"Some people finish the Trail..."

"...but never experience it." -Desperado

August 21, 2001

Hiked with Motorcycle Mama to the Secret Shelter.  It has two shelters, a privy, warm shower, and two donkeys.

New Jersey's "Secret Shelter"

Twinkle Toes, Marge, and Beat came along shortly after as well, so we had a fun evening just enjoying the great weather, watching the donkeys, and doing general over-all relaxing.

Desperado [this guy is a Trail legend!] showed up and gave out some soda, talked about the Trail, and gave advice.  Great guy.  There is Trail Magic all up and down NJ because of him.

Unfortunately, it appears that Desperado was murdered in June of 2012.  Many thruhikers remember his unselfish, giving nature.  He is missed by many.  RIP.

Some ground hogs and wild turkeys showed up.  Also, some deer came and ate apples.

This was one of my favorite shelters, mostly because of Desperado showing up, but also because it is in such a peaceful area with lots of wildlife around.  Having a shower there is cool too, but for some reason I didn't even use it.  I had just had a shower the day before, right?

At the Secret Shelter

"Will is to grace..."

"...as the horse is to the rider."
-Saint Augustine

August 20, 2001

Zero at the Episcopal Church.

I got to IM a lot of youth back in Blacksburg.  That rocked.  

Speaking of Instant Messaging, these were the days that most people use either IRC Chat or AOL IM.  I didn't own a cell phone yet (that would come after I finished the AT).  I thought it would be cool to own a laptop, but it just didn't seem financially responsible over getting a desktop.  Most people probably used MySpace rather than Facebook.

Researched Americorp.  The ones I want to apply for are:

1. New River Community Action, Inc. in Radford
2. Total Action Against Poverty (TAP) in Roanoke
3. SW Virginia Second Harvest in Roanoke

My plan at this point was to keep the lifestyle of living cheaply (such as one lives on the Trail) and do ministry, whether through Americorp, churches, or Habitat for Humanity.  I would end up getting back into teaching by subbing at Blacksburg Middle School.

"Then Jesus said, 'Let's go off by ourselves..."

"...to a quiet place and rest awhile.'" -Mark 6:31a (NLT)

August 19, 2001

Hiked into Vernon, NJ.  

I enjoyed hiking through beautiful and interesting New York, but New Jersey was just fun and delicious.



I went to a farm right by the road (they sell ice cream, fruit, plants, etc.)  I got two large ice cream cones, two peaches, and a Dr. Pepper.  

For some reason (maybe it's obvious), when hiking I always craved fat (ice cream) and sodium (soda).  Fresh fruit was a big plus as well, because you just can't carry fruit very long in a backpack.

This was a delicious stop.

Then hitched into Vernon to the Episcopal Church.

Slept in the Episcopal Church and stayed the next day as well.  It was a very peaceful place with kind people.