Back Home...

Well, kind of home. I, sadly, said farewell to Scatters and left Rangeley on Thursday to drive Rorshach down to Hanover, NH. He's still got about 500 miles left to do, and he started back up in Rutland, VT. Since I was in Hanover, I stopped by Hanover Outdoors to see if there was a package for me. My friend Sarah sent me one back when I was hiking in the area, but it missed me by a day. I wasn't sure if she'd called to get it returned to sender or not, so I asked if they had it. They did! So, I got a box full of chocolate, trail mix, bars, ramen, ziploc bags, and lots of love. Thanks so much, Sarah!!

After I said goodbye to Rorshach, I drove on to Plymouth, NH to see and stay with Renee and Tyler again. I had a great time hanging out with them at the Holderness School where they work/live, and then I took off early the next day for the big drive south. It rained a LOT, and it took about ten hours to get to another friend's house. I stayed with Erin and Mike (the two who came out to hike in the Shenandoahs) at their house south of Baltimore. We all woke up very early to get to the Laxtoberfest lacrosse tournament in the morning. We didn't play (thank goodness), but we had to get to the fields at 6:30 to work at the score tables until 5pm. It was a long [sunny?!] day of lacrosse, followed by another long day on Sunday, but it was a lot of fun. I got to see my old teammates and watch a lot of great lacrosse. The tournament ended on Sunday afternoon, and I drove another 2 hours to get to my parents' house in Berlin, Md where I am now. I plan to stay here for a week before finally getting back to DC. I look forward to not driving more than ten minutes at a time!!

Being here has been nice, as it usually is. I caught up with my mom and dad, and I got back in the gym. I'll be sticking to the elliptical machine and light weights for a while, I think, and a few yoga poses. My body is still quite stiff and sore, but I've been stretching at least twice a day, and I think my joints should eventually heal. My appetite is slowly getting back to normal (smaller), and my diet has made the switch back to "mostly healthy" (though I already miss the Rangeley stint of huge, daily ice cream sundaes!!).

I've been in contact with a few hikers (Little Foot finally summitted with his Dad this past Saturday - congrats!!), and most everyone seems to be in transition. I've begun to dabble in online job searching and organizing my things. I have so many things!?! Quite a difference from temporarily only having 65 liters of carry-able, ultra-light items...

It probably won't be REAL real until I settle back into DC for a while with my friend Leah. Until then, I'll enjoy the down time. I've started a book. I've gone through all my mail. I take my time working out. I may even take a nap here and there...

Location:Berlin, MD