Date: 2003-07-25
From: Manchester Center, VT.

To: Griffith Lake Tenting Area
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

So it was a lazy morning, we got up, showered, ate breakfast and started getting ready for the trail. It was so nice being at the house, it was hard to leave. But we finally got packed up, took some group photos, and said our goodbyes. One last stop at the post office, then on to the trail. Dave dropped us off at the trail parking lot, but looked at us funny as we walked back to the road. We explained that we hadn¢t walked that 100 feet yet. We were still AT purists, so we couldn¢t miss a foot of the trail (he said it brought another phrase to mind¢¦ ¢anal retentive¢¢¦ You know what? He¢s right¢¦ sigh¢¦). I felt really good today, the rest really helped so the climb up Bromley Mountains wasn¢t so bad (but I was hungry again¢¦ What else is new?). Maybe there is hope for me yet¢¦ Nah¢¦ I think the lighter pack was the key (I do so much better carrying less weight, especially on a shady section of tail, with a nice breeze). When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we relaxed, snacked & enjoyed the views for a while¢¦. Then topped it all off by eating lunch too! 2 hours of laying in the sun, relaxing, and taking pictures! I could have stayed longer, but I never would have made it to Maine if I lounged at every beauty spot along the tail. Note: Almost time to send my cell phone home, the digital signal is non-existent (even up on the mountain). But my stuffed dog ¢Ted¢ stays, he¢s going the whole way with me! The next part of the hike, was through some great pine forest (God, I love that smell!), but was through mud, slick roots & rocks, and slick wet bog bridges (a little Moose scat thrown in for local color). We spent the next couple of hours doing ups and downs, and trying unsuccessfully not to fall. My ass used to be a good place to land, but the padding is getting skimpier every day, so I try to land on my pack. We met up with ¢Matt D¢, the¢ New Zealander¢, ¢Space Monkey¢, and a few others on the way to the Peru Peak shelter, and saw even more people when we got there. The Hip Chick (THC), lots of Boy Scouts and their leaders, and other LT and AT hikers. Yes, the shelter and tenting area were full, but there was another tent site a half mile away, so we set up there (this would have been a noisy place to stay). OK, I¢ve finally caught up with my journaling (I¢d been 2 days behind), but I probably left some juicy stories out because of the holes in my brain that stuff keeps falling out of. So if you want to read what I leave out of my journal on a daily basis, read Wench¢s journal (www.trailjournals.com/wench), but remember to sign my guest book, so I know you stopped by. To find out what really happened in that topless bar¢¦ Oh, wait, that was a different wench¢¦ Sorry¢¦. Now where was I? The excitement is building, we are only 6 days from Hanover, NH! Vermont will be done in less than a week, and only two states will be left. AND WE WILL FINALLY BE IN THE WHITES!!! Wahoo!! It¢s hard to concentrate on Vermont, when the White mountains are so close. And we keep thinking about our friends, who will be climbing Katahdin this week (and the others that already did). Awesome, what a great job! It will be our turn soon enough, we need to stay in the here and now, and enjoy every day. The hiking is getting better every day, we just have to be careful & not push ourselves too far, and risk injury (like last Wednesday). We¢ll get to Katahdin, there is no rush. But I really can¢t wait to get a shave and a haircut when this is all completed. Hmmm¢¦. Should I cut it right away, or wait till after the ALDHA gathering in October? I¢ll keep you posted, Life is good.