Date: 2003-10-13
From: White House Landing

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

I woke up early this morning after a rather restless sleep. It had been a bit noisy in the living room area that was located next to the bunk room. Big Bird had actually left at some point during the night...I found him on the front porch of the shower cabin. We went to the lodge to see if we could get breakfast, as we didn't know that we had to sign up for it the night before. When Big Bird knocked on the door, Bill didn't answer. I went to a window and called in to him, saying that we didn't know about the sign up sheet. He told me that his wife said we were there when she talked about signing up for breakfast, and he was only making breakfast for the three who had signed up..."all the prep work had been done the night before". We had left the lodge early last night to put our backpacks in the bunk room, and hadn't been there when Linda discussed signing up for breakfast...I felt as if we were being called liars. Big Bird went in, when Bill opened the door to the l!odge, and said that we hadn't been there, but Bill insisted that his wife said we were...and "the sign-up book was right there". Big Bird left, going back to the bunk house, and I stayed to at least have some coffee. After the people who had signed up ate, there were a few leftovers, which Bill offered to me, telling me I should go get Big Bird as well. I did, and we had a small amount of eggs, a piece of bacon each, some home fries and Bill made us each a toasted english muffin. It was then that he said that "this is on the house, you know"...as if someone else's table leavings were a huge gift. Despite the beauty of the spot we were in, I couldn't wait to get away from there. There are some people on the Trail who are truly out here to help the hikers, and others who are out here to get every last penny a hiker has, while treating you poorly. I felt that the brusque (sp?) manner with which we treated was not necessary, and it left a bad taste in my mouth for the wh!ole place. I can recommend the food there, and Linda was very nice tome, but that's about it. If you go there, be prepared to drop a large sum of money. We went back over to the other side of the lake with Laughing Bird, Curly Dan and Seamus, and hiked back to the Trail. We said goodbye to them as we headed north and they followed the Trail south. Flying Bear didn't join them, as he had dislocated a toe yesterday while he was canoing...a freak accident. You just never know what might happen out here. Big Bird and I had a good pace going...about 2.5 miles per hour. It was another gorgeous day, although a little cooler. We stopped for lunch at the south end of Nahmakanta Lake, which is where I had started hiking with Grapenut and the youth group several years ago. It felt good to have reached that spot again. We spoke with a couple of older gentlemen who were passing through. It's funny, sometimes, to be such a novelty to people. And of course, there's all the usual questions...how far do you hike a day?, how much does your pack we!igh?, when did you start?, etc. They left, and we got ready to hike some more...we wanted to put in 15 miles today. At the next shelter, I went to use the privy and saw a pack that I didn't recognize, but a small stuffed Grinch that I did. I just couldn't remember who it was that carried it...JimboTrek came out of the privy...I last saw him at Glencliff. He told me that Emily, Double A, Slack and Free Radical were about half an hour ahead. I know I won't be seeing them before they summit...they hike too fast for me. Jimbo hadn't seen Big Bird since VA, so they got caught up on each other's hikes, then Jimbo joined us for the rest of our day's hike. He decided to night hike on for another 3.8 miles to the next campsite. We were in pain from the day we'd put in and were staying put at this shelter. We wished him luck as he headed out after eating some dinner, then got settled into the shelter for the night. It's definitely colder tonight, but good for sleeping. I n!eeded to take a flexeril tonight in addition to ibuprofen...my legs and feet really ache! Hopefully it will be a restful night!