May 21, 1997 (Day 63 – milepoint 619. 1 – Rice Field Shelter)

Back on the Trail after a total of nine days off. Dad and I left Indiana late morning and arrived in Pearisburg, VA late evening. I decided to take advantage of some full-moonlight and got to walking northbound at around 8:30 p.m. This allowed Dad to cover some of the distance home tonight and also saved me some cash, avoiding a motel room.

I arrived here at the Rice Field Shelter just before midnight. I startled a few cows in the field and two other hikers in the shelter, Pockets (wears a fishing jacket full of pockets) and Thunder Chicken (hates storms), both from Florida.

Brown cows with glowing white faces occupy the moonlit field outside the shelter. It’s great to be back on the Trail again, but it is a bit surreal. I don’t feel back. It might take a few days.

Aquaholic

May 21, 2009

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

–Oscar Wilde