First Day on the Trail

I finally heard from Dave about 8 pm this evening.  He and Pyro had set up their tents and were getting ready to hunker down for the evening.  The shelter was full - with 6 men from Savannah!  They were a group that regularly works with Scouts - some Scout leaders, some Scout dads, and a judge.  They are out for a week of hiking and camping without the boys.

Now to explain how Dave got to his campsite.  The Silver Meteor left Savannah over two hours late, but they were able to make up most of the time overnight.  He made his connection in Philadelphia.  Whew.  In the meantime, Kelly picked up Pyro at his hotel (he flew in from Orlando yesterday) then got Dave at the Paoli, PA, Amtrak station, and drove them to Port Clinton.  THANK YOU KELLY!!!!!!

Dave and Pyro hiked almost 6 miles to their campsite.  Dave said he was very tired, partially from not sleeping well on the train, but mostly due to the heat, humidity and carrying his pack.  He said he felt very hungry and maybe even a little dehydrated.  It will take a few days to get acclimated to hiking again.  Kelly said it may rain soon, but I'm hoping it will hold off (for Dave, we need rain).  Last year, Dave had rain the first 10 days of his hike and it was an experience he's not eager to repeat.

Dave ate his first meal of dehydrated food - orzo, vodka sauce, cheese and turkey jerky.  Mmmmm. not. Supposedly his cache of dehydrated food will be better (and lighter weight) than what he had last year.  That's a good thing.

Dave is camping on the AT, and our 6-year old grandson Chase is spending his first week at Camp Seagull in Arapahoe, NC.  It's the same camp Chad went to for several summers when he was a boy.  Molly said Chase was SO excited, he didn't give a backward glance as he rushed off to join the campers and counselors.  You know who cried?  His grandmother (that would be me).  And I wasn't even there -- I cried when Molly told me about it on the phone!  And yes, I cried when I left Dave at the train station.  I'm just glad Dave and Chase weren't the ones with tears!!

I have a correction -- Dave's hiking bud is Pyro the WISE (not the Great).  It's a better name to live up to, don't you think?!