Day 5: Top Notch Goonz

BRIDGEVILLE, DE —

March 29, 2024

Day 5:

During a mindfulness-based meditation, one of the first suggestions an instructor might recommend is to relax your shoulders; we hold a lot of pent-up tension there.

Delaware’s roads’ shoulders are presently anthropomorphic in this way.

Yesterday has left many of them plunged under its downpour, making for a tight backside on sharply winding roads for this thru-hiker. Nonetheless, it was as beautiful today as it was shite the day before—60 degrees, sunny, clear blue skies, and all my gear washed, batteries charged, and belly full thanks to the McClains, who dropped me off right at the pavilion where they snagged me yesterday evening. No cheating!

Since then, I’ve made it to Bridgeville with my tent pitched along an allegedly nameless river running south from Sharps Pond. I have about 40 miles under my belt, which is roughly where I expected to be this week with only four true days of walking.

Ahead of me, already in the state of Maryland, are two seasoned and well-documented swift-running hikers named Matthew Hengst and Leif Olson. The three of us set out from Rehoboth Beach over a three-day span.

As I crossed a motif-driven, shoulder-less bridge in their dust this afternoon, I noticed some graffiti along its guardrail, reading: “Top Notch Goonz.”

Instantly, the duo, who are hammering 20-plus mile days off the rip in their own separate pilgrimages, came to mind. Matt, who has been a godsend for resources, texted me a picture of the two together after they crossed paths.

In the footsteps of Aragorn and Legolas, Frodo trods.

Godspeed, Goonz. I’m right behind you.