On the whole hike there are only 6 days where we do not walk. Today is one of them - a day to be treasured. The last zero day was Day 88 when we stayed in luxury with Stickbuilt and Sandy in Washington DC.
We sleep in, then have breakfast in town at a local diner where all the old men gather - they even have their own mugs! We hoped we were not sitting in somebody's special seat. They nod to us. We think - life could be quite comfortable living here as a retired elderly person.
After breakfast we go hunting for groceries and try the grocery store run by an Indian - we buy some interesting things and then head down to the main street and the pharmacy. Trish picks us up and takes us for a ride to 'the beach'. Digby spends time reading. I go to the library with Sourdough and fight for a computer with all the local teenagers who are on school holidays.
In the main street we meet Restless and Crazy Train.We have not seen them since Day 41. They have been hitch hiking to catch up and head further north on the trail. Restless is very depressed and tearful about the trail. Crazy Train doesn't seem to remember who we are, or is just too lazy to acknowledge us. Restless has not made the transition to thru hiker. She is lost in the romance of a relationship, with short hiking days, long times around the fire and lots of laughs. She has no trail fitness and cannot walk the miles that everyone else is now covering in a day. There is a determined focus and a 'lean and mean' demeanour to most of the thru-hikers now - those of us that are left know that we have the mental toughness and the physical fitness to make it all the way.
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