Our stay in DC was great. Maybe a little too great (a little too Raph for you Ninja Turtles Secret of the Ooze fans). On our zero day we went to REI, which was like a giant candy store. Mr. Fantastic returned a lot of gear, so he's back in working order. I picked up the next 3 maps, a new pillow, and sturdier water bladder for my filter. Jackpot.
We grabbed some pizza on the way back, and enjoyed a familial lunch.
That night was Mr. F's big birthday dinner, and I prepared by taking a prolonged nap. I also watched Indie Game: The Movie, which I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about the smaller end of the gaming industry.
I woke up just before the crowd started arriving. Dinner involved a lot of people, amazing food, and fascinating criss-crossing conversations around a massive table. It was a dinner party in the purest sense.
The following day was spent relaxing and watching Wimbledon, before Mr. Taylor gave us a lift back to Harper's Ferry. Goodbyes were hugged, and well-wishes tossed around. It was a great refresher from the trail.
Once back in town we jumped into a local B&B hostel for the night and met some other hikers. It was a great place to stay, but unfortunately had an awful snorer in there as well. No sleep.
In the morning we finally made our way to the ATC headquarters to register as official thru-hikers. We got our picture taken, and looked through the book at those who had come before us. We also bumped into Tiny Dancer and Pinball Wizard there, shortly before Dick Flap made a surprise appearance. He is now the last of our old crew that is still on the trail. Tapeworm was told he had to stay off of his knees for a month or he'd do serious damage, Optimus has stress fractures in her feet, and Meta stopped enjoying his trip. Mr. Fantastic and I both understood the loss of motivation, as each person we've met drops off you start to lose the best part of the trip: the community.
We still managed to get back onto the trail, though, after a lackluster lunch. When we ate a snack at the first shelter we came to we both talked about how much our motivation was failing us. We had just spent a couple of days in civilization, and came back to find our community lost. It's rare that we both feel down on the same day, but today it hit us pretty hard.
We hiked on toward the next shelter, passing a soda vending machine on the way that we lacked the proper singles for. What a loss! We wandered the park for 30 minutes asking strangers if they could make change, to no avail. At least we were able to fill up out water bottles, and then move forward.
Reaching the shelter I decided I would stop for the night. We had originally planned to hike another 5 miles, but with my lack of sleep and our late start I didn't have it in me. We met Dick Flap's lady friend, Butter, who was dozing in the shelter. We had heard about her often, so it was nice to place the face. The three of us chatted while Mr. F and I caught up on some calories.
Hopefully tomorrow will hold a quick resupply and a 21 mile day. We have to amp the miles back up, but we'll see what the terrain has in store for us. I think our spirits are higher now, but knowing that we won't bump into the old crew along the way steals a lot of the random joys. However I must say, the weather has cooled and I can feel a modicum of strength returning. I'm banking on that trend continuing!
