parkway to lyndhurst

the next day i rode less than a mile before setting up to hitch-bike at the first overlook i came to. this turned out to be the spot where the appalachian trail crosses the parkway. it is not a place for camping, so i would not have met anyone interesting the previous evening anyway. while waiting for a ride i did meet a few hikers. a couple of guys with really long beards answered an inquiry i had, telling me they had been hiking the trail for fifteen years. they were all wirey muscle and seemed to be infused with the peaceful and stark spirit of the forest. i jumped up from talking to them as another vehicle came around the corner. this one stopped! i'd only had to wait a couple hours!
they were a couple from germany. the man was a retired doctor. they were so kind and we spoke of spirituality and of our travels. where i was going was kind of on their way, as they were passing through waynesboro and up into new jersey. i told them i would ride from lyndhurst so they didn't have to go too much out of their way, but they insisted on driving me to the driveway of this missionary couple i'd gotten the address of. i gave them a package of the salmon jerkey from loki fish. they are gong to be visiting the west coast at the end of this trip and may go to seattle, where they can get more if they like it.

i'd arrived at the home of this sister of the girl i got a ride with the day before. amazing.
while staying with this couple and their children i enjoyed sharing a meal, helping with some landscaping work, and exploring just a little in the forest near the house. for dinner we had some awesome sausages cooked on the grill! i made greens, including a little bit of nettle i'd found growing in the nearby stream bed. after dinner i went with mark, the father, to join in an evening of spiritual discussion over drinks at a microbrewery. i tried to order their 6oz ($4!) kombucha, but they were all out, so i drank water. mark asked me to relate the story of my recent spiritual discoveries. basically how i came to be developing a relationship with god and jesus after becoming established in the buddhist meditation technique of vipassana. it felt really good to be there with these guys. they discuss the content of books, like a book club, but i forgot which book it was... something about understanding the gospel through the book of jonah.

joanna, the mother, was into holistic living and had become a certified yoga instructor. she is trying to learn how to heal through herbal remedies and nutrition! she was so kind and sent me off with four of her lip balms and a little dropper bottle full of coloidal silver, the thing i was missing in my medicine kit!
i was really meant to meet these folks! i told them about the twelve tribes, because i really think there could be a mutually beneficial relationship there.

they did not have a compost system for fear of bears being attracted to it. i assured them that if they applied the proper cover material and managed the pile properly it would be alright. i also offered a couple alternatives, including burying the food scraps under a deep layer of leaves and wood ash, and donating their food scraps to a nearby farm or garden. they both expressed their desire to be composting, which i feel is a message from god, and i just hope one of these solutions works out for them.