For some reason this is the only picture I took today- my boots on the left and Glassman's on the right. Also, I had some camera complications, so there may be a few slim photo days here. I'm sorry about that.
I woke up this morning at the hotel in Lincoln and after enjoying the free breakfast ticket the three of us packed up and called the woman who had agreed to give us a ride to the trail head, but she was unable to come pick us up, which was disappointing. So we began to hitch-hike out to the trail. A man in a pick-up truck gave us a ride to the first intersection. Then a family picked us up. They had a two year old girl in a carseat in the back and they were headed out for a day hike. Somehow we squished all three of us and all of our gear into the car with them. I had to sit on Glassman's lap, but we made it. They drove us about 20 miles before they realized that although we had gotten much closer to the trail head they were going the wrong way. The man seemed happy to be talking with us and didn't mind, but the woman was upset that they'd gotten lost. So they dropped us off at a missal monument in town and we walked back to the gas station we used yesterday to find a ride. In the parking lot at the gas station was the station wagon with one of the aunt/niece-campground girls from yesterday. Glassman asked her to drive us to the trail head and she agreed. At the trail No Name hiked North and Glassman and I began to hitch to Hanover.
Hitchhiking is such a gamble. It is a gamble about if you will get a ride, what that driver will be like, and where you will be dropped off. It can be a lot of fun because it is such a different experience each time, but you have to be constantly aware of your surroundings, which can make for a long day. Also, because you have asked this person to give you a free ride in a car that they have paid for, paid insurance on (hopefully), filled with gas, etc. you have essentially given up all of your power. I mean, you still clearly state where you would like to go, but you are at that person's mercy, so the power dynamics can be strange. Anyway, even though today went smoothly and we got good rides I was glad to not be hitching alone.
Glassman and I got a ride from the trail head from a man who's hobby was collecting wild mushrooms from the woods around the trail. In great detail he described to us various mushrooms such as Lions' Head, Morels, Chanterells, and Oyster mushrooms. It was interesting and he seemed knowledgeable. Then we hitched a ride from a hay farmer. Then a man piked us up and took us the rest of the way to Hanover, even though he wasn't going to Hanover. He told us he had completed a research project about Appalachian Trail hikers and had interviewed hundreds of hikers, so he wanted to pick us up and give us a ride. He told us that now he works for the Army doing research about how to reduce the number of soldier's suicides. Glassman told me later that he wasn't sure how much of what the driver told us was true; but he was interesting. Glassman had left his car in Hanover to hike North with No Name for the last three days, so he picked up his car. And I was back in Hanover for mom's visit. I called her to tell her where I was and she agreed to come a day early. Glassman and I spent the rest of the day walking around Hanover watching the first-year student groups around campus, and I camped at the trail head again where I was just a few days ago.
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