Date: 2005-09-27
From: White Wolf Inn

To: Cranberry Stream Campsite
Miles today: 1.9
Weather: few clouds

Piker here filling in for Ms. Mileage. The star of tonights show has inconveniently passed out....too much seagrams maybe? Consequently I will take on the job.      Our progress is as always on this trip, slow but steady. Go ahead and look up at Daily Miles. Have a chuckle on us. My parents "The Pikers" put us up "Big Time" at the white wolf inn. The crew enjoyed every waking second of the stay. Blaze and I chilled on the front porch most of the night and talked to randoms, while the ladies got some tv time in.      This morning Mileage and I were treated to room service. Blaze made pancakes in the room. Hot cakes to order while lying in bed. Mileag and I owe a lot of people at this point. We always end up getting the royal treatment.       The day turned out to be warm and beautiful. I cut across a path littered with brightly colored leaves and entered the General store. I picked up a few things we needed. The store owner said thank you and I said "have a nice day". He replied, "Every day is nice in Stratton", and his face was dead serious.      Hiking took the backseat today while having a good time in town took priority. We milked the hotel room as long as possible and then went and got pizza. It was great. I gave Sampson my crusts and he loves me. Everyone knows that dogs love pizza. Mileage and I split a large pie and it went down easy. So did our hitch out of town. Some construction workers picked us up after just a few miuntes and took us directly to the trail.      Few miles remain between our crew and Katahdin. One thing we all agreed on was that it would be nice to get a bottle for this next 72 mile stretch. After some coin flipping BLaze and I were once again standing beside the road with our thumbs up. This time we were hitching in the other direction, 15 miles to the closest store that sold hard alcohol. All we wanted was a fifth of Seagrams 7. About 5 minutes went by and a nice shiney pick-up pulled to the shoulder. The front seat was filled with strange high tech looking gadgets and equipement. I told the driver we were looking to get a ride to the liquor store. He was amused and let out a hardy laugh. "You boys just want a bottle?" Basically yes I said. "You got ten bucks on ya?" Then he produced an unopened handle (half-gal) of Seagrams 7. Unbelievable coincidence and luck! "Dont waist your time going to the store, Here you go" and now we have a bottle. Strang things and small miracles occur on this appalachian trail.      The girls were freaked out by our random luck and we all were phyced. We walked 2 miles in and threw down the tents. Our packs are heavy and our spirits are high. It is a good time to enjoy the forest and sit in the sun. The crisp weather is still refreshing and the fall colors are warming. The crew spent much time laughing and telling trail strories into the night. None of us want this adventure to end. I could go on doing this for a long long time.      Now night has fallen and everyone is asleep but me. I am snug in my bag and the wind is blowing gusts of cold air into the side of the tent. There are a few house sized rocks skattered about this forest campground. The moon is shining off of them. They are almost at a glow, time to go.                                    PIKER