Date: 2005-08-10
From: Dartmouth Athletic Fields, Hanover

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Hopeful:   We slept SO much better and got up SO much earlier than yesterday! We were thankful to discover that Darmouth priortizes soccer over shotput, because we awoke to the sound of a huge sprinkling system turning on, frightningly near to our tents. At 5 AM, we peered out the tent door and breathed a sigh of relief to see that it hit the soccer field which we were alongside, but not directly ON. Yet we wondered if it might cycle next to the shotput area, so we hustled out of our sleeping bags in record time. Red Wing was partly motivated by the hope that the nearby gas station might have coffee. He and Hairball wandered over to investigated, and succeeded in convincing the attendant to let them in before 6 AM when they actually open. They returned with smiles on their faces, and our morning was further facilitated by the presence of the port a johns alongside the fields. We were easily packed and ready by 7 AM and we set out to hit the moutnains, all 4 of us (Hairball, Snowbunny, Red Wing and me). The hike was not hard until the last mountain in the heat of the day. Early on, Moose Mtn. was a comfortable climb and we had lunch at the shelter between the south and north peaks. Getting up to Holt's ledge was a different story. Water was scarce, too, since it's been a dry summer, so we may have been a little dehydrated. Still, an early start means and early finish and we pulled in to Trapper John Shelter at 3:15 PM, all with naps on our minds. We did only the essentials-- getting water and drinking lots, and setting up the tents-- before falling asleep. After an hour or so, we found enough energy to get up and cook dinner. Hairball even made a fire, which helped with the mosquitoes, but also made a hot day even more toasty!   We were picking up and thinking about bedtime when in walk two friends from Michigan, Teresa and Jon Derhammer! We know best their older sister, Kristina, whom we've both known for years, initially through Spartan Christian Fellowship during our years at Michigan State University. But after visits with Kristina and camping trips, we've gotton to know her family as well. Teresa is a now a state alumni, and Jon is most likely a future Spartan. Jon came out to Maine to drive back to Michigan with Teresa, after her year working their with Ameri/Health Corps. We had exchanged some emails wondering if it might work to see them on their way. When we last spoke, we said we'd be here tonight if they wanted to park below and hike in a mile south. As the sun got lower in the sky, we were sure they must have decided to move on, yet just as we said it to Hairball and Snowbunny, there they were, coming down the path!    Red Wing headed back to their car to help collect camping gear and I'm here tending the fire alone for awhile, since the others went to bed. I've hardly been along out here these past 4 months, especially at night. Hairball and Snowbunny aren't far, but it's still amazing where my imagination goes when I hear the sounds of the woods in the dark. I tried to sit in the shelter at first, but the rustle of mice wasn't exactly my style, so instead I'm on a rock, battling mosquitoes. Oh, I see a headlamp coming back down the trail, so they must have made it! They come bearing gourmet smore fixings... chocolate grahams, white chocolate with marshmellows and black rasberry jam. Yum!