Date: 2007-07-31
From: Upper Goose Cabin

To: Tom Levardi's House
Miles today: 21.0

What a great day! I woke up around six after finally getting a good night's sleep. After gathering all my belongings and breaking down my tent I joined my fellow hikers for blueberry pancakes and some coffee that the caretaker of Upper Goose Pond Shelter cooked up for us. I was feeling a lot better than I did yesterday and it looked like it was going to a great day for hiking. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go but my goal was to make it to Dalton, MA if my feet could make it. I hiked almost til noon by myself and then was joined by Big Brother (Younger hiker from Western Texas). Our pace almost the same but Big Brother was definitely a little faster. I kept up for as long as I could but ended up having to take a quick break. After I had something to eat I kept moving, aiming for Pittsfield Road in order to stop at the trail famous "Cookie Lady's" house. This very nice woman, bakes up batches of chocolate chip cookies for hikers that are passing thru on their way North or South. It was a welcomed break from the days miles. With a good energy boost, I continued on with Big Brother and we cranked out the remaining miles into Dalton. While hiking, we had a great conversation about where we were both from, education, religion, history and a little sociology. I told B.B. that I was trying to work out what direction I would be heading next in my life. He was going through the same thought process - as I'm sure many other thru hikers are. We pulled into town at six o'clock and went down to Tom Levardi's house. Tom has been helping hikers out for sometime by offering them a place to stay, as well as a shower, food and many other creature comforts. There were a lot of thru hikers both North and South bounders already hanging out. I introduced myself to Tom who told me how things worked and then I spent sometime catching up with some other thru hikers who I hadn't seen in awhile. I saw G-Force, who I hadn't seen since North Carolina, Snow Plow and Church Mouse and Tennessee Jed rolled in just as dinner was being served. It was great to see Church Mouse and Tennessee Jed. These are two real good guys that I enjoyed hiking with but could never keep up with. They had both gotten off the trail for different reasons but were back and hiking big miles. I doubt I will see these guys again, but I'll try to keep track of their progress. After eating some of the guys were playing Hackeysack. I had to join in. I hadn't kicked a hackey sack in years. I didn't even think that college aged kids played anymore. I showed the young bucks a few of my old school moves but kept it under control. I didn't want to pull a muscle or dislocate something. I think they were impressed that I could still lift my foot high enough to kick the hack! As the sun set everyone went inside or to their tents. I called Carissa to see how she was doing. It was nice as usual to touch base with her, but she had me concerned. She told me that she had gotten very ill the day/night before with a stomach virus. She said she was feeling better and would let me know if she needed me. It might have been the water she drank at the trailhead when she dropped me off. I went to bed tired after a long day and also worried about her.