A Friend Returns Afar
Miles: ~13
No signal tonight you know the drill by now
Modelo left today. I held back tears and smiled for him but then erupted into ugly sobbing when the car pulled out. I couldn’t control it. He was crying too. Taiwan is so far away it almost seems like we won’t see him again atleast in person. He said 2027 may be the year he returns to hike the AT once more. Modelo genuinely was the most whimsical one in our group. Always had a good optimistic attitude and was very lowkey an expert hiker (but he’s so humble it’s not obvious). One of the many things that gave it away is how he would do a perfect PCT bear hang in less than a minute. He was also very observant and ready to help us. I just can’t believe I’m going to wake up in my tent this morning without him shaking my tent and making bear noises. Before I was only hiking the trail for fun but now there’s more to it than that. Modelo’s trekking poles, the ones he gave me. They will grace the cold gravel and stone of Katadin.
Let’s also hope for a quick and full recovery for his mom. Thanks Modelo for everything.
Our day today after we parted ways with Modelo was a late start. With my new shoes I flew up the mountain in the rain. There is a massive detour reroute that Green and I split from a few miles in. We took the Bushwacker path to a road that went on for a very long time. We then got back on the AT from a blue blaze route past the Virginia Creeper Trail construction. It felt really adventurous to blaze our own path like that. We were really doing some Amazon explorer type shit for most of it. Now we set up camp at a really ugly pond. One side goes down into the pond and the other is a cliff so I joked that it’s a very defensible and strategic camp site. The birds and frogs are extremely loud. It stopped raining and I really hope it stays dry out so I don’t have to put the tent away wet. Thats the worst trust me. Gus and Motor started hiking this morning and are probably half a day further but I’m not sure if they cut the detour like Green and I did. Zero and Scary took a (legal and recognized by AT) skip of the construction zone then hiked from there. My new shoes are amazing. My old shoes nerfed me so bad they were twice as heavy, had half the support, and were slippery. We are close to 500 miles and in Virginia. Now is when the show truly begins.