8-8-12

AT miles hiked today: 8.0
Total AT miles hiked: 1005.2

ONE THOUSAND MILES!

There were these guys at Rattle River shelter doing interviews for their project. I told them Rhubarb's story and shared how to find his blog and told them how he is my inspiration for my hike. He is doing very well from what I can tell when I read his blog. I am so happy for him and his family and friends. What a wonderful story.

I hope my hike can raise more money in his name for animals at Best Friends that need just a little more time and money to care for than most of the animals who live there. Please consider following the links and reading Rhubarb's story and about Best Friends Animal Society and what they do to help animals. And then please consider making a donation to Rhubarb's Angel Fund by using the button on the blog sidebar that says "Donate Now using Just Give." You can base it on the miles I've hiked already, pledge based on the final number of miles I walk, or just donate for a good cause and to a great organization. Thank you to those who have already donated.

Earlier in the day I fell twice on mossy rocks. Booty busters are what Eagle Eye calls them, but she slept in and sent us ahead so she didn't see them. The trail became easy after the shelter. It was wonderful to walk again, instead of climbing from rock to rock. Toe Knee and I made great time down to the parking area, where we called the hotel shuttle. Then an RV pulled up and a woman said, "Do you want trail magic?"

Do we?
"We would love some trail magic!"

So Bob, Cindy, and their dog, Keeper, gave us cookies and Klondike ice cream bars, plus a cold drink. I gave them my blog in return. Their son is thruhiking and they drove up to meet him and were still there when we came through. Thanks you guys!

Then Maryanne from Hikers Paradise showed up to shuttle us to the hotel. Once we got settled we went out to try hitchhiking and she saw us and offered to take us to the Walmart. If we were fast enough she would have brought us back, too, but we weren't. So we asked people in the parking lot for a ride, and then realized we couldn't remember the name of the hotel. That was a silly predicament to get in, but Chris and Brianna took pity on us and drove us the direction we needed until we saw the hotel. It turns out that Brianna's AP English class is reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, the book that made me want to thruhike the AT in the first place ten years ago. What a coincidence. So I gave them my blog, too. Thanks for the ride!

Meanwhile, Eagle Eye had taken a wrong turn and gone three miles down the wrong trail, so she had to hike back up the mountain and then down the AT to the parking area. She got to the hotel around 8pm, just in time for the Chinese buffet. It had sushi and shrimp and soup and hot tea and even ice cream. It was awesome, and my first buffet of the whole hike. It was a great celebration for my thousand mile day.