Date: 2003-10-24
From: gorham, nh

To: rattle river shelter
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: overcast clouds

waking up fully refreshed and in better spirits, i knew that today was a new day. today was going to be a good day. i was definitely in a better mood than yesterday.i checked out of the motel and walked down to the post office. i asked if another package had arrived for me. i was actually expecting two packages- one containing some money (which should have arrived yesterday) and one containing mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies (which i didn't think would arrive before i left town). the guy checked in the back and handed me a package- the one i wasn't expecting. the one with the cookies. hey, i'll take the cookies. i'm not complaining. have you ever had my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies? they're quite incredible. but, what about the package with my money in it? that's the one i could really use. the guy told me that they hadn't finished sorting all of today's mail so it might be there. he told me to check back in a little while.i went outside and sat on my backpack and ate chocolate chip cookies and watched the snow flurries continue to fall as they'd been doing since i arrivd in gorham. i checked back in the post office and there was still no package for me. i ate more cookies and watched more snow. i checked back in the post office and the guy finally came back with the piece of mail that i'd been waiting for. it had been there all along, but had been misplaced. i was quite relieved. i was beginning to worry that maybe this package had been lost forever. i thanked the guy at the post office and told him that he'd just made my day a hundred times better.with money in hand, i walked next door to the laundry mat to wash some very dirty clothes. as i was sitting there, reading, waiting for my clothes to finish drying; a woman walked in and started a load of laundry. she noticed my backpack and asked how far i was heading. i told her about my hiking on the AT. she said that she worked for a local gear company -wild things- and started asking me about what kind of gear i was carrying. she asked if i had a tent and i told her that i'd just sent it home. she asked if i had a bivy sack (a waterproof shell for my sleeping bag) or anything like that. i told her that i didn't. the conversation trailed off and i returned to my reading. the woman, juanita, left in her car and came back about ten minutes later.i looked up as juanita walked back inside and placed two things on the table in front of me. i ask what she's got and she says that she has two presents for me- a bivy sack and a sleeping bag liner (which will add about 10-15 degrees to the warmth of my bag). excuse me? yeah. i asked juanita if she was serious and she said that she was, in fact, serious. really? really. i thanked juanita profusely and she said not to mention it. she told me that they were her son's and that he moved to florida and that they'd just been sitting in her office for the past five years. wow. today must be my birthdaay in disguise. first, i get mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies and now this. things are definitely turning out to be better than yesterday.i changed my mind. after this turn of events, there is no way that i can't at least try to tackle the white mountains. i feel 100 % better about things than i did 24 hours ago. i've now got the gear and i've got the mentality. i'm going for it.i folded my laundry, thanked juanita once again, and walked down to the gear store to buy some fuel for my stove. the guy at the gear store said that it would be okay if i stashed my pack at the store for a little while so that i could run some errands.first stop- mr pizza. ah, the long awaited and much craved pizza. i wolfed it down and then went to the library. at the library i got to check the email and all that fun stuff. it is always very reassuring to know that people are thinking about me while i'm on this crazy adventure. next, i called my parents and told them of my new plan to attempt the dreaded whites. they wished me luck and i told them that i'd call them in about a week.i fetched my pack from the gear store and hitched a ride to the AT with a very nice woman named robin. i told her how i found it to be interesting that the mountains around here aren't any taller than the mountains in my beloved north carolina, but they seem so much more aggressive. robin said that was a very good way to describe these mountains- aggressive. robin dropped me at the trailhead and honked as she drove away.i hoisted my now very heavy pack (on account of the winter gear and the fact that i'm carrying 8 days of food) onto my back and started hiking. i noticed two cars parked at the trailhead- it is the weekend, afterall. although my pack now weighs a ton, it doesn't seem so heavy. there is a new spring in my step. i'm ready for this trail and whatever it might throw my way.i was about a mile down the trail when i met a man that was out for an afternoon hike. we started talking and i told him about my adventures so far. he gave me advice about thewhites and what to expect. he was full of information and was very helpful. he told me that he'd hiked most of the trail in 2001 and had finished it in 2002. i asked when he hiked last year and he said that he hiked from april to may. i was on the trail in april and may. i asked what section he'd hiked. he hiked from glasgow, virginia, to erwin. wait a second. i probably met you, then. what did they call you? on the trail they call me mahoosuc- like the mountain range. yeah, i definitely met you. i knew you looked familiar. mahoosuc and i tried to think of where we'd met, but we just couldn't figure it out. i told him that if he'd give it a day, it would probably come to me. mahoosuc wished me luck and told me that if i needed anything, i could find him at his "office" every morning. he said that every morning he goes to the mcdonalds in gorham and drinks his coffee and reads his newspaper. i told mahoosuc that i would keep that in mind.this is going to a good week. i'm going to traverse the white mountains. hopefully, i will have good weather. hopefully, i will get to use my snowshoes and maybe even my crampons. i'm ready. i'm excited. i wish my mom had sent some more chocolate chip cookies because these aren't going to be nearly enough.