Date: 2004-08-16
From: Salisbury CT

To: Dalton MA
Miles today: 69.5
Weather: mist

Slimer (Jorma) called in from Dalton MA 8-15-2004 @ 10:30 pm from pay phoneI left kent Ct on 8-11-04, got in here yesterday but decided to spend the night here. Spread my sleeping bag out on the ground, in the back yard of a church.woke around 2 am to the sound of thunder and lightning, grabbed my stuff and ran to the church stoop. This is where I slept, it was dry here.Re-supplied here in Kent and pushed on in the pouring rain. I have never seen it rain so hard, trail is a river. Very rugged through here, yet so beautiful.Ran upon BeatBox, very nice fellow. Carries a gallon plastic jug of water in his hand all the time.Was at a shelter the other night. Hiker and his dog were sleeping in the top bunk, poor ole dog fell out of the bunk, he was not hurt, did wake everyone up with his howling.Dad said Barking Spider sent a post card thanking me for some trail magic I left way down the trail, You're very welcome Mr. Barking Spider. I'll keep the card and put it in my journal book.Dad read off my guest book entries, one from Archie and Teresa. Glad to hear Archie is feeling better, I have been worried about him ever since dad told me he was in the hospital. Archie's my fishing buddy.Good water is easy to find now, springs everywhere. NJ can take a lesson from here concerning water. The other night dark caught me, storm coming, came upon a trailhead. Got off and there was a school house with a smaller building next to it. The small building looked like an old school house, it had a porch on it with hedge bushes around the porch. I spread my sleeping bag on the porch as it had started raining again. Several times during the night a police car would come by, they didn't see me behind the hedge bushes on the porch.I now know exactly how a homeless person feels. The only difference between a homeless person and a thru-hiker is "Gortex".My gear is holding up good, I'm doing ok. Toe nail on my big toe is coming off, thanks to those PA rocks. It turned black when I jammed it on some rocks a while back. One of my hiking poles is giving me some trouble, will have to work on it.Met up with some hikers, "Doc Narley" met a group of south bounders from Wilmington NC, called themselves "The Disfunctional Family".Raining and cold, down in the mid 50's, when your wet that's cold, soaked through and through and no end in sight. Very beautiful through here, beavers everywhere, trout streams. Still finding blackberries as I go north.Came across a ridge line, very narrow path, at the right edge of the path was sheer cliff's, hundreds of feet down, one slip or stumble and you will be dead! I'm really pushing hard, too hard. Have to beat the weather up north of me. Already snowing on the higher mountains north of me I've heard.I have averaged 18.1 miles a day since I left Harpers Ferry 545 miles ago. This will have to do, I cannot push any harder. Too dangerous through here to do much night hiking.Got into Hemlock Shelter "Friday the 13th", pouring rain, cold, late at night. I had my headlamp on, go in the shelter, very dark. There's a hiker there, I ask if there's any room left. The hiker said the loft was full, bunks are full, that I might find room on the floor. I really don't like crowded shelters and am thinking of moving on. I ask the hiker how far it is to the next shelter. He said about 12 miles. Then he said you're not really thinking about trying to make 12 more miles tonight are you ? I turn to answer him, my light shines across his face... My God the other hiker is (Adam) Gather!!!! I've caught my brother after 1,554 miles and so many weeks I'm standing here talking to my brother!!We could not believe that we didn't catch each others voice!! We stare at each other!! We sat down and talked a while. So who said "Friday The 13th Was an Un-Lucky Day" !! and also on the eve of his birthday.We get up the next morning, a lot of the hikers are cheering and clapping as most of them had heard of us up and down the trail. We head out into the pouring rain together, this time putting two feet in front of the other heading north with two big grins....... Well finally the long chase is over, I have caught my brother and on his birthday at that! We hike all day, have our sight set on Goose Pond Cabin. This is a shelter with 4 walls and a caretaker. They cook breakfast there. "PANCAKES"!! we get in there late wet as two rats. Turn in and go to sleep.Next morning I wake late, Gather and the other hikers have cleaned out everything, no pancakes left, just crumbs !!! Gather looks at me and said, "When you snooze, you lose". I pack up and hit the trail, leave Gather behind.... I hike through the rain, find some trail magic, I need the sugar bad, I'm out of food! I still cannot believe that bunch ate everything!!Push hard to Dalton MA, I have to make it, no choice, it's do or starve!!Make it into Dalton, walking down the street, it's dark and wet. walk by a man setting on a porch, he asks where I'm going, Bird Cage Hostel I tell him. He tells me I can spend the night on his front porch if I want to. I'm worn out, I accept his offer. He tells me he just might have some ice cream. He goes in, comes back later with a banana split!! Then tell's me he has pasta cooking! By the almighty grace of God, where do these people come from....While I'm setting there a van pulls up, man gets out and says he's looking for "Slimer" and "Gather". I say I'm Slimer, he tells me his name is "Rob Bird" and owns the Bird Cage Hostel. Said he had a bunk saved for Gather and I, I tell him I left Gather back in the woods somewhere. Then I explain to him that Tom was fixing pasta, but promised I would get by to see him tomorrow. I hated to pack up and leave after what Tom was doing for me. But of course that bunk would feel better than the porch too. Tom Levardi,is the mans name, 83 Depot Street, Dalton MA, this address is in the Thru-Hikers book. he has an A/T sticker on his front porch. He lets hikers sleep on his porch and camp in his back yard. I eat and go to bed on the front porch, better than the woods on a rainy night for sure.Tom goes to work around 4 am, tells me to stay as long as I like. I wake next morning. gather comes walking into town. We go to a diner and have breakfast. While there Paparazzi comes in, we have breakfast together. After breakfast we split up to re-supply and what not.I leave and go to the Bird Cage to see Rob Bird. Now Rob Bird has gone out and bought a huge ice cream birthday cake for Gather!! I go out and get some candles and a card. There must be 12 or 15 Hikers there, mostly south bounders.They all sign his birthday card, they were, "Big Doug" "Grey Goose" "Kid Smiley" "Impulse" "BackDraft" "PaceMaker" "Turtle" "Skeet Skeet" "Hemingway" "Hiking Bear" and a few more.Rob Bird goes to the Village Inn (Gather has checked in there) and picks him up, Gather walks in, there sets a cake on the table with 21 candles burning. The whole crowd erupted into a Happy Birthday song. Ole Gather was quit suprisedI must say. We all had a good ole time. This will be one birthday Gather and myself will never forget as long as we live!!! And Mr. Rob Bird, what a fellow, he took pictures, said he would e-mail them to dad at LHALE@RTMC.NET.I explain to Mr. Rob Bird I want to spend the night with Gather, he understood.So gather and I make our way back to the Village Inn, call home and turn in, been a long day.Mr. Gather I have not forgotten the PANCAKES! I don't get mad, I get even!!In the morning we will leave here heading north, putting two feet in front of the other with two big wicked grin's