Date: 2006-08-15
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Sutton's, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Today marks my 5th month on the trail. We are now over 3/4 complete and are celebrating with the nero (near zero miles), the night in town at Sutton's, and an 18-mile slackpack back for a second town night tomorrow. We are aiming for a Sept 30/Oct 1 summit of Katahdin, but will be flexible according to the challenges offered by the terrain and the condition of our bodies.After the long day yesterday, we all slept in until 6:30am. The forecast rain arrived on schedule about 11pm last night. The woods were damp and foggy for the walk out beginning at 8:15am. On the way to the trailhead we met a southbounder, who mentioned we might get a ride for the 5 miles into Manchester Center by MountainSquid. Sure enough he was at the trailhead, and GreyGoose and BigFoot, who had left the shelter about 10 minutes before Veto and I, were loading their packs. MountainSquid is a retired navy guy who completed the third section of his 2000 miles, and is hanging around here doing trail magic by shuttling hikers. He drove us to the post office, then to Sutton's, and joined us for coffee while we ate our 2nd breakfast. As we ate we pumped him for information on the Whites and on Maine, and got a good idea of what we're facing. After breakfast we returned to Sutton's, and our rooms were ready. Frank Sutton offered to drive us to the laundromat. We gathered our clothes and rode the half mile over with him. As our clothes were washing, in walks JohnnyK. He stopped at the shelter before the one we stayed at last night, and also got a ride in with MountainSquid. He was planning to shower at Cheesewhiz's room at the Avalanche Motel, about a mile to the east of town, then get back on the trail to the first shelter, about two miles from the road. I really wanted to launder my "town" shorts, as it's been weeks since they were washed. I wore my bright yellow rain jacket as a kilt, since my town shirt was in the wash, and threw the shorts in with JohnnyK's wash. FDOM suggested that JohnnyK and Cheesewhiz join us for the earlybird special at 4:30pm at the Sirloin Saloon.As soon as my shorts were dry, I returned to Sutton's. I got needed items, prescriptions, and a fresh set of extended wear contacts from my bounce box, which I sent on to Glencliff, NH from the post office substation at the drycleaners near the center of town. I met GreyGoose on the way there, where he had forwarded his bounce box. I then went to The Mountain Goat Outfitter, where Veto and GreyGoose got new footwear for the final leg of the trail. Veto is very pleased with his new trail shoes, which fit him much better than the old ones. I got a fill-up of white gas for my stove, a pair of gloves to replace the ones I wore out in the first weeks of the hike, and a repair kit for my water filter. We asked the outfitter about slackpacking, and he recommended the taxi. Since the amount of food we carry depends on whether or not we slack, arranging for a taxi was the first order of business. We lined up the taxi for both tomorrow and the next day, taking about 2.5 to 3 lbs. of food out of our packs. By then it was time for the Sirloin Saloon, where we joined JohnnyK and Cheesewhiz. We had a great dinner, and everyone made two trips to the great salad bar, bringing back heaping plates of salads. The special even included coffee and a scoop of B&J's for dessert.Having filled our bellies, the next stop was the nearby grocery, where we did not overbuy. Then it was back to our room to drop off the groceries, then off to the bookstore to check out the internet. I remembered to read my guest book entries. Many thanks to all who posted there. Finally, we went to the other grocery store to get some items that weren't available at the first store, and some sandwich fixin's for tomorrow's slackpack. After reloading the foodbags with our purchases, I'm glad the slackpack will cover the most difficult terrain of the next few days.On! On!