Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Hikers Invade the Holler


It's official folks, spring has come to the holler. Forget the calendar, the weather or the forecasters. I know it's spring because the meandering trickle of trail weary hikers is slowly growing to a steady flow, coming down off the mountain and slowly trekking by the kitchen window.

Hikers are stinky individuals ya'll.

Those hiking long distances have supplies mailed to the Frog Pond Holler post office, where they tend to congregate as they crack open their goody boxes full of like.. bark, twigs and crap.

And one can only hope... deodorant.

Naw..for serious.. there's running water in streams up in those mountains. One could slap a little fresh water and maybe a dab o' Dial up in those pits on occasion. Ain't no sense in smellin' like Sasquatch after an aerobics class. Sometimes, on those particularly warm late July afternoons, you can open the door to the post office and the pit stench will knock you clear across the road.

Hiker season has it's advantages too. Our trailer sits at the foot of a hill, where the hikers get their first hint that they're entering civilization. It's fun to see their eyes widen as they ask if there's an actual town here, with a store and maybe something to eat. It's so funny.. they can follow a map through the woods, over trails in areas frequented by bear, mountain lions and snakes, but once they spot the double yellow line of the highway, they get completely disoriented. We're constantly redirecting lost souls heading in the opposite direction that they need to be.

You'd think the large, metal trail markers embedded in the sidewalk in front of our house would be a clue.

I won't name the trail that runs through my front yard, but I will tell you it runs from Maine all the way south to Georgia and it's named for the mountain range I call home.

Google it amongst yourselves.

Time to tackle the day. Ya'll have an awesome one!

Later Taters

10 comments:

tiff said...

Oh! Pick me! I know the answer!!!!

Poor stinky lost hikers. Poor Mahala, having to DEAL with them. ;)

Mahala said...

LOl oh man.. I think I sat behind you in school lol.

Jeni said...

Hey - e-mail me and I'll send you the url for some writing sites you might be interested in, along with an article about them too. Got them via an e-mail from a writing group I belong to and I thought of you immediately. Might open up new avenues for you with respect to your writing -and income -areas.

Our area here will come under touristo fire this coming Saturday with a big white water canoe/kayak race that starts about a mile down the road from my house! All the entrants will be driving past here, canoes/kayaks on top of their vehicles or being towed behind and will create a whole lot of traffic here -one day out of the year!

kenju said...

After I read a book about someone hiking that trail, I always wanted to do it. Trouble is - I'm too old to go far now. :-(

BetteJo said...

Hikers? Stinky?

Rebecca said...

So you know I plan on hiking part of the trail as soon as I lose eleventydozenish pounds, right? Now that I know it runs right through your yard, I have even MORE reason to make that goal a reality. I promise to be EXTRA stinky, too.

You're welcome. :-)

Mahala said...

Jeni.. will do!

Kenju: lots of people hike the whole thing, a small chunk at a time, over several years.

Yes BetteJo.. stinky.. with dreadlocks.. and kilts

bah.. I'll be waiting out front with the water hose and a bottle of Febreeze lol.

Rebecca said...

I'll probably need a razor, too. Or a weed whacker.

Mahala said...

I can get a deal on a bucket o' Nair.

Anonymous said...

You could set up a nice hot shower station in the back yard and charge like $5 a head, that is if the dogs would let them in the yard.

DG