Date: 2006-09-19
From: Kokadjo B Pond Rd

To: White House Landing
Miles today: 17.0

Tuesday, Sept 19, 2006 Kokadjo B Pond Rd to WHL, 17 miles plus 1.2 miles of blue blaze. S to N.Purple Sherpa takes Amoeba to Kokadjo B Pond Rd. Start 6:50. Slack the first 7 miles, to Jo Mary Rd. She¢ll pick up backpack cached on AT just past Jo Mary Rd.Pretty walk past misty Crawford Pond. Wait! She smells grilled hamburger! It can¢t be coming from WHL, 17 miles away, can it?Amoeba knows of hikers distracted by hamburger smells who have tripped and fallen and hurt themselves. Look at Stumpknocker's March 2006 AT Journal, for example.She decides that smell is an omen, a caution to be careful today.As she is pushing hamburger thoughts out of her mind, a peculiar thing happens. Something she¢s never seen before. A leaf that has been lying on the ground starts to levitate, gently wafting upwards on Amoeba¢s right towards her right hand.Well, here¢s a gimme in the leaf-catching game. But she¢s too grabby. She comes at it too fast and knocks it down. Count zero.Easy highway-like trail. She focuses on hiking safely and fast. It feels great to have nothing on your back!Make the connection, girl. It also feels great to weigh 25 pounds less than yesterday. Here¢s the proof of how good it would feel to lose 25 pounds of body fat. So, do it!3 miles in one hour and 15 minutes.Hello Eggshells. Amoeba tells him about WHL. He hikes on. Amoeba hikes faster than Eggshells but his legs are so long, he covers so much more ground with each step. Very soon he¢s out of sight.Out at JoMary Rd at 9:45, the same time Zig Zag and Purple Rose are at Fort Relief.Trash cans at the road crossing. Thank you!!! Also a note saying Stone Crabs and Beer at Nahmakanta Tuesday 22 and 23. Today¢s Tuesday but it¢s the 19th. Maybe the note¢s from back in August, or maybe Zig Zag and Purple Rose will get a feast today.Hello to Energizer and Rabbit. They have just Mahoosuc and Avery Peak to do and they¢ll be done. They may come to this year¢s Gathering to be honored as members of the Class of 2006!A single mosquito bite. There's still at least one mosquito out here.A reddish-bearded thruhiker overtakes Amoeba, no conversation.Hello to SOBO Mic.Picture of nice-looking fungus.Tired. Restart hiking only 1 mph.Lower JoMary Lake, skies clearing. White pine greater than 30¢ in diameter.Beautiful Antler¢s Campsite and Fort Relief privy.Privy register:8-11 Just saw a beautiful big owl. We checked each other out. I¢m sure it was waxing Socratic by asking who are you who who who who who? I on the other hand a product of TV culture could only think potato chips. Onward to JoMary whoever she may be. Warren Doyle9-19 9:45 Beautiful tenting area. Zig Zag and Purple Rose. Hi Amoeba, have a great day.Fallen aspen/poplar leaves in rosy glowing pink, yellow and gold. Single leaves and whole clusters on twigs. One green cluster has 27 leaves. In the leaf-catching game, does that count as one or 27? What about compound leaves, like ash?   It¢ll be fun to see what kind of ruling the great guru of leaf-catching comes up with. A ruling that favors him and disadvantages her, no doubt. Whatever it is, she¢ll turn it back to her advantage.P.S. The ruling is published Sept 22: she'll have to change her trail name to one beginning with "S". No problem, Stamoeba will do. Actually, that has a ring to it, Saint Amoeba. :-)))Hello to Jersey, headed north. Hope to see you at WHL.Pass Rd #1, didn¢t record time. Maybe 3PM? Into hemlock/fir forest, with lots of young seedlings.Pass Rd #2, 4PM.Shortly after Rd #3, bright blue blaze pointing to the right.Wait for Bill on dock with Jersey.Bill and Linda are warm and welcoming. You feel right at home at their place. The complex has no electricity, but there are propane lights and hot water. Similar to Amoeba¢s family place in Colrain.Hello Rusch Hour, Fiddlehead, Baldylocks, Eggshells, G Man, Grandpa Bear!Supper is the best hamburger Amoeba (AKA Stamoeba) has ever eaten. The hamburger Bill and Linda serve is fresh-ground for them by their grocer. It tastes like prime steak. Amoeba loves red meat. She could have eaten the whole thing, but didn¢t want to look piggy. Eats 34 and saves 14 to pack out for tomorrow¢s lunch.Here¢s another weird thing that happened today. When Eggshells got to the WHL blue blaze, he too smelled hamburger and began to jog towards WHL. He tripped and fell and sprained (or worse) his left ankle. It¢s badly badly swollen. Maybe even fractured. Need an xray to know.Amoeba showers after supper wearing all her clothes. By morning these will be dry enough. Besides it¢ll be raining tomorrow so no matter.Retire to cottage she's sharing with G Man and Jersey.G Man, from North Carolina, is a wonderful story-teller. Tales of friends, relatives and other hikers (2 hikers who are naturalists, eating only organic, baking their own bread, gathering wild edibles, using honey as their sweetener. One hiker parent and 2 children who hydrate dry rice in a container they carry and at mealtime pass it around). Despite some tragic experiences in his own life, G Man says, Life is good, there¢s no need to be negative.This planet could use a few more people like G Man.Jersey overshot the blue track to WHL and hiked 3 extra miles out of his way. That¢s sure a bummer when you¢re tired, and smelling hamburger, but he takes it in stride. Once Jersey has summitted Katahdin, he¢s going to get a bicycle, I think he said in Portland, and ride the bike home (near Trenton NJ). Post-Katahdin, his odyssey continues.Amoeba uses the rest of the evening to write up journal notes. Goodnight.