Date: 2006-10-12
From: St. Thomas Episcopal Church

To: Back Track Inn
Miles today: 0.0

I had hoped that taking a short day yesterday and coming to the church hostel would have been more restful for me, but I stayed up too late last night watching TV and then B-Rad was up til 1 am on the internet. I finally had to ask him to cut it off which I hated doing because it makes me feel like such a nag. Anyway, I am not feeling as rested as I had hoped and I did not get up as early as I had planned. Then I changed my mind about getting Dunkin Donuts and went to the Mixing Bowl for breakfast and ordered the Country Fried Steak Platter. It was really more like chicken fried steak, but it was still delicious and with a biscuit and gravy and home fries it was very filling. Then it was a hard time getting a hitch, but finally a New York lady who shows fox terriers in dog shows did pick me up. She was very pleasant to talk to. So I was on the trail around 11. At this point I knew I wouldn't make it to the post office before they closed so I resigned myself to get to Unionville and plan to stay at the $3 hostel at Back Track Inn.Today's hike was very flat though and even included a 1 mile boardwalk stroll through a swamp and another 1 mile walk through a marshy nature preserve. One thing that totally slowed me down though was the mosquitoes! I wasn't 30 minutes into the hike and was so frustrated I had to put on DEET. I haven't put on DEET since Stratton, ME. Pretty much all day I felt like Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoon only it wasn't a dust cloud following me, it was a cloud of newly hatched blood hungry mosquitoes. I found out later talking to folks in Unionville, that mosquitoes are around pretty much all year. What a bummer for the folks living in such a bucholic and friendly community.I did see quite a bit of wildlife today including swans, rabbits, a turtle, hawks, eagles, ducks, frogs, and tons of crickets. As I walked along the nature preserve, the crickets jumped out of the ground like popcorn erupting out of the ground. One of them hopped onto my hiking pole and hitch-hiked for about a half a mile. There was also quite a bit of road walking today. You would think that I would like road walking as its flat, but I actually don't like it because its hard on my feet and knees. I arrived in Unionville around 6, averaging 2 miles an hour or better and quickly got directions to the Back Track Inn. The hostel is as it is described, a store room with shelves for bunks attached to a bar. I put down my pack and went into the bar, ordered an Amber Bock, sat at the bar and chatted with the locals. Its just a hole in the wall with 2 pool tables and only one employee, the bartender, Jill. She's a 30 yr old mom, whose gone back to school to be a history teacher. I was only going to have one beer and then go to bed, but I ended up with 3 beers and a pizza and didn't spend a dime. This older Polish gentleman, Vaju© treated me and even invited me to his home to spend the night. I decided to stay at the hostel so that I could get to the PO early, but it was a generous offer. There was a billiard tournament going on, so I had plenty to entertain me. I pulled myself away from all the excitement around 8:30 and went to the chilly store room and bedded down. A few times I heard voices and music as folks were leaving the bar, but I slept soundly.Happy Hiking,Superstarwww.trailjournals.com/happyhiker------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com