As some of you may remember, I owed $3,600 in back taxes to the IRS. Well, since I had already spent that money on camping gear, I needed to improvise. Luckily, my parents were willing to help me out one last time as not to place more of a burden on me. They agreed to pay my $3,600 if I put the hike off for another week so that I could attend Grandpa's 80th birthday party. This was unacceptable, but we reached a compromise. I said Matt could pick me up today from the trail and I would pay tribute to the old man.
We got to the party around 5:00 PM, down in Lilburn. Matt broke the piñata, but only because I was able to soften it up for him first. I said “you’re welcome.” I had enough of that kid stuff and moved on to get a new beer and some pigs in blankets. Breaking my core trail diet of Power Bars and Dew would be only minimally harmful.
Grandpa silenced the room at about 8:00 for a toast. He told everyone that if he would have known he would be here one day, standing before this group of people, that he would have gotten a vasectomy 50 years ago. I think I was the only one who got the joke because no one else laughed. He thanked me specifically for taking the time to come to the party. He finally realizes the importance of my hiking trip.
Overall it was a very long day full of pleasantries and idol chatter. I tried not to talk too much so I could maintain my focus on the trail. Everyone kept asking me about this blog. I promised I would try to keep it up to date, but it is a tough life out there on the trail.
Now I know what a president feels like when he visits a small town. I can't wait to get away from it all again, back out onto the trail. I am getting dropped off where I was picked up.
Which of your hiking idols were you chatting with? Perhaps you can post the valuable insight you learned from them!
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