Woo hoo! I made it to harper’s ferry WV saturday and am now on the mad dash through maryland to the pennsylvania line. Knocking out the 540 miles of virginia and nearing the mason dixon line feels pretty durn good. I escaped the southern mountains with no real ”deliverance” moments, though I won’t feel safe until I clear the pennsylvania hill country. Those who have heard me tell my 3rd grade bully story about a kid named Delbert and his younger sister will know what I’m talking about. The story goes something like this: i did something to piss the sister off on the bus, i think it was accidentally pulling her hair. She then told Delbert to hit me, to which he responded, ”why dont YOU hit him?” Her response was the ever-classy, ”because im not wearing any rings.” The threat of Delbert grinding me into mush led me to avoid school bus usage, instead walking a mile home through trails, and if my memory serves me correctly, a junkyard. I probably did this for a couple weeks until either my parents found out or the threat level was reduced back down to orange. I’m just waiting to round a corner on the trail, which comes fairly close to where my family lived, and see a full-grown Delbert standing there waiting to get his pounding in.
One other thing that’s interesting is that when crossing the mason dixon line, the pronunciation of Appalachian will now change from ”appalatchin” to ”appalayshun.” Gotta love the subtle differences.
Onward to the ankle-twisting lands of Rocksylvania!
