Date: 2010-05-13
From: Unionville, NY

To: Unionville NY
Miles today: 0.0

1.  CPR  There is a stretch of 31.2 miles between PA and NJ between shelters, and the PA mileage is not all that kind to hikers.  Yesterday, I started at one shelter (Brinks Rd) and hiked barely 20 miles passing 5 shelters, 4 of which are within 13 miles of each other.2.  Report.  First, I must expand a bit about the ¢Outhouse¢  It was previously called the ¢Mayor¢s House¢ and is owned by Dick, the former mayor.  I guess the current mayor may have taken exception to the name and it was subsequently changed.  I had called in earlier to make a reservation and was given a bunch of names of people I would meet, and was told to stop by the general store for directions.  I was at the General Store, enjoying my breakfast bagel, when in came Dick, his lovely fiance JoAnn, and Butch.  They immediately recognized  me (us hikers are very easy to identify, usually first by scent) and gave me a ride to the Outhouse.  The rules were explained, e.g., make yourself at home.  There I met Bill who serves as head cook and bottle washer, as well as Shadow, another wonder dog.  There was another hiker there, Hal, who was laying over from some severe tendenitis.  Later that evening, Plain Jeff arrived, followed later by Muffin Mittens and Kid Sis, and then even much later, Cake, Stilts (recent HS grad from Austin) and Roadrunner.  Another guest was Rob, who also helps hikers in Dalton MA.  He made a brief stop on his way to Damacus for Trail Daze, and would later take Hal with him.  Before bed, we had our mug shots taken and was shown an inspirational video of Paul PottsNight's sleep was comfortable. Bill was up fixing breakfast before 0500 and I got up shortly after that. He had breakfast foe me early and then Dick and Butch drove me to Middleton for my medical appt.I started the paperwork before 0800 and saw doc shortly after that. She gave me a complete and thorough exam and said I needed a cat scan for an abdominal mass. I asked about my forehead concerns and she said I would need to see a specialist for that.  I was surprisingly calm and maybe slightly more relieved when the clinic could squeeze me in at 1500. I then checked into the radiology dept and was given a future appt, but might be able to squeeze me in again 6-8 hours fasting after last meal.  Next, I hopped to the dermatology office across the street and was seen around 1030. After full body inspection, doc took out her GN2 bottle and froze off several pre-cancerous  spots, along with advice regarding wearing full brim hat, using sunscreen, avoiding direct sun, ....  Back to the first office, another wait in radiology dept and was finally seen and got a cat scat completed. Dick  picked me up and we returned to the Outhouse  (I will have the lab results sent to my primary care doc and await her direction)  There was still plenty of daylight left and I was thinking about hiking to the next shelter. Dick said I didn't want to do that  Instead, he had me get a slackpack and took me to Pochuck Mtn to hike back into town in time to be there for dinner. I LOVE slackpacking!!  I saw beavers, baby beavers, swans, herons, Canadian geese, red wing blackbirds and others. I also saw Wool E Mammoth and Outside Dog, and later met a  woman waiting for Kite and Sandpiper 6. Outhouse - Unionville, NY.  FIVE GREASY SPOONS!!  Bill had been a maitre¢d at a hotel earlier in his life.  Dick apparently rescued him from an old folks home and he enjoys cooking.  He worked all afternoon on last night¢s supper.  Butch had gotten some vegetables at  local farmers market, and a most lovely salad was prepared.  There were oven roasted potatoes that were in the works all afternoon as well.  Then there was huge plates of toasted bread, steamed broccolli, perfectly grilled medium rare flank steak by Butch, and a first for me - garlic gravy.  Yummmmmmmmy.  Then it was topped off by a homemade chocolate bundt cake with fudge icing, and Ms JoAnn insisted making it a la mode. Plus, the first beer is on the house.  And breakfast was pretty dang good as well: cheese omelette, sausage, potatoes, toast and jam. And of course lots of hot coffee from fresh ground beans.   Life is Really Great!