Okay… I am feeling much better. The metal fog I previously had been having has very much disapated and my thirst for personal growth/knowledge has returned. That said I am really enjoying chapter eight (nine, if you’re listening to the audio book) of Thank You For Being Late.
Do not take the end of New Jersey’s and beginning of New York’s terrain for granted. Possible in wet conditions, but highly advise one not to unless you enjoy butt sliding.
Came across two rattle snakes on the trail today. Thankfully, someone left a note!
Creamery not too far off the trail on New York State Route 17A. This was certainly some of the best icecream I may have ever had. Check it out if you are ever passing through! 
Did not make it to end goal for the day, not because I couldn’t, but because of the beautiful camping spots near a beaufitiful waterfall.
My bug bites seem to be getting pretty bad. They only itch at night fortunately.
Had a very much needed chat with a friend. Feeling very good about it…yup the waterfall I camped at also had very good service, but that was not the original reason I stayed. ^-^ The white noise of the waterfall at night was very comforting. Also, Bluebird and Rocket were camping there and I wanted to get to know them better. They are in the group photo that Two Chairs put together at Gypsy’s Tavern. Bluebird was seventeen starting the trail and now is 18. I could sense the immaturity but I wasn’t thinking that young. Other than her just graduating highschool, I did not dig further likely though because I couldn’t relate as much. Interesting fact about her, her orginal name on the trail believe it or not was “trailbait” (A spin off from jailbait). I am personally shocked people on the trail would even think to call her that period for the time that they did. Anyways, Rocket I honestly vibed was a man’s man. You will feel it in the aura around him. He is very much well grounded. Both feet on the ground. I do not know too much about education, but he owned a government contracting company and sold it before coming out on the trail. I am not too sure how much he had but I did get the sense, that he could or has already retired early. Rocket and Bluebird have been hiking together since a little after southern Virginia. I am sure nothing is going on, but they very much enjoy each other’s company. I vibed that Rocket had been taking a role of an older brother to essentially look out for her. There are very few “creeps” out here on the trail, but then again there was that group of people who came up with the name, “trailbait.” But yeah, two very interesting people.
Common knowledge at this point for me, but just in case one was not familiar with all the trail jargon out there, here are some terms that every thru-hiker would know about at this point:
– Nero = A short milage day. The number of miles considered a nero is based on the individual. Usually a nero is a day consisting of less than 10 miles.
– Zero = A break, a day off from the trail.
– Negative Zero = Hiking miles in opposite direction, going backwards, not making any forward progress.
– Blue Blazing = Has multiple meanings. These are side trails people usually take to go around a section (skip). Also, can be side trails that will not reconnect back to the AT such as a side trail in which goes to a water fall. Quite simply, doing miles on a trail that is not the AT.
– Yellow Blazing = Skipping sections of trail normally in the case of keeping up with a group of people. Common among those people who have visas and would like to hike the “cooler” sections before they need to go back home. Those who have yellow blazed once they complete the trail will come back to hike those sections skipped for the thru-hiker title.
– Aqua Blazing = Section of the AT that you can canoe north in the Shenandoah region.
– Pink Blazing = Speeding up or slowing down to keep up with a girl one likes.
– Banana Blazing = Speeding up or slowing down to keep up with a guy one likes.
– Green Blazing = Speeding up or slowing down to stay around those who have the weed on the trail.
– Purist = Those who do not skip sections. Those who will enter and leave the same route into town to aviod missing sections of the trail even if those sections are just a few feet. I personally have been called a Purist, although I wish there wasn’t a word for it. To me I am simply hiking the trail, all of the trail.
– Section Hiker = Hiking a section of the AT. Those who normally call themselves section hikers are ones who intend to eventually complete the trail one section at a time.
– Day Hiker = Very popular to run into these humans on the weekend and/or popular sections of the trail. These people usually smell overwhelmingly very good.
– Thru-hiker = One hiking the entire trail in 365 days or less, in one go, although for the AT it is common to complete the trail in 5-6 months.
– Flip Flopper = When one for example hikes until say, Harper’s Ferry and flips up to Katahdin and starts hiking south towards Harper’s Ferry. Harper’s Ferry is just an example. That being said, one can flip flop from any location on the trail. The motivation usually behind a flip flop northbound is when one is conserned if they can make it before the close of Baxter State Park, October 15.
– Yo-yo = To finish where one started. So if a hiker started in Georgia, they would hike to Katahdin and then back to Georgia. This certainly is a thing, but very uncommon. I have only encountered one hiker yo-yoing on my journey thus far. I believe this is also a hike done in less than one year.
– NOBO = Northbound; Hiking the trail north.
– SOBO = Southbound; Hiking the trail south.
– HOBO = Homeless or Homebound
– Homebound = The hiker that is hiking to one’s home state, whether that is either Georgia or Maine based on their direction.
– Hiker Mid-night = A quiet time. 9pm is what I am used to.
– Trail Magic = When people generally are helping out the thru-hikers providing snacks/soda, sometimes even other forms like a free ride into town. I personally would like to in the future do trail magic to give back to the community I have received already so much from.
– Slack packing = Carrying only a day pack (Food and water you need for that day). There are companies that will drop you off (usually along with a group) at one end of the trail and pick you up at the agreed meet up point at the other end.
