Despite a short day the previous day, I somehow caught up with the guys from the breezeway. I had stopped in the store for a snack and they convinced me to escape another approaching storm at the Lewis Mountain Campground. We all sat around, tummies rumbling, when Treebeard came back. "I made friends," he grinned, and held up some car keys. He told us how he attained such a powerful item. He had walked into the store and asked the owner, "Andy, how do I get a ride around here?" "Oh, just go down the road and with your pack and look like this," Andy said, striking a pitiful pose. "Yeah, but how will I get back when it's dark and rainy?" Treebeard questioned. Andy thought for a while then asked, "Do you have your license?" "Huh?" Treebeard was confused. "You have your license?" "Yeah..." Andy pulled out of his car keys, "If you run off the mountain... well I have insurance.... If you hit a bear... but I have insurance..." he assured himself as he pondered what he was about to do, and handed the keys over.
A whole new world was opened to us. Want to summit today? Let's drive to Maine. How about a day at the beach? Why not. We could go wherever we desired with absolutely no effort involved.
Four of us piled into the tiny Ford Ranger truck, and headed down the mountain to a park restaurant for dinner. It was different seeing the National Park from four wheels. The AT runs parallel to the Skyline Drive which crosses the entire park.
The park seems to have been made for motorists, as there are gorgeous pulloffs every few miles (though doing all the work, hikers get lame views), and campgrounds and 'wayside' restaurants are spaced periodically throughout the drive. Thruhikers benefit from the abundance of opportunities to get food and showers. It is said you need "two days of food and $100" to get through the 101 miles of AT in the park.
Heavy rain and hail was forecasted for the day starting early afternoon. As I packed up, the guys informed me they were going to stay at the campground another day and get a cabin. It didn't take much to convince me to join them. It was an extremely fun and relaxing day with good company, but the rain never came which was rather annoying. For dinner, seven of us crammed into the tiny truck and drove 20 minutes out of the park to get to an Italian restaurant Andy recommended. The rangers at the gate must have wondered what thruhikers were doing in Andy's truck. We tried to look unsuspicious.
"The portions are huge," the waitress told us, "you won't be able to finish it all." You don't know who you are talking to lady, I thought. Halfway through mine, however, I couldn't finish. If I ate more I thought I would puke; I was ashamed. I call myself a thruhiker?
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