Date: 2004-08-17
From: Thomas Leonard Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: few clouds

Wow, I¢m beat! For the 3rd straight day as part of my push to Dalton, I have covered 20-plus miles. In reality today was not that bad, but the after-effects of yesterday are killing me. I¢m sore and I have blisters on the top and bottoms of my toes. Still I made it to my goal: Upper Goose Pond Cabin. It¢s an actual cabin, it¢s nice, I get a cot to sleep on, and in the morning I get all you can eat pancakes. All is well in the land of Beatbox.This morning I woke up around 8, but I was going nowhere. I ate the Ramen dinner I was too tired to eat last night and I made hot Earl green tea. I also visited the privy, read my book, planned the next few days, and wrote last night¢s journal. Chicago Rob and Wipeout were slow to rouse too. To complete the morning I retrieved some water that bore a striking resemblance to lemonade and I met 2 sobo¢s (they¢re brothers) Crunchy and Creamy. Other nobo¢s had promised them I would beatbox for them if they asked. I smiled and performed for them as promised. Finally at 11 a.m., I said goodbye to the sobo¢s and the newly arrived Gabby and Poky. 11 AM¢¦an early start for a 21 mile day. (*WARNING* Upcoming section explicit though not filthy).As I began to hike I noticed something HORRIBLE. I was quite irritated on my¢¦er¢¦ um¢¦my member. From all the wet movement yesterday it must have been bothered and today it sent pain through my body with each step. This had to be fixed. If I could walk with my fly open it would not hurt¢¦but I¢d look like a pervert :-( . I laugh now, but I was flummoxed. I could not fix the problem, I did not want to be a flasher, but if I did not do something I was not hiking 21 miles. I nearly cried after the pain and frustration, it was actually quite a serious dilemma. After nearly cursing 3 miles in I prayed. I felt somehow guilty to be praying about my ¢self¢, but I needed help. Shortly after my prayer the answer came to me. I opened my fly but used my bandana over my belt as a huge double-walled curtain so I would not seem a pervert. It worked :-) (tonight I am no longer irritated). With no more incessant rubbing, I could hike more than 3 miles. FUN NOTE: I often say that the trail is a microcosm of my spiritual life¢¦well today I guess I had the same thing hindering my hike as so many young men have hindering their Christian walk :-) . (*END OF EXPLICIT SECTION*). While I remember nothing of the beginning of the day but pain, the next 4 miles were nice. I knew I was climbing Mr. Wilcox, but it was unexpectedly sweet. There was pine, mountain streams, 3 lakes, and the slope was not bad. I sang songs to God and pushed, enjoying the smell. My ¢issues¢ had put me behind so I hurried to catch Chicago and Wipeout. We all met up 7 miles in at the mountain top. Time¢ 2:20 p.m. We all wanted to hit the cabin by dark so we pushed on. I led for the next 3.8 miles and we hiked like marines through pine groves, skipping over streams, stomping inches deep through mud, and never stopping. The pace was strong, but I did not even break a sweat. Right when it seemed we would hit the road, the trail curved around back uphill and then went back to the road. I could hear muttered complaints from Chicago who said: ¢If this trail went straight to Maine it would be 1,500 miles.¢ Of course :-) if the trail was ¢straight¢ there would be no switch backs. We hit the road for a needed break at 4:30 p.m. If is seems like we were racing, we were. Still we joked and laughed along the way. Sometimes your options on the trail are either A) LAUGH, or B) CRY. I prefer choice ¢A¢. Over the next 2 miles we hiked back up a hill we already came down :-( Cobble Hill. As we went the sound went ¢Cobble, Cobble¢. Somehow pretending to be chickens made us smile. Pretending the trail was straight would have made us smile too. At 5:00 p.m. we stopped for water¢¦Wipeout and I were dying after yesterday¢s madness. We had one mile downhill through grass to the road where we know a 1,000 foot climb awaited.As we started the downhill we ran into a couple: ¢The climb is easy, no rocks, cushioned by pine.¢ Could this be true? In my mile to the road, more than 1 mosquito bit me through my shirt and I stepped 6 inches deep in mud twice. My feet were clearly sorer than at any point on the trip. As we crossed the road I was anxious¢¦then we hit the nicest 1,000 foot climb I have seen in ages. Pine was everywhere and the needles provided softness for my sore pads. The 3 of us pushed upward and recounted our favorite hostels (I love Ms. Janet :-) ). At 6:45 we were all smiling as we hit a road 5 miles from the cabin and over the peak. There, I proceeded to devour all my remaining food. We hiked on pushing dusk. Chicago led and the section was rocky but flat. After about an hour it was nearing dark. With my flashlight batteries dead, I began to stub my toes on the rocks in the fashion of last night. After I winced in pain and yelled a few times Chicago Rob mentioned having 2 extra AA batteries¢¦YAY! My feet were (and are) ready to fall off. Receiving the batteries with 2 rocky miles left saved my life¢¦OK, well my feet at least. As we walked in the dark we joked through extreme weariness. Finally we found the side trail to the cabin. As we walked the path we went by 3 unmarked grave stones and a stove. It looked like an ominous arrangement, so we hiked on faster :-). At 9:00 p.m. , exhausted, we arrived at the cabin to be greeted by a kind caretaker.I¢m dead! I just ravaged my dinner and hung my food. A cool group of kids from PA (mostly) is here, but 10 p.m. is past my bedtime. I¢ve hiked 65 miles in 3 days and I have 21 more tomorrow. I also get all you can eat pancakes and get to go to a hostel called ¢The Bird Cage¢ tomorrow though :-) . It¢s run by Rob, a cool guy I sang with a Trail Days. I can¢t wait until then.Goodnight, BEATBOX   ttt