Magic and Ponies

A few days into the Death March to Dad, Hansel and Gretel are beginning to get a bit stinky as predicted.  They are going on their 5th day without a shower and they are way over due for laundry, but they are trying hard to keep things as hygienic as possible.  For example, Hansel did wash his hair today and they are still cleaning their bodies and teeth daily.  The stinky clothes are the trickiest part and they probably won't get a load in until they meet up with Dad on the 3rd.

In the midst of this smelly business, they are still having a great time as they put one foot in front of the other.  In fact, Gretel claims that her favorite memory so far was a few days ago when they climbed Mt. Rogers.  As they hiked up the mountain, they were greeted by people on horseback.  Better still, once they reached to opposite side, they were greeted by wild ponies!  "They were the coolest thing!"

The other terrific part about Mr. Rogers, was that it was loaded with trail magic!  They found honey buns, followed by two beers, then a Gatorade, then oranges, and then another beer!

The magic continued after the mountain.  Hansel and Gretel were getting pretty hungry.  Not because they didn't eat breakfast, but because they didn't have very much breakfast to eat!  They hadn't bought enough food on their last resupply day in Damascus.  They were just so excited and distracted by their first  "real town" in such a long time, that they didn't restock adequately.  So as they were hiking, they ran into a day hiker whose name, they learned, was Stan.

Upon meeting, the first thing Stan said to them was, "Hey, how are you guys doing on food?"

"Actually, we are kind of hungry.  We didn't get enough in the last town and we have another day before we get to our next resupply," Hansel and Gretel explained honestly.

"Well do you guys like granola bars?"  Stan reached into his bag and pulled out two Chewy granola bars that he handed to our grateful hikers.  "I'll leave you some more trail magic further down.  How about some sandwiches?  Do you guys like Coke-a-Cola?" Sure enough, Stan managed to plant a delicious little lunch for Hansel and Gretel which they found later that day.  Stan's the Man!

In the evening they arrived at Hurricane Mountain Camp Ground where they would be sleeping that night.  Hansel struck up a conversation with a couple also staying at the camp ground.  As it turned out, Barbra and Pete Gregory were the campground hosts.  They volunteer to look after the site, keep it clean, and make sure everyone staying their has everything they need.

"Well, I'm making some soup.  You want some soup?" Barbra asked.  How could Hansel say no?  Not only was there beef soup, Barbra also distributed a platter with fruit and a cream cheese spread.  They also had an interesting assortment of sandwiches.  Tomato mayonaise sandwiches and banana peanut butter sandwiches.  "They sound really weird, but they were the most amazing thing ever at the time," Gretel assures us.  So as you can see, even though it has been a long and strenuous week, Hansel and Gretel are finding joy in all the little things... like ponies and mayo!

Happy Trails!

Gretel

Wild Ponies!

So cool!