Date: 2009-07-18
From: Jerusalem Rd, Tyringham, MA

To: Upper Goose Pond
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

Hiking the trail has gifted me with the inability to sleep in, even when I need the rest. (In real life, I could sleep all day and never feel rested). I got up a little after seven. All was quiet in the house. I assumed Laura and Peter were in the living room, but then I heard a knock at the door! Laura got up from the couch to find that it was Peter and his girlfriend, Mary, coming over to take us out to breakfast. Laura asked them what time it was, worried that she had slept in too late. ¢Oh, that¢s normal, right?¢ she responded when told the time. We all laughed. I borrowed some clothes from Laura to wear out, and we brought my laundry over to the Laundromat. Mary was worried that the restaurant was too far of a walk from the Laundromat, so I was extremely amused to find out it was just across the street! After breakfast, we went back to put my clothes in the dryer, but they smelled so bad, I decided to wash them again! Mary was super kind and went back to her apartment to get some strong odor removing detergent that she uses for her running clothes.    We then proceeded to a coffee shop to hang out for awhile while my clothes dried and then returned to Peter¢s apartment to pack up. Peter looked at some of my pictures while I iced my swollen ankle with a frozen bag of ravioli. I wish I could have rested for the entire day, but I wanted to get to Upper Goose Pond that night to retrieve my rain jacket and keep on schedule. The later it got, the more nervous I was becoming. I had 8.1 miles to hike plus another half a mile to get to the cabin, and we still had a long drive ahead of us. I saved some of my organizing and packing to do in the car, but started to feel carsick, as the drive progressed. Laura pulled over at a rest stop for a little break, and we looked at the map inside. It showed the AT, and for the first time, I noticed how winding the path we were traveling actually was. I also saw how much of the trail I had yet to cover, and quickly decided that I did not need to look at that any longer.   We found the trail, where I had left off. A thru-hiker that I didn¢t know was sitting on the other side of the street taking a break. Laura thought I should make friends with him. After a couple of pictures and a hug, Laura left me to wander off across the field and back into the woods. It was after 4 and I really had to move to get to the cabin before dark. However, I didn¢t know how my ankle was going to hold up. In the last mile, the hiker we had seen at the road caught up. It was Baltimore Andy, who reminded me that we had briefly met at the mayor¢s house the first night I stayed there. He said he was impressed with my pace, thinking he would have caught me much earlier. I told him he could go ahead, but somehow managed to keep up with him.   The last half a mile seemed to go quickly. As soon as I arrived at the cabin, Mr. Pink stuck his head out of the door (surprising me as he told me by e-mail that he was going to move past the cabin) and told me that he had saved me a bunk, as the cabin was full. I couldn¢t believe it! Someone was actually looking out for me! This was great! I put my things inside and went out to the porch to cook. Sunbeam, Halfmoon, the twins, Squeegie, the MD3 girls, Chance, Veggie Steve, and many others were there. The twins gave me my rainjacket, which I was grateful for. Mr. Pink was playing cards inside. For the rest of the evening, he ignored me. Postman, the next in line to caretake for the cabin came over with Dunkin Donuts Munchkins. They were going quickly and I knocked on the window pane to make sure Mr. Pink got some before they ran out. He just shook his head...   After I ate, I went down to the lake. The sun had already set, but people were still swimming. I went back to the cabin and relaxed in the hammock for a bit, before going inside to chat with a few hikers. I was getting tired, so I went up to my bunk to write a few things down and then go to sleep.    I was awakened by a loud, frightened voice. Squeegie was having nightmares again.