Date: 2004-09-05
From: Story Spring Lean-to

To: Spruce Peak Lean-to
Miles today: 18.4

¢Oh think twice, it¢s just another day for you and me in Paradise.¢ Right now I am in paradise. Another beautiful 18 mile day, cool new friends, and a nice shelter for me to drift away in. Just breathing is fun right now. Ahhh!I awoke at 6:45 and hit the trail at 7:15 alone. My first 3.8 miles were easy and downhill. I drifted away into my own brain where I figured out my miles per day for every state (with zeros factored in). The results are below: Mpd = miles per day                mphd = miles per hiking day Georgia ¢ 11.2 mpd                11.2 mphd (no zeros)NC/Tenn ¢ 9.8 mpd                 14.7 mphd (13 zeros)Virginia ¢ 10.5 mpd                 14.5 mphd (14 zeros)W. Virginia ¢ 3.5 mpd         13.5 mphd (4 zeros)Maryland ¢ 14.5 mpd                14.5 mphd (no zeros)Pennsylvania ¢ 8.5 mpd         13.4 mphd (10 zeros)New Jersey ¢ 10.0 mpd        12.7 mphd (1 zero)New York ¢ 11.1 mpd         12.7 mphd (1 zero)Connecticut ¢ 8.0 mpd         9.5 mphd   (1 zero)Massachusetts ¢ 6.2 mpd         16.9 mphd (9 zeros) (I¢m a math dork).As I reflect on the above results I see a few things. A) I take too many zeros. B) I am capable of hiking well. C) I pushed too hard in Massachusetts. OK, that¢s enough of ¢Beatbox the Math Dork¢, now back to my day.Three miles in, I followed a woods road in my daze. Near a half mile later I realized I was off the trail¢¦DOH! As I backtracked I met another hiker, Chris, making the same mistake. I turned him around and we returned to the trail together. As we returned to the trail Chris and I talked. He and his girlfriend Kate are out for 4 weeks to hike the Long Trail. I beatboxed for him and we joked. Soon we met his friend Mike who drove in to give him a food drop and Katie walked up as well. I had friends!!!At the road 3.8 miles in, Chris and Katie packed in their food. They gave me a Luna Bar and a Gatorade Bar¢¦Woohoo! It was 10:45 a.m. when I, Chris, Katie, Mike, and Mike¢s dog began to hike Stratton Mountain. While Stratton is nearly 4,000 feet in elevation the climb is gradual. Over 3.8 miles we talked. I shared about my hike and they told me of home in Northern Vermont. As we all talked and joked the mountain seemed to climb itself. With a half-mile to the top a bad thing happened: ¢The Talker¢ caught up to us (from last night at the shelter). The talker is a nice guy, but has a proclivity to repeat long drawn-out stories about his East-West hike in the early 70s. Somehow he can always turn the conversation back to that hike¢¦doh. Sure enough, he was talking about Route 50 in Colorado within a few minutes, but we were quite fortunate; we reached the top of Stratton. There at Sratton we ate lunch. It was really cold! Sadly, ¢The Talker¢ hiked on :-) . I ate pepperoni and cheese tortilla again¢¦yum. As we sat and ate a group of tourists walked up from the gondola. One particularly precocious man pointed out the holes in my socks. I informed him that I would happily let him buy new ones :-) . He had his 8-year-old son ask us questions though, and I¢ll admit that was cute. As we sat there another guy gave us cookies :-) and numerous tourists stared at us. I felt like a zoo attraction¢¦but at least I had cookies. After lunch Mike went back to his car and Chris, Kate, and I moved on. I cannot stress how cool Chris & Kate were. They both are very involved in music and of course hiking, so we had plenty to talk about. We were enjoying another discussion when, CRAP!, we caught up to ¢The Talker¢. This time, however, I took control. Kate asked about ¢trail magic¢ and I proceeded to describe (in detail) every act of kindness I have received. By the time I finished 30 minutes later the talker had stopped for lunch. Just reflecting on how nice people have treated me made me smile and amazed Chris & Katie. (Thanks Robin, Crazy Pace, Socks, Rob, and everyone :-) ). At 2:30 p.m. we reached Stratton Pond Shelter. In hopes of evading ¢the talker¢ Chris and Katie decided to push on after a break. When we walked 2 minutes more we reached ¢Stratton Pond¢.The pond was awesome and the caretaker was setup in her tent. Her name was Kara and she soon emerged with fudge coconut brownie¢¦Woohoo! She had apparently just had a birthday. She works for the GMC (Green Mountain Club) and is in charge of collecting $6.00 for stay at Stratton Pond Shelter. Apparently she is used to thru-hikers yelling at her for the charges and she seemed very happy that we were friendly. Kara had an electric personality (cute, too :-) ) and we all joked and laughed together. Next thing I know Chris is in the lake buck naked (true ¢Vermont¢ boy). We had a great time and took pictures (after Chris re-clothed himself). All was perfect when ¢¦doh¢¦the talker arrived.OK, I need to give ¢the talker¢ a break. He hiked with us for 5 miles from the pond and was very well-behaved. He joined conversation and did not try to take over. The 4 of us actually all had a nice time as we covered a flat stretch heavily covered in the wood. At 5:15 Chris and Katie reached the shelter and were done. I said goodbye to my 2 friends¢¦hard to believe I met them today. I hiked my last 2.6 miles alone. The end of my day was an easy road walk to Prospect Rock. The rock was a beautiful view of the valley with Manchester below. There I prayed and soaked it all in. That¢s when I realized: I had just crossed the 34 mark for the trail. WOW! 20 minutes later I arrived at the shelter. Tonight one other hiker, Kenpo, is here. He thru-hiked in 1972¢¦WOW! The shelter is nice, has a door and stove, and someone even left marshmallows. I¢m about to eat dinner now (2 other hikers, ¢Mario¢ and Keith just arrived with a cute little wiener dog). For the second day in a row I followed my plan. I met cool people, relaxed, and enjoyed myself. I love it out here! Now, for some Cajun Chicken Ramen¢¦.God Bless,BEATBOX   ttt