Date: 2009-07-13
From: RPH Shelter, NY

To: Telephone Pioneers Shelter, NY
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: few clouds

Cell WeakOG notesWe had a nice night at RPH Shelter last night. The best part was the steak I had to eat. Also there were a lot of hikers there and it was an excellent opportunity to socialize with them. We're starting to meet a lot of big mile hikers that started a month after us. I guess I'm in a good place in my head as it isn't bothering me. I'm pleased with what we are doing and know we will enjoy the rest of our hike.I get a sharp pain in my left heel if I put pressure on it or step on a rock. Today was my best day with it because the trail surface was smoother than it had been in a long time. I was able to avoid stepping on rocks or roots, I concentrated on not aggravating it and it seemed to work.This pain started when I was wearing the sneaker boots. I don't remember any single incident that may have caused it either. I hope using a better boot and Dr Shoals jell heel pad will help it get better. I bet the best thing would be to take it easy and stay off my feet. That ain't gonna happen until this hike is over. There is something in the thru hiker mentality that makes you work through anything.We're less than 10 miles from Connecticut so we want to get an early start so goodnight. C6 notesWhen Dave offered to take our packs yesterday so we could slack pack the last two miles to the RPH Shelter, we quickly drank a bunch of water and then refilled our bottle with water Dave had so we would be hydrated adequately. I didn't realize that wasn't such a good idea for me. Drinking a lot of water made me have to pee a lot last night (I got up at least 5 times!), and I didn't feel well this morning after I ate breakfast. The water last evening washed out my body, so my electrolytes were out of balance. Once I started feeling nauseous after breakfast, I realized what had happened. I ate a few Sports Beans and started to feel better in a few minutes. We pushed the Propel and Gatorade today after that and I felt fine all day. I now know I need to keep drinking the sports drinks to stay in balance.Papa Doc introduced us to Sports Beans. They are a Jelly Belly product. They are delicious (orange flavored) and are an electrolyte replacement product. Once he gave me some to try and we found how good they work we ordered a supply of them online and our daughter has put them in our resupply boxes. Thanks, Papa Doc!! They have been a big help.Daddy Long Legs Spiders: I've been seeing these spiders all over the place and have made some observations during this hike which I thought you might find interesting (or maybe not). Things I never thought about before...have you?Do they have eyes? I don't think so. For the longest time I thought maybe they do because they scurry away when I'm hiking and approach where one of them is. Last night I was in our tent early reading my book and discovered that when I was on my side with one ear down I could hear people approaching. It was through the ground. Maybe it was more of feeling the ground vibrate as the footsteps neared. Maybe it was the light pounding of their footsteps. I could tell someone was walking by, and it wasn't because I heard the person. So I'm thinking the Daddy Long Legs Spiders feel me coming through the ground.Also, when they walk on the screen of our tent (they're on the outside and I'm safely inside), they have two longer "legs" (antennae perhaps?) which they seem to be using to feel their way around before they move.I saw a fascinating occurrence today as I was walking. I have no idea if Daddy Long Legs Spiders copulate or not, but two were hooked together in a way that made me think that's what they were doing. I never before thought about how they reproduce. I've never seen a baby Daddy Legs Spider. Have you? I wonder if anyone has ever studies them before...probably. I'm sure there's a lot of information about them on the internet. Maybe I'll look them up after our hike.For now, I'm just giving you things to think about since it came to my mind today. Enjoy! Or not, if you hate spiders so much that these ponderings grossed you out! :-)Old Goat & Check Six