Gilligan on the AT Revisited: 12-Aug-1993

July 28, 2008

This is a 5-month long series of blog posts that are the entries in my journals written on most evenings as I hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1993. The journal entry appears first — indented — and then any additional commentary from my 15-years-removed perspective follows.

8/12/93 – Thur.

I’m staying at the RPH cabin tonight with Antaeus, a southbounder named Comeback Kid, and a guy named Taro who is here in his truck (John Prine — Jesus, the Missing Years album playing on his stereo, and a cooler of beer & Pepsi for the taking). Taro thru-hiked in 1988 (and/or 1991) and hiked from Neel’s Gap, GA, to Rusty’s Hard-Time Hollow (Virginia) this year. He’s kind of bopping around looking for some guys he had been hiking with before heading home (Wood’s Hole, MA). The important thing is that he is letting the John Prine album play through a second time!

Roadrunner was going to stay here, too, but he decided to press on in the hopes of getting to Kent, CT, in time to get his maildrop before the post office closes on Saturday. Yoram Goldhammer apparently went to a state park to camp — still having foot problems.

I’m starting to get back into a group of hikers, as I mentioned, and they are a really enjoyable crowd. Yoram, Roadrunner, Antaeus, and I kind of bumped into each other off and on all day today, which was kind of nice.

Antaeus and I had a discussion about the definition of "purist." We concluded it lies more in the mind of each individual than anywhere else.

I tried to come up with some more song lyrics today, but I failed. Perhaps tomorrow.

Posted in Appalachian Trail, Tim