July 24, 2005

• I sit, sweltering, in my un-airconditioned room. It's an unusually hot
  day for Chicago - 105 deg of humid heat and no signs of the evening
  being cooler. I curse my decision to 'manage' the few hot days and not spend $80 on an
  air conditioner.

  Wait a minute. My friend Dave had offered to give
  me the air conditioner he no longer uses. (Curse oneself with some uber
  choice abuses, bang head against the window that would have held that
  ac. Shrug shoulders *phew* Pretend it's not such a big deal after all.)

  Frankly speaking, I've had a pretty cool summer. And no, I didn't go north.

  B and I drove down to Florida last month to .. er.. work on his thesis film. It rained every day that we were there.

  

  After a couple of weeks there, we drove north so we could backpack a stretch of the Appalachian Trail. I was going to hike for a week or ten days and then head back to Chicago. B was going to stay on the trail for longer.

  Planning the trip was as intense as the trip itself. We had to figure
  out where we'd start and where we could end up so we could take a bus
  back to the car. Easier said than done. We pored over Greyhound and
  Amtrak websites. We pored over the maps to figure out the closest
  towns. We pored over the AT companion for any leads.

  

  Nope, nothing, nada. I am always surprised at the lack of a strong
  network of buses and trains in America, this time I was just pure
  amazed. Weekend service was nonexistent. (We were looking at some
  really small towns here) and weekday service almost existed if you
  could find the bus-station. (We drove all over Waynesboro asking for
  the Greyhound Station. The nearest direction we got was "it's on the
  other side of the river." Oh you mean that little nullah of water right there. Right.
  But I forget, everyone in America has a car. <shake head>.

  

  We also had to buy food that we could cook on a tiny hiker's stove in
  the backcountry. Which meant no gourmet dinners, no four course meals
  (At least not if I was carrying it) and basically, something that the
  two of us could carry without straining our backs. Ramen won the day at
  the cheapest and fastest thing to cook. That coupled with Miso soup
  made for edible meals. Granola bars, oatmeal, Gorp - granola, oatmeal
  (yes, again), raisins, peanuts(?) were lunch. Yes, I am alive to tell
  the tale.

  "So where are we going?" I asked B.
  "I don't know yet."

  This was the night before we were supposed to leave.

  We ended up driving towards the Shenandoah National Park. 100 miles of
  the AT runs through the park and is considered a good place for a
  beginning backpacker. Since the last time I hiked was almost five years
  ago, beginner's was good enough for me.

  12 hrs into the drive (stuck on I95 for two hours of that), we realised
  that we weren't even halfway to Front Royal, at the north end of the
  park. B suggested we change our plans. "Spontaneity is the name of the
  game."

  Sure. There were some choice abuses hurled his way. I took out the map to find the nearest airport.

  But dammit.

  

  We arrived at Fontana  in Nantahalah national park the next
  afternoon. B had suggested the Smokies, but  hanging out with the bears would be the last thing I'd do.

  To be contd.

  • 11:10 pm
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