Date: 2004-05-30
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Harper's Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Ahhhhhh¢¦ Nice cold water on the feet! As I soak my feet in this cold stream, and reflect on my day, I realize how quickly time is going by. Here it is almost June! I¢m two months, three days into my trip and by June 20th, I should be halfway to Katahdin. I¢ve come so far yet still have a long, painful, and exciting journey ahead of me. I¢ve found that I¢m getting a bit tired of being out here, mainly because I miss family and friends, yet everyday I am out here, I¢m excited about what¢s to come. I¢m getting more and more anxious to get into the North East. I can feel something pulling me, which is probably why I¢m doing a ridiculous number of miles each day. As opposed to the South, I think I perceive the N.E. as more my kind of atmosphere. We¢ll have to see when I get up there. Last night/early morning was a bit freaky. I had my tarp set up away from the shelter and crowded camp. Sometime in the early morning I¢m wakened by what sounds like a child yelling for help. However, it sounded very eerie, almost like the voice was out of a low budget horror film. The voice kept repeating ¢Help! Can somebody please help me? I¢m lost. H-E-L-P!¢ I called out to the voice and whistled to let him/her know where camp was and got no response. Shortly after, I heard a tent zipper open and close at the nearby Boy Scout camp. I¢m pretty sure I was a headlamp bobbing out in the woods. The strange thing was before I heard the tent zipper, it had sounded like the voice was getting further away. As I tried to get back to sleep, my brain was working hard on an explanation. One possibility was that the kid was, in fact, with the Boy Scouts and went sleep walking or had to get up for pee, losing his way back to camp. Another possibility is that I dreamed the whole thing, although I¢m pretty sure I was awake. Finally, the child was a spirit that was trying to lure someone out so it could devour their soul. What¢s weird is that no one else seemed to be wakened by the yelling. No one got up, stirred, or called out. The camp was packed last night so I¢m sure someone would have heard and responded, especially because there were guides and parents. The yelling was loud enough that I¢d don¢t see how everyone could have slept through it. After that little event, I slept in a bit the next morning and read my newly acquired register that I will be mailing back to its master. Nothing too interesting. I decided to go for the free lunch that the B&B in Montebello was offering. It was a mile walk off the trail, but worth it. Hobbs, Red Lily, and I got picked up by the owners. We met K2 there who had walked almost the entire 3 miles and also ran into Joanne. We were served lemonade, fresh cream of asparagus soup, good hotdogs with real pickle relish, Mac & Cheese, and cheesy potatoes. Yum! While we waited for the shuttle ride back, I did a quick check on my e-mail and enjoyed a magazine. Ooo¢¦ almost forgot the cherry pie we got for desert! All & all, I did a little over 14 miles today, which is pretty good considering how long I was at the B&B.Met a girl at Spy rock whop gave me some yogurt and also got some trail magic at Tye River. Someone had left a trash bag full of apples, Oreos, and snickers for thru-hikers. Very generous! I was tempted to take a few of the King Size Snickers, but decided to leave plenty for the multitudes of hikers coming behind me. No sense in being greedy! I¢m already getting a ton of Trail Magic as it is! Time to hit the sack!