Bound for Home

Jonathan had the hiker's special at the Bear's Den Hostel as he came off the trail Friday night. For $25 you get a bunk, a shower, your laundry done, kitchen privileges, a frozen pizza and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. The hostel resembles a castle in the woods with its turret and stone construction; it sits in the woods just .1 miles off the trail. The couple who run it have a newborn son named Jonathan. In addition to bunk rooms, there's a large common hiker room complete with TV, and piano and guitar for the musically inclined. The hiker kitchen is fairly well stocked with food that has been left behind by others, mainly groups that come through. It was well enough stocked that Jonathan was able to scrounge up cereal and bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. A friendly group of boy scouts camping on the grounds brought him in a piece of peach cobbler as he stayed on though Sunday night.

The hostel has a hiker board with pictures of all the hikers who have passed through its doors. Jonathan saw many familiar faces from the trail. Remember BAM (the middle aged woman with dog who started her flip flop journey around the same place in PA that Madeline and Jonathan began their journey)? She forged on ahead of them fairly early on when they detoured into New York and then had to wait for the replacement boots. But through trail registers, they knew she had made it to Katahdin, though no longer as BAM. Somewhere along the way she reclaimed her birth name, Nina. What they didn't know was whether she continued on with the southbound portion of the trail. After seeing her in the Bear's Den register, Jonathan knew she had gotten at least that far. He also learned from the folks at the Bear's Den that hiker, Bad Idea, was called back to duty in Afghanistan. Although his four year tour of duty was up, apparently one can be called back for an additional tour. Jonathan also had a chance to see the trail documentary that fellow hiker, Lion King made while thru-hiking several years earlier. Mostly scenic, set to music, it made him remember how good it had been - from the rich greens of the forests to the community of fellow hikers.

This last week since coming back to the trail after the Baltimore detour has been different. Jonathan has felt unusually weak and lacking in energy; progress has been slow. He suspects its mental, not physical. Taking the Baltimore break may have tipped the scales. Being with Colin and in the midst of the familiar art and music scene perhaps made him long to be back. The feeling definitely took him by surprise. He has decided to come home. It is weird for him to think about making this change but he feels the trail will be better appreciated another time. A lot of what makes the trail journey is kind of lost on him now. With the colder temperatures, the forest has lost much of its vibrancy, and without the familiar community of fellow hikers, the experience has lost something as well. He's heading for home.

The plan was to hike one last section ( in Virginia) on Sunday. This section is known as the roller coaster because of its series of steep ups and downs. It was constructed as such because the corridor of land for this area of the trail is very narrow, limiting the routing options. This last section puts him within about 3 miles of route 50 and a planned hitch hike home. Of course, his dad volunteered to pick him up, and of course, he declined the offer as a waste of resources. We have heard nothing from him since Saturday evening but we keep expecting him to appear at the door. ~ Amy