Date: 2007-09-17
From: 3 miles north of Kinsman Notch, NH

To: Lonesome Lake Hut, NH
Miles today: 10.4

I woke up in a soggy tent and kind of damp down sleeping bag. The humidity here is nearly 100 percent. I actually got a little chilly due to not zipping my bag all the way up and the dampness. I noticed that a hiker had come through, actually stomped thru. I thought it may have been "No Pain". When I got moving, I had to dry all of my stuff out before I could go. If you have not done any camping, it is important to take advantage of morning sunshine to dry out anything that got wet the day before or last night. Some hard core hikers would just pack it all up and go; having to make miles. This leads to moldy clothes; trench foot; and a much heavier pack than necessary. Everything did dry out and as I got going; I saw two older couples going southbound. I asked them if they saw a guy that looked like a mix of Richard Pryor or Graddy on SANFORD & SON. They stared at me and said that they only saw one young boy boy named "BlackFoot" several hours ago. I said thanks and headed out to catch him. The trail was much of the same. I really dont know how to explain it except it is like a steeplechase in the woods, only with rock barriers that rise 20 feet high in places. It was not too bad over MT Wolf and by The Eliza Brook Shelter; but, I looked up at the monstrosity called Kinsman Mtn and stopped and ate 4 packets of tuna in sunflower oil(180 calories each). Protein is becoming my second best friend, after coffee of course. I then began the nearly vertical climb at times with feet and hands grabbing at footholds. It is just torturous; but, awesome. I did it without stopping and got to the top and threw my sopping wet dewrag and shirt to the ground. Two weeklong warriors looked at me and boasted of their plans of dong the whites in 5 days. I said good luck; took some pics; and went as fast as I could down to The Lonesome Lake Hut. At one point, the trail was a creek for about a quarter mile and one mistake meant a great slide. I got to the hut and there was Blackfoot. He was eating like a king. I had to wait till he and the paying guests were done and eat the leftovers. That was cool, it gave me time to freshen up as there were quite a few members of the opposite sex running the hut and as guests. In the Whites there are a series of huts that are run by the AMC(Appalachian MTn club). They cost about 90 bucks a night; but, they reserve several spots for thru hikers to work for stay. That is the option that I chose. After everyone was done eating, I had a grand meal of split pea soup, homemade pumpernickel bread, chicken, and rice. With cookies for dessert. I had heard about the huts for years and it was great to be at one. The "Croo" was very friendly. Blackfoot and I stayed in our own bunkroom and talked most of the night. I eventually had to tell him that we needed to be quiet or I would talk to him all night. OK, here is what we talked about: if you do not know; BlackFoot & "Keymaster"(female) had a little incident in Port Clinton, PA. His story goes like this: At the time he is 20 years old and Keymaster is 23. It is this year around mid July. He and her go to the Port Clinton Hotel and drink non-stop for 5-6 hours. Yes, he is under age at the time. He says that Keys gets totally wasted and is spitting on the floor and cussing at the bartender. He and her leave. OK;;;;TMI Time: they go back to a pavilion that the town allows hikers to use for overnight camping. Well, she is so drunk that she "shat" herself. He says that he thinks about the private home with a pool next door and he leads her to the pool to clean herself. They are swimming around and he thinks that they may have relations. Well, then the owners drive up and see them and began cussing saying, " you !$))$$ hikers; you dont respect #%#@&* ". The male of the house begins to beat Blackfoot with a wiffle ball bat and when he gets tired, he hands it to his wife who begins to beat Keys with it. They call the police. The police write them a ticket for trespassing and tells them how much he likes hikers. OK, do I believe all of it? I have done hundreds of investigations/interogations. I know the kid is smooth and admits to doing some other swimming trespassing in December. Anyway, he and Keys have been blacklisted all along the trail. He finds out that I was made a "Billville" member by "Trail Angel Mary" and thinks that I am going to beat the hell out of him. I told him to call "Bag Of Tricks", Billville member and Port Clinton area resident, and make it right. Five minute window story(For "KaterPillar" AT 2007"): Blackfoot is in Dalton, Mass and sees a beautiful blonde sitting on a park bench. He spontaneously goes and spends his last 20 bucks on his debit card to by flowers for the young lady. He buys them and goes to present them to her and she says, before he can give her the flowers, "your the most gorgeous man that I have ever seen!" They then come back to Tom's and I meet her and they spend the night together. And then the next day, the go to Cape Cod for 3 days with the girls family. With the "upity" girls family wondering who this stinky drifter is and where did he come from!