Date: 2005-07-11
From: Cooper Lodge

To: The Inn at the Long Trail
Miles today: 6.2

Last night there were four of us in the shelter, a young couple hiking the LT, myself, and a SOBO AT hiker named Achilles ¢ after the tendon, not the hero! There were also two section hikers [engineers ¢ fuel cells, and Q.A.] tenting outside. Achilles had started at Katahdin in June, but could not climb the mountain because two-foot deep snow had closed it down.   It was a beautiful evening, and we all sat at the open windows to watch the sun set. A late arriving band of clouds spoiled what was still a pretty spectacular end of the day. The young couple had spent the previous night at the shelter, with icy winds blowing rain and fog through the windows, and a very leaky room letting in the rain. They had enclosed the lower bunk with their tent and fly, to try to stay dry and warm. What a difference a day makes.   It rained a little during the night, and I awoke to a misty fog drifting in and out of the shelter windows. I was on the trail early and my pack cover and rain jacket were soon discarded, as a bright sun broke through, and then dispelled, the light fog.   It was a grand hike ¢ almost all downhill in a perfect hiking day ¢ warm with a little breeze but no humidity. Took a midmorning break at Mendon Lookout and, even though I was trying to go slow, was at US4 before noon.   It is 0.9 miles to the Inn, and after some halfhearted efforts to hitch; I just decided to hike it. Memo to self: If it is less than a mile, hike it!   When I arrived here the receptionist called me by name and gave me a message from Prairie Dog, who had paid for a pint of Guinness and a Guinness Stew for me. After a quick shower, I was gobbling down the delicious stew, when in walked Kat! She had brought a twelve pack of Diet Coke for me! She was taking a zero day here because of knee problems and her parents had come to see her. They had seen me on my way to the Inn, as they drove by on their way to Rutland, and so she got me the Diet Coke there. I fantasize about ice cold Diet Coke ¢ in cans ¢ on hot days on the trail. What a nice thing to do for me!   The Inn is great ¢ well deserving of the excellent reputation that every hiker who has stayed here had lauded it for. Big Irish bar ¢ genuine photo of Michael Collins and a copy of the Easter Proclamation of 1916. It has the feel of the real thing. After lunch I took the shuttle bus ¢ pass provided by the Inn ¢ to Killington, and successfully retrieved my drop box ¢ no ID request this time ¢ and was soon back in my room stacked with snacks. Good cell signal here and had a long conversation with KT.   So I am showered, fed, resupplied, laundered, and snacked, all by 4:15PM, in a very hiker friendly Inn. Life is indeed good!      I was reminded today of the various names that the hikers had given to the various states:1. Massachusetts¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦Mosquitochusetts2. Vermont¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦..Vermud3. New Hampshire¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦..Neutered Hamster   [by Thunder]It is things like that that amuse you when you hike.      Kat is now called ¢Married to an Ex-Con¢ It seems that the first hitchhike of hers did not so smoothly, and the driver was asking a lot of very personal questions. The Two Wet Ladies told her that she should say, ¢I am married to an Ex-Con¢, and so she was named.   Yesterday when I jumped down off of a rock on the trail, my pilgrim scallop badge that I wear on my hat flew off and landed in a pool of water. It was amazing that I noticed it plop into the pool. As I reached into the pool to retrieve it, I had the strange sensation that I was replaying the role of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, when he retrieves the ring from the bottom of the river. Sediment arose from the bottom of the cold pool as my fist closed around the badge.   I have thought a lot about the significance of this occurrence ¢ all due to a faulty safety pin on the badge most likely. I however think that the badge was being baptized and sanctified by the water, and that it was also a caution not to be too proud of my pilgrim status! So the badge is now secure in the top pocket of my backpack ¢ or is it all due to a faulty safety latch? Amazing that I noticed it fall off and land in the pool however!   It is true that the simplest explanation is most likely to be correct ¢ it was just a faulty latch. Science is based on the concept of the null hypothesis ¢ if you can¢t prove it, it doesn¢t exist. Just as Ockhams Razor ¢ ¢entities in philosophy should not be multiplied beyond necessity¢ ¢ is a similar tool in logic. But belief without proof ¢ which is what faith is ¢ transcends these logical niceties, because it appeals to a very basic, fundamental, elemental need in our psyche that tells us that sometimes there is more than meets the eye, or the weighing scale of science and logic. There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than you have dreamed of in all of your philosophy!Thought for today ¢You just got to have faith.