Brief Encounter

I'm here in Harrisonburg Virginia, doing a Peacebuilding Summer School.  Today is Saturday, a day off, and most people have gone to Washington D.C. for the day.  Steve and I decide to go up into the Shenandoah National Forest and do some hiking.  The weather is glorious, and we walk down from the road to a magnificent waterfall.  The hike back up is strenuous, and all the way I'm thinking about those hardy souls who thru walk the Appalachian Trail.

Just as we are approaching where we parked the car, we cross the AT, and there coming down the track are two women with large rucksacks.  I waylay them to find out if they are walking the whole trail.  They are!  They started three months ago (That would be the beginning of March), and expect to be in Maine by September.  We wish them well, and watch them disappear up the track to the North.