In 1980 I was almost finished crossing the Cumberland Valley in PA. It was starting to get hot and it was time for lunch. The trail was following another paved road. I looked around for a shady spot and saw a huge tree in a field. I had to jump over a fence in order to get to the tree. I pulled out my canteen and food bag and began to enjoy a small feast. After a while I heard a very familiar sound. It was the sound of hiking boots on the road. Since I was a bit out of view, I called out "hello hiker!" I walked over to the fence to see who was coming down the trail. Quite honestly, I didn't recognize him at first. And when I realized who he was, I couldn't believe it!
If you have been reading this blog from the beginning you may have noticed something a long time ago. Back on April 29th I wrote a post called "Judging Pete". It was about a young guy (about my age) who was struggling to make it through the Smoky Mountains. At the time I thought that Pete would never make it to Maine. I had doubts that he would make it through the Smokies. That day in PA proved how wrong I was. After over two months of hiking past the Smokies (about 1,000 miles) I was suddenly face to face with Pete Montgomery!
Pete had a grin on his face a mile wide! Since I had always written in the trail registers, Pete had been able to keep up with me. Since I was ahead of him, I couldn't read about Pete, but I did read about other hikers who were ahead of me. Pete knew that he was starting to catch up with me. After I took off a few days in Carlisle, it gave him just enough time to finally catch up.
We talked about the Smokies and how hard they had been (and had a good laugh about him going the wrong way down a side trail). We talked about all of the things we had seen along the way. Pete had ditched some of his heavy camera equipment. He had also put on some muscle (but he was still skinny like me). He was in his home State of PA where he was a member of the "Blue Eagle Mountain Climbing Club" (something like that). I gathered my gear together and we walked together down the trail. It was a surprise reunion!
Because of my foot I was going slower than Pete. I think we spent the night together in a shelter that night, but after that Pete was going faster than me. For a while I was able to keep track of him in the trail registers. Then he took off a week to go home and I got ahead of him. I heard from him much later and learned that he had made it all the way to Maine. I learned a lot from Pete. I learned how wrong it is to judge people. I learned that patience and perseverance can allow even the most unlikely of persons to accomplish great things. And I learned something about friendship. Pete was a great guy when I first met him in the Smokies. We only saw each other one night in a shelter (when it was freezing cold & there was snow on the ground). But Pete still considered me a friend, even from that brief encounter. Pete would have done anything to help me if I needed help, and I would have done the same for him. It's good to have friends when you are hiking the trail. Even if you are walking alone, there are others who will come beside you to help and encourage you. That's true on the Appalachian Trail, and it is also true in life. My hat is off to my friend, Pete Montgomery!
Here in 2011 I weighed in at 174.6 pounds this morning. I'm trying to understand that after I had (homemade) pizza last night and also a piece of Josh's birthday cake (German chocolate, YUM)! My leg has finally quit hurting, but I am still resting it before I try to start jogging again. I think today will be another day to eat a salad!
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