Date: 2010-04-07
From: Standing Bear Farm hostel

To: Max Patch Bald
Miles today: 13.6

Day 32I am in my tent for the first time in 2 weeks. My tent is all mesh except for the floor and I have the rain fly off. I am camping on top of Max Patch Bald and can see mountains for 360 degrees around me and a million stars above. There are eight tents up here but the bald is so big that it doesn't feel crowded at all. Plus thruhikers are the best people to hang around with. Its been a nice night so far and the sunset was very colorful. I have my tent set up to each the sunrise from my sleeping bag. I just hope the rain doesn't come in early.I just reread the last night's journal entry which I actually wrote while sitting on the bald on Snowbird Mountain. The view was so pretty, the sun beaming hot and a cool breeze blowing across the soft grass. I just had to drop pack, strip off the shoes and shirt and sit in the sun practically naked. And there I wrote my journal entry. The screen of my Droid was nearly a mirror from the sun shining on it.   I thought I was typing OK but it was mostly guess work since the screen was so hard to see. After rereading the entry I have determined that I am an utter failure at typing while practically naked on a bald with sunlight reflecting off the screen. I apologize to anyone who tried to read that gobbily goop. I will try to do better.Today I walked uphill for nearly all 13.6 miles it took to get to this fabulous awesome beautiful grassy bald. I thought I would seize up and die a couple times. It was really hot. I am very afraid of the coming summer. I will definitely have to hike early and siesta in the middle of the day if I am to survive. On a fun note, I got a really strong phone signal so I called my old office around 1 pm today. It was fun to talk to everyone on speaker phone while I walked. I hoped they didn't mind the heavy breathing when I went up a hill.Kashmir is here on the bald tonight along with hightower, tin tin, dufus, a southbounder named Lucky and a few others. Squash is a day ahead and team Godat is probably at the last shelter 6 miles behind me, as is Cotton and Holy Smoke and Brisket. Trish I have been thinking about you guys a lot and would really like to see you guys in June if you can manage a trip to Terry's house. I still haven't figured out where I will be but I will find a way to get back to his house. As it is now it looks like I will be in Hot Springs Friday night and then back on the trail Saturday. If I even think the words " zero day" I want someone to kick Mr in thebutt and toss me out of town. Then its 70some miles to Erwin Tennessee where I will definitely zero for a day or two. I might even get in some whitewater rafting if it stays this warm. After that I have no idea what's coming. I haven't looked that far in the guidebook yet .Its full dark now and the world is an amazing place. When I lower this Droid and get its light out of my eyes the beauty of our planet just astounds me. A sea of darkness around me with dots of light on the horizon and stars shining down on all of it. There is a streak of low hanging clouds that are glowing with soft light. And the cherries sticking up out of the icing are the silhouettes of the various tents up here, especially the one that is lit from within. Time to close up shop here and just take it all in as I drift off to sleep.So goodnight and sweet dreams to all of you out there not living the under the stars Dream.