Date: 2003-08-18
From: Gentian Pond Shelter

To: Full Goose Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

What a great view from the shelter, a view down into the valley looking down onto a layer of clouds. Cool¢¦ There were 2 moose at the pond (a mom and a baby) this morning, but we missed them. No one would wake us up to see them, they figured we must have seen a ton of them already (sigh¢¦ I never saw a moose¢¦). Oh well¢¦. We had 7 people at the shelter and 2 people tenting last night. A nice group. There was 1 section hiker doing all of Maine (Thirsty boots¢¦ We ended up hiking most of Maine with him), 1 guy with his 3 kids out for a few days (what fun), Wench and I, and Timber and her husband (tenting), she flipped to do a section South so he could join her for a bit, then she will continue north. Today turned out to be a very tough day for me, we did 9.6 miles in 9 hours. Tough scrambles and lots of roots, rocks, ladders, and bog bridges. A couple of sections we had to help each other up and down (lower wench down by her arm, have her guide my foot to a foothold, as I hold on by the finger tips of one hand on a rock ledge. It was good to have two people here, and tomorrow in Mahoosic notch it will be very handy (the Notch will be wet, it rained). Today wore me out, but Wench never seems to get tired. Well, at least she doesn¢t show it. There seems to be a feeling among some of the women on the trail that they have to suck it up and act tough, or people will think less of them. What a bunch of crap, they are tough or they wouldn¢t even be here in Maine. So occasionally Wench will annoy me with her tough girl act, though a lot of it may just be that she keeps her feelings in when she is around men, so what looks like a tough guy act is really a lack of female companions to talk to. I whine to everyone, so I feel better right away, I think it helps. She holds it in, and I think that is harder on her. But what do I know? Anyway, it¢s time to close my Psychiatric clinic for the day (5 cents ¢ The doctor is in¢¦). Today we saw nice views, the trail went over balds or rocky mountain tops, and we saw views of the trail ahead and behind. We climbed Mt Success and then hiked into MAINE!!! WE ARE IN MAINE NOW!! Georgia to Maine 03 is now true! But we are headed from Springer to Katahdin, so we have more hiking to do to fulfill our dreams. I lost a metal tip off one of my Leki poles today, it should be fun hiking with one pole for a while (not!). At least I won¢t need poles in Mahoosic notch (they get in the way). Hmm¢¦ No outfitters nearby to fix it, and I can¢t call home to have a tip sent, what to do? I¢ll forget about it for now, and enjoy the views from Mt Carlo and the many peaks of Goose Eye Mt. The day was very slow, it never felt like we were making any headway, because it took so long to hike this section (just like the White mountains). We saw a large number of people today, it looks like a large number of Northbound Thruhikers jumped ahead and are now hiking south. We are trying to hike safe, but it was hard to do today, we each fell once or twice, we slipped a lot (and one bad step means so much more when you are this close to Katahdin). 1,896.1 miles hiked, 276.5 miles o go, 171 days on the trail (phew¢¦ so many¢¦). It looks like we have 27 days to go (24 hiking and 3 off days) until we reach the base of Katahdin on September 12th, then we will summit on the 13th, but we will see, this is only a loose guess at a schedule and anything can happen to slow us down or speed us up. It¢s funny, Wench and I both figured out our schedule separately, using different techniques, and we came up with the same summit date (so maybe we are close to the right date). Well see how it goes, we may slow to enjoy the hike, or speed up to get to Katahdin. The only definite is our off days (September 5, 6, 7), where Wench does her wedding thing, and I relax and do nothing for 3 days (I need this). The only reason we figured out a schedule was so Mama and papa Wench could find her for the wedding, and so everyone would get to Katahdin for our finish. I had to tell Shari at least 2 weeks ahead of time, so she could book a flight and a car, but not get there too early or too late. So there is a little pressure on us to stick close to our schedule so we can finish together, and have our families there. I know, I¢m babbling¢¦. Sorry¢¦. It will all work out, I¢ll shut up now. Tomorrow, Mahoosic Notch and fun on the rocks! Life is good!!