Date: 2003-06-16
From: Birthday in Boston

To: Reflections thus far
Miles today: 0.0

1/3 of the Trail to go in a month and a half...planning out my remaining maildrops startled me. Though a rude Connecticut man said "you're a long way from Maine" when I told him I was a thru-hiker, in trailtime I am actually quite close. Already I have to think about graduate school housing, buying a used car, getting back from Katahdin. I am so glad I took off these 3 days to center myself and remember that the Trail is not just about mosquitoes, it is about creating a different rhythm of life.Something I learned from being in New York and back home is that there has been and is a deep and slow shifting in how I look at the world and experience it. I feel more relaxed, more sure of myself, less worried about what others will think. To say I have "found myself" seems trite. I think I have just found deeper parts of myself, parts that make me feel more whole.But enough philosophizing. I know you came here to laugh and be entertained, so I thought I would give a brief profile of what the trail has been like recently.Yet again, Poptart has found herself hiking tandem with a group of guys! I know, a real shocker. I wish there was a group of girls, but there is a severe estrogen drought on the trail. In any case, Rockhound, Cheddar and Beefstick have been hiking together since Troutville. As a threesome, they are jokers: I said "F@$# you, Cheddar" within five minutes of meeting him because he was making fun of the fact that I signed the registers "Poptart-ku" for a while. Cheddar has been battling a resilient strain of some stomach bug; Rockhound and I have bet a pint of Ben and Jerry's as to what it is. He was as last I heard feeling much better after I gave him the Cipro prescription I carry for a rainy day.Java and Dimples fell behind to visit NYC, though they may now be even with me after this Boston jaunt (Skeist is driving me back on my birthday, when I'll hike a 6 or 10 mile half day). They've been hiking together so long that I felt a little "third-wheelish," so it is nice to bounce around the trail community again. I know a lot of the "ahead" crowd is taking off time for June weddings, so that should mix things up a bit.I am frankly quite scared of the bugs. Bring on the snow, rain, cold, even the heat! But bugs I really cannot handle. I talked to Salamander, an '02 thru hiker who works at the Harvard Square EMS; she said the one good thing about the drought last year was that the bugs were minimal. I am going to get some DEET and spray it on my clothes from now on, and bring a lightweight long sleeved top for hiking. I have a headnet for the blackflies and I will be bringing out my birthday present, a minidisc player, with some Enya music to calm my nerves when the swarms are about. Any tips on bug warfare? Let me know. The terrain is starting to get a little more challenging from an elevation perspective; I am SO excited for New Hampshire since I have so many memories of that part of the Trail from FOP and from Camp Dodge Trail Crew in high school. I may even do some side-trips in the Whites, down to 13 Falls or something. Since the orientation trips I led took me over the Prezzies, around Franconia Notch in the Pemi and up over Moosilauke and the Kinsmans, that's pretty much the National Forest! The last time I hiked those mountains, it was under 8 miles a day with a 50+ pound pack...this time the mileage is doubled and the weight is halved! Gear note: I am trading in my sleeping bag for a homemade fleece liner. We'll see how it works...I am going to bounce my bag up through the remaining maildrop locations (LISTED!) in case it gets colder.Love to all. I'll write when I can, though I suspect computers will be few and far between. Rockhound lives in VT 1 mile off the trail, so hopefully that will be a nice pre-NH stopping point. Happy trails. And check out the photos, totally out of chronological order for now, but still online :)