Date: 2015-08-28
From: Cheshire

To: Upper Goose Cabin
Miles today: 29.6
Weather: broken clouds

8/28/2015Treadway: 7/10Weather: Partly cloudy and warm 3/10Stats:29.97 miles 10:42:172.8 miles per hour 2498 c5606 feet up 5137 feet down 60818 steps Narrative:According to Long Portage, there are four conditions which must be satisfied to complete a thru hike of the AT successfully: 1. You have to make the thru hike the most important thing in your life. 2. You have to be able to endure pain. 3. You have to be able to endure discomfort. 4. You have to be lucky. I think that all four are right on the money. Today was a big day necessitated by my need to be in Tyringham by 12:30 pm on Saturday to pick up my resupply box. Up at 4:30 am, on the trail hiking with my headlamp at 5:15 am. As I was heading out of Cheshire, I encountered a skunk with its tail lifted and poised to spray me. I gave the skunk a wide berth and it did not drop the bomb. Easy street walking for about a mile, then got into the woods and began the steady and moderate climb up a high quality trail, then descended to Dalton. The treadway from Cheshire to Dalton was excellent. After more easy street walking, I arrived at the Dalton Restaurant around 8 am and had corned beef hash, two eggs over easy, potatoes, toast and pancakes. I needed a big breakfast to fuel me for the rest of the day. My next stop was at the post office, where I picked up my resupply box, which included my new pair of hiking shoes, which will need to last me until I reach Harpers Ferry. I compared the tread on my old shoes with the tread on my new shoes. The old shoes sure took a licking, but they kept on ticking for over 620 miles. Then I went across the street to the Sav Mor and bought 5 Slim Jim twin packs, Cheetos and Fritos for the next 2 days. Then I proceeded south, walking down Depot and meeting SoBo Wildcat (I think he was at Tom Levardi¢s). After crossing the railway tracks, I began the steady climb to Kay Woods Shelter. (Oh, I forgot to mention how I pounded one Monster outside the church before starting, a second Monster about 2 hours into my hike, and a third monster as I was leaving the Sav Mor. I needed all three to get me through this hard day.) About 5 miles after the shelter, I reached the road where the Cookie Lady lives, met her and signed the register, and filled up on water and enjoyed two of her cookies. On the Cookie Lady¢s porch, I met two young lady NoBo¢s, Happy and [can¢t remember first word] Taco. About 15 minutes further up the trail, I ran into Float again. He was taking a break, and I expected him to pass me later on, but he did not. About an hour after that, I reached the cutoff to October Mountain Shelter. For the next 5 miles or so after that to the top of Becket Mountain, the treadway was quite dreadful, with plenty of rocks, roots and general unpleasantness to slow me down. For half a mile or so down Becket, it was rocky, but then the trail improved as I went over both freeway overpasses and went up the last climb to Upper Goose. When I reached the cabin, I was worried that it would be full and that I would have to sleep outside and pitch a tent, a chore I had no energy to perform after a long, hard day. Thankfully, there were plenty of bunks available. The caretaker, Debra, was very nice. She is from New York City and has been caretaking at Upper Goose for 27 years. I also met section hiker Backtrack. It was nice sleeping in a bunk that night.