Date: 2013-07-19
From: tiryngham

To: upper goose pond shelter
Miles today: 7.0

The floor at the Comfort Inn was better than the floor of my tent last night and breakfast was once again excellent. I was able to get my laundry done and work on my feet before Craig and Seven Stops arrived. We arrived and began hiking at the trail at 11:00 and had an excellent hike up to Upper Goose Pond Shelter where we met Paul, the caretaker and received the rundown about the way the camp was setup as far as water, cooking and dishes, swimming and bunking setups. We decided to stay in the cabin rather than tent this evening because of the chance of rain over night so we wouldn't have to carry wet tents for the up coming 18 miler. The cabin is set up on the hill away from the waters edge and is rustic with no running water or electricity. Water was brought across the pond via canoe and hikers were to help themselves. The pond was so refreshing after a hike in upper ninety heat and we took our time to enjoy ourselves. After swimming we cooked and had a nice meal and took care of all the usual camp activities like setup for sleeping and filtering water, then just sat by the water and chilled out. While the sun was sinking in the sky, the moo was becoming brighter and made for a nice late night dip. Just what the doctor ordered for these aching bones. I figured out why my foot was hurting, specifically my right big toe was infected from a blister on top where the crease in my boot bends. The act of walking is required for this particular endurance sport and as a result, from time to time, you develop issues with your feet. It seems lately I've had my share of feet problems and am still trying to figure this particular problem area out. Tonite I popped the blisters and sprayed some neosporin on the area before covering up with a band aid. Hopefully by the morrow the antibiotic ointment type spray will have once again saved the day so I can enjoy the hike instead of hobbling the 18 miles to the next shelter. Before I sign off for the evening, I'm curious if any of you men reading my post who have lots of facial hair have experienced this issue. Today as I was hiking along completely drenched from sweat and the new citrusy flavor of my non toxic Eco friendly bug spray which my friend Robin suggested I get, a huge bug flew up my nose. I instantly tried to nasal it out with force but it was dug in and planning to build a home based on the way it was moving further into my head. Do you think it was a good idea for me to stick my finger up my nose in order to pick it out and flick it like, you know how you do it, so that's what I did. As I stuck my finger up my nostril I ended up stuffing a was of my mustache into my nose and in doing so, killed the bug. Pretty cool right? The trouble actually started here like when I mixed part A, the bug guts with part B my mustache and created an epoxy like bond that completely clogged my nose and by this time I was beginning to get worried as I continued to nasal and nasal , again and again until finally the clog was cleared. After I conducted extensive observation of the bug I determined it was a kamakazi Japanese beetle and I am lucky to be alive as I tell this story to you, just sayin! Good night and sleep with your mouth closed so the spiders don't lay eggs in there, again!