Return to Trail & a Memorable Mayor

7/6

• Distance travelled: 8.8 miles
• Wildlife: BEAR CUB! and 2 deer and 1 salamander
• We left NYC in the morning, resupplied food near the trail, had a final meal at DQ before hiking on again. I sadly hugged my husband goodbye. He was such an angel and, after parting with me, shuttled some other hikers to other destinations.
• Although we’re still hiking in NJ, the trail runs very close to the NY border. When we ended our day, we were right next to a town Unionville, NY. Here, we called the number of a trail angel we’d heard of, and this person came and picked us up and gave me one of the most memorable treats I’ve had yet....

THE OUTHOUSE

As soon as we loaded into Dick Ludlum’s Toyota Prius, the first words we heard were, “Everyone take a deep breath.” We did as he instructed. “You smell that? It smells like shit. And it ain’t me. The first thing you’re going to do when you get to my house is take a shower.” This was funny to us, as we’d actually showered the day before and had a short day of hiking. We didn’t think we smelled that bad. Still, at his house, we showered and followed further orders to throw all our stinky clothes into a laundry pile (the clothes were magically clean the following morning). We were fed a delicious meal of homemade chicken soup, salad, fresh bread, beer (seconds and thirds on all of this stuff), and banana bread for dessert. I noticed Mr. Ludlum had a vegetable garden in his yard as well as a large composter. We were told anything we didn’t eat was going to the compost pile, so we should eat up! The following morning, we were fed omelets, coffee, and other food. The food (and beer) were so abundant that I think we still had leftovers, even though there were at least 15 hikers at this man’s house, plus 2 friends of Mr. Ludlum who helped him cook and clean, and a dog. They called his home “The Outhouse,” and this was the second year of its operation. Last year, it was called “the Mayor’s House,” because that is literally what it was. Mr. Ludlum had recently retired from his position as Mayor. The Outhouse only had 2 requirements for stay: shower and watch a couple of short films.

The first film was of Paul Potts on the U.K. equivalent of American Idol, Britain's Got Talent. Potts is a former cell phone salesman who decided to pursue a dream of singing opera. The film included both his first audition and his final victory performance on the show, both for which he chose the aria Nessun Dorma, from the opera Turandot. The final words of the aria are "vincerò! vincerò, vincerò!" which translates to "I will win! I will win! I will win!" His singing was phenomenal and brought Mr. Ludlum, myself, and others to tears.

The second film was a slideshow from a couple of thru hikers last year who found victory as they made it to Katahdin by their 60th birthdays. It was fun to see pictures of the sights we have already passed, plus sights to come, and the accompanying music was a combination of fun and encouraging tunes.

Mr. Ludlum informed us that the purpose of these movies was to make sure that every single one of us “finishes this damn trail.” He said he thinks we're all incredibly stupid for doing this hike, but then added that it's important we finish anyway. He told us how inspired he was by the teamwork and love that we demonstrate, even though we each started our hikes saying “me” and “I," and that is why we must finish -- so we can move on to more important things and share the spirit we’ve found with the rest of the world.

Specifically, he told us he hopes we all find folks to share the rest of our lives with, like his wife, “the bitch” who is responsible for this “Outhouse” operation. This woman has been deceased for some time and spent her last 15 years in a wheelchair with a musculoskeletal disease. Upon hearing some fascinating stories of the thru hikers who would pick up parcels at her town’s post office, this woman once said, “Wouldn’t it be nice, if our car broke down in a remote place, if a stranger came upon us and took us to their house, told us we looked and smelled like shit, made us shower, gave us a place to sleep, gave us something to eat, and got our car fixed up for us to move on our way? Wouldn’t it be nice?” Dick said that’s why he started the Outhouse. He loved his wife so much and just couldn’t get “that bitch” and her words out of his head.

I felt like I’d never been cussed at and cared about so much at once. It was magical.