September 16 - Stafford Notch Campsite (Day 181 – milepoint 1982.3)

Happy 26th Birthday to Chewy! The Wookie is 26 today. We’ll be throwing a party soon.

Here’s a brief profiling of the cast of characters I’ve been hiking with and will probably continue to be around:

Chewie: 26, Madison, IN. A ’94 Ball State grad. Works with the mentally disabled and is involved with the Special Olympics. Very intelligent, with a subtle and sarcastic sense of humor. Chewy‘s plan after the Trail is “to become the fattest man in the world.”

Spice: 25, Boston. A bicycle courier in Boston. Doesn’t say much, which, as Paka explains, “makes you think he’s up to something sneaky…If he’s not doing something sneaky, he’s thinking about doing something sneaky.” Plans to courier in San Francisco after the Trail.

Spice Boy - 24, from (?) and Water Girl - 29, Lexington, VA: Hiking partners from day one. Very close, and as far as I can tell, platonic friends who have been working together for various political campaigns and non-profit political organizations. Both with very strong views and opinions. Spice Boy seems like a pleasant fellow. His girlfriend has joined him for several sections of the trail. Though I haven’t spent much time with Spice Boy, I have spent a little time with Water Girl and would love to spend more time with her delicious blue eyes, except that something in me knows I would lose focus on my hike… Water Girl plans to move to Lake Tahoe, CA after the Trail.

Baltimore Jack: Age unknown. Origin unknown. Also thru-hiked in ’95. Excellent cook. Very intelligent. Daily breakfast: two cigarettes, two shots of bourbon. He shared something interesting with me several states back, something his father told him long ago: “Son, God gave you two ears and only one mouth… Use them accordingly.”

Easy Walker: 23, Boise, Idaho. Spent the past three years as an Army Ranger living in the Southeast U.S. Avid rock climber. Fast hiker. Plans to go back to school in Montana and keep playing as much as possible.

Redwood: 21, Northern Michigan. Strongest hiker on the Trail, in my opinion, with a quietness I’d call “wisdom” if he ever said anything that revealed what he was thinking, so “shyness” is a more accurate description for now. One of our three “red-beards” (along with Landshark and Chewie), Redwood started eight days after me, passed me before the Smokies, took the entire months of May and June off, and caught up again in the Whites in NH. He’s now “trying to keep it under 20-a-day.” Of course we’re happy to help.

Huff & Puff: Father and son from Oklahoma City. Huff in his mid-late 40′s, recently retired from the Air Force. We often forget he’s the Dad. Puff is 21, lived in Japan and tended bar for a while before returning to join his father on the AT. He has that passion for travel inside of him. Would be interesting to know where he goes next.

Cosmo: 24, Atlanta, GA. Spent the last year touring Europeans around the U.S. in a large van. What great stories he has. Also has the passion for travel. His plan for getting home after the Trail is to try and hitch a ride on a sailboat from the Maine coast down
to Georgia…

LandShark: 24, New Hampshire. UNH graduate and former college pole vaulter. Earned his Trail money moving furniture. Very strong hiker (did a 40-mile day into Damascus, VA). A genuine person with some great stories.

Paka Bear: 25, Greensboro, NC. UNC graduate and very proud Tar Heel. Spent the past two years as a counselor at an intensive kids-at-risk outdoor rehab camp. Now between semesters in Paramedic school. Very much a ring-leader. Likes to be the center of
attention and plays the part well.

Achilles: 24, Rye, NY. A ’94 Dartmouth graduate. Spent the last two years as an investment banker in NYC and will probably return to the Big Apple following his hike. Excellent athlete. The only competitive squash player I know. I’m trying to convince Achilles to hike the PCT with me in a few years. Achilles is dying to have a woman tell him that he really fills his shirt, but that won’t happen anytime soon, unfortunately, not after six months out here, and he’s not really the “bench-pressing” type.

Aquaholic