too long. I'm sure most people are great, but others leave dirty plates, leave messes, and are generally inconsiderate. He told me he's going to go home and take care of some things, and then go hiking for a while. He'll eventually set up again somewhere north of Damascus. A new service he is providing is movie night. He sets up his laptop and plays a movie for the hikers. I thought about staying, but I wanted to cover more miles. Such an awesome man.
I ended up doing about 5 more miles, where I came across two tents. I thought they were Rockfish and Gandalf, so I walked over to them. It wasn't. It was Machine and a guy. I'd heard of Machine, a dynamic lady who was supposed to be really fun and a serious hiker. So far she lives up to it. She'd heard of me, and told me I was tied with Cupcake for being the toughest men on the trail by names. I like her. She didn't laugh at me while I botched hanging my bear bag.
The other guy gave me his real name. He doesn't want a trail name. As he put it, "I don't dress up for Halloween, either." I bet he throws awesome parties. For our purposes, we will reference him as Stick, short for "Stick in the mud." He's actually pretty cool, and I enjoy talking to him, but he's unfortunately getting off the trail at Damascus.
Lot of people quitting in Erwin. Weird for me. Happy Feller, who used to run ultra marathons, 100 miles in a day, is getting off. WOLD is getting off, he has some really good stuff going on that he has to get off for. Several other people. Unexpected.
Hopefully the rain holds off.
Uncle Johnny's hostel cat, Santa's Little Helper.
I had to run I front of this train to cross the tracks. Plenty of time.
Selfie on Beauty Spot. Got some good pictures on my camera.
Beauty may save the world.
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