Date: 2009-08-04
From: Unionville, NY

To: Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: scattered clouds

As I did not want to monopolize the computer during the day at Mayor Dick¢s, I purposefully stayed up between the hours of 1 am and 6:30 am to update my Trail Journals site and upload some photos and videos onto my Facebook page. Dick and Bill serve breakfast around 6:15 am, so I simply just stayed up to eat breakfast. Although I was awake, I immediately crashed out, thereafter, and slept for the next few hours ¢ not nearly enough to rejuvenate from a night without sleep. I tried to nap later on in the day, but this failed as well. Worse yet, because I was on the computer for so long, all of the blood rushed down into my ankles, thereby creating considerable swelling in my feet. In the early afternoon, I put some ice and water in a bucket and began soaking my feet to alleviate some of the swelling. It did work, but the swelling did not go all the way down. Regardless of the condition of my feet, I gathered my belongings together and prepared to leave for the day. Dick explained that I am more than welcome to stay for another day ¢ or, as long as I would like ¢ but, I knew that I had to get going. Dick, Butch, and I took a picture with the 80-year-old Bill outside and then the three of us had a picture taken together. Dick and Butch are both characters, in their own right, but two of the most compassionate people I have ever met. Butch, a burly man, explained the rules to us as we arrived at the house. One of the rules was that if we were to call him, ¢Sir¢, then he was going to punch us in the arm. Well, I slipped up and called him ¢Sir¢ at one point, and he absolutely slugged me in the arm. He is very no-nonsense, but this is what makes him unique. If you follow the rules and be respectful, he¢ll do anything for you. If you don¢t follow the rules or are not respectful, he¢ll see to it that you change or get the hell out of the house. I talked to him last night for a long while about the story of how the Mayor¢s House came to be and I really enjoyed listening to what he had to say. Dick volunteered to take me to the trailhead and we jumped in his Prius and headed off. I told Dick that what he had going on here was very special. We literally sleep anywhere in his house ¢ a beautiful place, mind you ¢ they cook breakfast AND dinner for us and provide beer, sodas, laundry, etc. all on a donation basis (first beer is free, subsequent ones are 25 cents each). I offered a larger donation, just because I was there for two nights and they helped to slackpack us from Culvers Gap to Unionville. In the car ride, I was so touched by his generosity, that I teared up and thanked him for everything. He asked that when I summit Katahdin, that he would like to have the ¢Katahdin¢ X-Mas card with Vincer2 on it. He asks this of all hikers, but he was especially persistent on receiving mine. As we embraced via a passionate hug, I departed and entered the woods, shouting at the top of my lungs: VINCEROOOOOOOOOO!!! I could feel myself breaking down, tears began streaming down my face, and I felt this sensation creep all over me ¢ a sensation of sheer confidence that I will make it all the way. I will win. As I write this, I am getting choked up again, just thinking about how powerful the role of compassion is. Dick, Butch, and Bill are all great people and they have left me with a gift that will last a lifetime. Thank you to all. I hiked on, but only made it 6.2 miles in, as the next shelter was another 12 miles or so. So, I stopped at the Pochuck Mountain Shelter, where I met up with Glowworm, a very interesting sort, but of friendly disposition. The mosquitos were absolutely brutal this evening and I spent the evening alone in the shelter, listening to the buzzing of the mozzies as they entered into my ear and hovered on my face. Fortunately, I did have a bug net, but this did not do too well up against the nasty mosquitos.