Date: 2009-07-17
From: Tom Leonard Lean-to

To: Jerusalem Rd, Tyringham, MA
Miles today: 13.0

After a night of no sleep, we had to get up early because the mosquitoes never relented in attacking us. Blessed did not look happy. I felt bad for everyone and wanted to do something to make everything better. I had an idea! My friends were coming to meet me with a car! They could take us into town for a real breakfast! That would make us feel better, I thought. I went out behind the shelter and quietly tried calling Laura. I figured they must already be on their way. In fact, she hadn¢t left yet, but Andrew had. When I told her my idea, she didn¢t seem to understand. ¢Don¢t you have food with you?¢ she asked. I tried to explain to her the difficulty of the previous night and the fact that a real meal would be much preferable to oatmeal this morning. She connected me with Andrew, and we tried to make a new plan.          I went back to the shelter and asked Blessed and Mr. Pink if they wanted to go out for breakfast. Blessed seemed particularly excited about it. We had just two miles to go to get to MA 23, where Andrew and Olivia would meet us sometime after 8 am. So, we had plenty of time to kill. Strong beams of sunlight streamed through the evergreens, and we all took turns photographing the sight. When no one else was around the picnic table but me, Mr. Pink came over and asked what the rules for today were going to be. ¢I don¢t know¢¦¢One of the people who had stayed in the shelter last night was an older guy who had just re-established contact with his son after about sixteen years and had just learned that he had two grandchildren. He had celebrated with a lot of whiskey the night before¢¦ He asked if he could use my phone to call the woman who was mediating the reconnection, and was so thankful for the opportunity.          I went to use the privy and see the view from the tent platforms below the shelter, which I had heard was really nice. When I returned to the shelter, Mr. Pink was gone. He had already left! I guess he didn¢t want to hike with the both of us. I thought it was strange that he took off so suddenly without saying anything.         Blessed and I hiked the whole way together- past another ravine and through the forest, where we heard the sound of someone shouting through a megaphone in the distance, as if they were leading some exercises. As we came out to MA 23, I wondered if Mr. Pink would be there. He was. He said he stashed his pack behind some bushes. We waited there for Andrew and Olivia to arrive. Mr. Pink asked me for my phone number and e-mail. He always seemed to be texting people on the trail.         When Andrew and Olivia arrived, we all loaded into the car and took off toward Great Barrington. Calvin and Laura were going to meet us there. I felt a little bad because none of the lab people needed any food. I ordered two breakfasts for myself. When I don¢t get sleep, food is the only thing that helps. However, the addition of company definitely helped boost my energy levels today. While Mr. Pink talked with Andrew and Olivia in the car (poor Olivia had a hard time with the smell), Blessed and I went across the street to fill up our water bottles. Little things like that are so much more fun when you are with someone else. We dropped Blessed and Mr. Pink back at the trailhead, so they could get on with their hike (Blessed wanted to get to Upper Goose Pond that night), then drove to our ending point in Tyringham to drop off one of the cars, and then drove back to the trailhead. We had eleven miles to hike. Luckily, they were pretty flat, easy miles, but unfortunately for my friends, they did not provide any great views. We ran into a nice, older couple who took our picture and asked us if we were in high school! Then, we continued on to the shelter, where we took a lunch break. Laura had made us all sandwiches- peanut butter and honey for me (upon my request), as well as turkey and provolone. These were my first sandwiches on the trail, and they were delicious! She also bought a Trader Joe¢s raspberry pie, which she cut into pieces and distributed among us. I saved my piece for later.      Towards the end of our hike, it started raining, but we weren¢t out in it for long. We made our way back to the car and then headed for a restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice meal. During dinner, I got an e-mail from Mr. Pink, telling me that the twins had my jacket and that they'd be at Upper Goose Pond the next night! I was so happy!! I wrote him back, which was fun, as this was the first time I had e-mailed anyone on the trail besides Truckin'. After dinner, we had the biggest desserts ever! Five people could not manage to finish the humongous piece of chocolate cake and fruit cobbler! I started getting extremely tired at dinner because my body had stopped moving and desperately wanted to sleep. After we posed for a group photo, Andrew, Olivia, and Calvin sped off- back to Boston, and Laura drove me to her friend Peter¢s apartment, about 75 miles away. He was extremely welcoming to me, even though he had never met me before. I expected to sleep on the floor or the couch, but he insisted I sleep in his bed, which he had made up for me, and even put a teddy bear on top! He and Laura were going to go out for a beer, but all I wanted to do was take a shower and get some rest. It had been 8 days since I last showered. I hadn¢t realized how long it had been since I had slept in such a comfortable bed, either! I caught up on some e-mail and finally drifted off to luxurious sleep around midnight.