The last two days has been a bustle of hikers coming through my kitchen eating delicacies that Baltimore Jack with his culinary skills have been conjuring up with food left over from Trail Days that Tyvek, Matthewski, and Blister Sister left in my refrigerator.
Tyvek bought a big ole fat steak and meant to cook it up before he left. That didn't happen, so it got tossed into the freezer. Then Matty and Blister bought a big baking ham and that didn't get cooked at Trail Days either, so I tossed it into the freezer as well.
Baltimore Jack, Fox, Bfitz, and Jones are all hiking the trail together this year. Last week they were dropped off at Partnership Shelter so they could hike back to Damascus. Jack and Fox along with some stray called Hippy, or Pippy, made it back to Damascus before Bfitz and Jones because they are "Super Duper Hikers" just like me.
While Bfitz and Jones are still out there slow poking back to town, Jack has been cooking and shoving food down our unwilling throats. In fact we have had to kidnap about five hikers last night and hold my C02 Pistol on them to make sure they ate darn near all of it. Sometimes you just got to get your point across you know.
I'm telling you that doggone Jack knows how to cook! When I get my twenty five star hostel going here in Damascus, Virginia I think we will let Jack be the chef.
That steak that Tyvek left fed five people Sunday night! Then the ham that Matty and Sister bought fed seven!
I hope that every hiker that ate at my house including Brother T will have it firmly implanted in their minds that "People Are The Trail" when their hike is over. Hutch of '01 coined that term while he and Takoma Ted hiked on the trail together and Ted wrote a song about that phrase and sang it at Trail Days.
Last Friday night Hutch and a few of us "locals" were entertained by some good music as well. In fact Uncle Silly has played his banjo in my front yard last week when he dropped his maiden Wonder off at my house.
Memories..............
Some of my most memorable times when I lived on the trail was good eating and good people sharing that spot with me.
I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep my place and my phone open to the hiking community. I have not been able to work enough to bring in the money that is needed to pay the bills. I have been sick too much this past year to hold down a steady job. Today I am on my way to the hospital to sign papers for financial help so that I can get some more testing done so that the doctors can narrow down the problem that is causing my blood clots.
I have truly enjoyed what I have experienced so far with some of the people that I have crossed paths with on my front porch as we have talked and shared a meal together. Some of them just needed to make a phone call home to tell their loved ones about their adventure.
You know what is so cool, Jack and I have disagreed on several things on www.whiteblaze.net and we are able to look past the differences with each other and enjoy a time like what has been happening at my house. We'll probably have a few more disagreements in the future.
As soon as Bfitz and Jones get their slow fanny's in here Jack and I will have to shove food down their winy pipes too!
Larry Riddle
a.k.a. "The Only Wanderer" 06-05-07