Date: 2017-07-18
From: Rattle River Shelter

To: Gorham
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: few clouds

7/18Gorham - Rattle River Lodge, formerly White Mountains Lodge and Hostel2 milesA firefly spent much of the night flashing his signal against the shelter ceiling. Pretty, but I don't think he'll find a mate in there. I woke up for the final time after many night time wakenings, sore from sleeping on my super thin pad. Goddess was packing things up. I packed my (hole-y) sleeping pad and my sleeping bag, then with much distaste put on my wet clothes from yesterday. You know the Mr Yuck face on the poison sign? That's the face I made. Safari couldn't wait to see Le Chef so she left first. I took time to eat a little bit and take my vitamins. Boss and Goddess left as I was finishing my packing. I made more faces as I put on wet socks and shoes. I brushed my teeth and I was ready to go. The two miles went super fast, both in measured time and in experienced time. Almost immediately I was walking into the hostel, shedding my clothes, and taking a shower. Bliss! Also a little scary when I looked in the mirror. The chafing around my armpits is horrible. Not sure if it's the heat, long hours of hiking, or walking in soaked clothes from the torrential rain. Or all three. Or something else entirely. I hope the short day today lets it heal some. As soon as we were all clean, Le Chef arrived and we went into Gorham for breakfast. Welsh's was super slow but the food was good and plentiful. I demolished a ham and tomato grilled cheese. Next door was an outfitter. I replenished my supply of Tenacious Tape and looked at the sleeping pads. I decided to check Walmart before deciding. All the options were either heavy (various old school Thermarests) or bulky (foam pads). Despite Safari's distaste for the place, we next visited Walmart. The sleeping pads there were even worse. I bought food to get me to Andover, though. I was excited to find the cheese and spinach tortellini that I love. I've looked for them in the last three towns with no success. On the way back through town, Le Chef stopped outside the outfitter again so I could bop in to buy a Thermarest. At 22 oz it's the heaviest pad I've carried in years. And the thinnest. I bet it's way more comfortable than my minuscule sit pad, though. (BTW one of the Sierra Club folks in the Presidentials called hers a sit-upon. Haven't heard that term in years!)Back at the hostel, I packaged food for five days. I'm taking advantage of the generosity of Safari and Le Chef by leaving some items in their vehicle over this next stretch. I'll use some of it for my Andover resupply, and some I'll probably send home. Taking supplements, repair gear, and couple of other things out of my pack will more than make up for the heavier sleeping pad. I was clumsily rolling the Thermarest up after inflating it and Safari couldn't take it. She made me hand it over so she could show me how to put my knee on it while rolling it so it will compress down to a small package. I hadn't used a self inflating pad in so long that I'd lost the knack. I ordered a new hip belt for my pack. When I got the new pack, I ordered the next size down hip belt. It's already pulled as tight as it will go. I imagine I'll need an even smaller one in a month or so. At some point I'll reach the  limit of the width of my pelvis, right?Despite knowing that Mahoosuc Notch and Mahoosuc Arm are waiting for me, I'm excited to be heading into Maine.  It's not easy hiking, but it's so beautiful I don't care.