Date: 2009-08-02
To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

The lookout turned out to be a popular spot this night. Although I went to sleep with the feeling of a sense of balance in the world, I didn¢t sleep well due to the combination of heat and mosquitoes! I finally fell asleep in the morning and didn¢t want to wake up. I heard the rain falling around 6:30, which allowed me to not feel so guilty about continuing to sleep. No one felt the need to rise early as most of the hikers planned on doing a short day of 14 miles. I wanted to do more, but didn¢t want to put too much stress on myself to do so. I got up around 7:30 and started packing. Minnesota Smith also happened to be staying with us (he had gotten off the trail for awhile and jumped ahead). As he packed and organized his assortment of plastic bags, Ewok could not contain himself and yelled down from the loft for him to take his ¢cacophony of plastic bags¢ outside as he could not sleep! In Minnesota Smith¢s defense, it was kind of time for everyone to be getting up... As much as this guy angered everyone on the trail at one time or another, it did seem to me that he was trying to be nicer to people at this point. Leon¢s dog, Halifax, slept in longer than his owner, and got up slowly, stretching out his hind legs one at a time, as far as they could reach, and then shaking out his whole body. This dog has to be the sweetest, most well-behaved dog I¢ve ever seen. I enjoyed hiking behind him for a little while. He retained his independence by stopping and sniffing out whatever caught his nose, but would always run ahead to catch back up with Leon. A couple of times, he would stop with his ears pricked, looking back at me to make sure I was coming.       I didn¢t plan on stopping at the first shelter that was 0.2 miles off the trail and only a couple of miles into the hike, but ended up going down to it to collect water. Leon was already there, and Giddy-up soon came in, followed by Prairie Dog. As I was reading through the register, Halifax came over and sat right next to me. He would soon lie down and nestle his head in my lap. It was the sweetest thing and I suddenly did not feel a rush to get water and get moving. What better feeling could there be? I was perfectly content. I finally had to gently lift his head off my lap and get some water. I thought to myself that dogs are so much better than men! They are always ready to be affectionate and they usually do what they are told. And they don¢t hurt us.      I packed up and headed up the side path, just as Mississippi was coming down! He actually said something to me, too! He asked if the group was down there. I smiled and told him they were. I looked into his eyes to see if he had anything else he wanted to say to me, but he kept his focus straight ahead.   I walked the next four miles alone. As I walked through the fields leading to Vermont 12, a man walking south told me there was a farm stand with things I might be interested in that was about 100 yards down the road. Our book did not tell us about this place. The three fastest hikers in the big group behind me caught up as I walked down the road. The place was absolute heaven! They had fresh fruit, ice cream, bread and pastries, and cold drinks! We were all suddenly so happy! The chairs on the porch filled up quickly, so I took my snacks to the big bench outside the back entrance. When I came around to the front, Mississippi was sitting on the stairs eating his watermelon. He did not acknowledge me, but later on, as we both went back into the store, I could feel the tension starting to disperse.      Once again, I was the first to head out. It was starting to rain, so I stopped to put my pack on. Sky King and another hiker were just heading down to the farm stand and he greeted me enthusiastically after not seeing me since Virginia.   I reached a stream and did not see where I was supposed to cross. Back and forth, I traveled, looking around to see if there was a path of rocks I could traverse without getting my feet soaked. After a lot of thinking, I decided to take off my shoes to get across. Giddy-up came along and did the same thing I did- looking for the best way to cross. He chose the same path that I took, but, as he is more skilled in rock-hopping than I am, he safely made it across without taking off his shoes. As I was drying off my feet and putting back on my socks, Giddy-up found some trail magic cokes and brought one over to me! MudD came along, and without any hesitation, quickly hopped across the rocks! Incredible! Cyborg followed, but ending up getting a foot soaking. She seemed undeterred. They swallowed their cans of cokes faster than I could take two sips and went on their way. Giddy-up thought I should stay to watch the others cross the river for entertainment.       We had a series of climbs ahead, which were not easy! I had to stop to adjust my ankle brace and a few more hikers passed by, including Ewok and Mississippi. On this rainy day, the ice was starting to thaw! Mississippi actually asked me if my ankle was okay!       By the time we reached Thistle Hill Shelter, as the rain started coming down harder, we were all exhausted. The climbs had taken their toll on us, and even though it was a relatively short day in terms of mileage, it felt like we had hiked much longer. The shelter quickly filled up. I had no problem staying in my hammock. I was wishing we could have a fire tonight. I really wanted to sing Wagon Wheel for the first time! However, the rain precluded any fires. I went to collect water, and sat beside Kog in the shelter to eat, as my blood sugar quickly began crashing. I started with beef jerkey, trail mix, and some skittles, but I got so cold that I needed to make some warm potato soup. I asked Kog if he knew Wagon Wheel. He did not. It seems that none of us northerners know it. Kog thought it was a hiker. The rain started coming down hard, creating the sound of thunder on the tin roof. Great! How was I going to set up my hammock? Leon started humming "It's Christmas Time" from Charlie Brown and it quickly got stuck in Kog's head.      Sky King came in, looking for a shelter spot. Kog volunteered to give up his and stay in his tent. He waited for the rain to let up in order to set up. In the meantime, I dashed out and tied up my hammock. As I went back to get my things, the rain started to come down in torrents! Kog¢s tent was now lying in a huge puddle! It would be quite a night for him, but I stayed nice and dry in my hammock.