Date: 2009-09-10
From: Campsite South of North Twin Spur

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 5.2

Highlight: Our first work-for-stay and a 1 hour, 20 min. presentation to 26 guests at the Zealand Falls Hut.We woke up in our stealth spot to the sun rising, again, over the horizon. It was a short day today, only 5.2 miles, because we had run out of food and needed to do a much-needed stop at the Zealand Falls Hut. On the way to the hut, I stopped to talk with Phoenix (the Inquirer), who I hadn't seen since 30 miles into the trail at Neel's Gap. He is the one who was bitten by a rabid raccoon in a shelter in Maryland, while he was sleeping. He explained how he was fast asleep and this raccoon just dug its fangs into his skull. He knew that something in his head was hurting and as he stood up, there was a 10 lb. THING that was hanging from his head, still attached. He flung his head forward and the raccoon flew to the front of the shelter. Then, he started screaming up a storm and as a fellow thru-hiker in the shelter turned on her headlamp, they could see a raccoon with blood all over its face. He was a bit shaken from the experience, had to get a rabies shot, and took 6 weeks off from the trail to recover, deciding to flip-flop to Maine and hike south to complete his hike. He is STILL hiking in Crocs and his feet have turned a dark black colour. Quite gross, but amazing that he is still doing well. I also met Neal from Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a mid-30's man and has a nice roll to his R's. We chatted about life in Scotland and I was interested to hear more about what he thinks about life in the UK vs. life here in the States. Jungli, Neal, and I hiked north, while Phoenix continued south. At Zeacliff, we reached a point that had magnificent views of the surrounding area and we could see the large peak of Mt. Washington far in the distance. It was hard to imagine that we would be climbing up that ridge in just a few days time. We also met two older females, presumed to be a couple, and chatted with them about life on the AT. Then, we made our way to Zealand Falls Hut. While there, we bargained our way into doing a work-for-stay. We also met a couple Neal and Robin - Neal originally from Bristol, UK and now they are living in Santa Monica, CA. A new friend, Chef Fred, came along and decided to do a work-for-stay too. Chef Fred is a French-Canadian, but has lived his formative years in Philadelphia and most recently in Washington, DC. He is a hysterical good-natured guy and we were cracking up at some of his off-the-cuff jokes. Another thru-hiker, a southbounder, also did a work-for stay. As friendly as the Zealand Falls Hut staff were, they made us wait out in the cold (temps had plummeted to just above freezing), while the guests for the evening sipped hot coffee and ate their delicious meals inside. We felt like the unwanted family member watching a household through a window eat their Thanksgiving dinner next to a warm fire. While we were out there, Andrew, the Hut's naturalist, came out and asked if Jungli and I would like to do a presentation for the staff as part of our work-for-stay. We agreed and, after we scarfed down dinner at 8:30 pm, we started our presentation. As we had hoped, the presentation turned into a Q&A and I felt that we absolutely rocked it. At the end, Ben, the croo of the hut, took us aside and said, "Honestly, we have had many thru-hikers come through and do the same presenation, but you guys were by far the best". Neal from the UK told us that we were absolutely 'brilliant' and we received many other great comments about the presentation. Even a group of high school kids came up to us and said that we did a great job and continued asking us questions about our trek. It was very enjoyable to be in front of people, sharing some stories of our journey from Georgia to Maine. At night, we slept on the floor of the dining room.