Date: 2010-08-24
From: October Mountain shelter

To: Dalton
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

8/24October Mountain Lean-to Dalton11.8 milesMotelA scream rang out. Somebody was having a nightmare, and this time it wasn't me. I jerked awake and heard somebody muttering "No,no, don't, no" and so on.  Realizing there was no danger, I settled to go back to sleep. Except for the nightmare, I think we all slept well in the cool night air. Sleep started at 7:30 pm, and at 6:30 am people were still unwilling to get up. Maybe everybody felt as rough yesterday as I had?  Pressed by my bladder, I crawled down from my bunk for a visit to the woods. While I was out I fetched my food bag from the bear box. But I climbed back into my bag for a few minutes to rejoin the sleepers. I was surprised by the absence of mosquitoes. They've been constant companions lately. Perhaps the unusual (to my Maryland sensibilities) coolness kept them away. Whatever the reason, it was fantastic to be unprotected and unmolested at the shelter. As we all straggled to wakefulness and prepared for the day, I was completely unfilled with purpose. My first conscious thought had been "Hello, migraine. " I took an imitrex which gave me the usual odd prickling feeling, and sat watching Shera and Smee eat breakfast. When I eventually slipped my arms into my pack straps, the weight of the thing pulled me over backward onto the shelter floor. An auspicious beginning to any day, I'm sure you agree. So I set out. The sky was a dull grey. The wind blew briskly, giving me a windburn that I didn't notice until later. The temperature remained in the low fifties until mid afternoon. Combined with the wind, it was distinctly chilly. I added and removed layers as my personal comfort level varied, depending on how hard I was working and how hard the wind blew. I kept the raincoat handy. First stop of the morning was the Cookie Lady's house for water. No Lady was present so no cookies. The rest of the day was marked by road crossings, the only distinguishing characteristics available. I got very involved in an audiobook only to find the recording corrupted thirty chapters in. (Septimus and Jenna are confronting their evil brother Simon! Anything could happen!)At one point I was confronted by a loose and snarling pitbull whose owner claimed he didn't bite. Sure. I maintained a watchful eye until they passed by, and wished the owner were responsible enough to leash both his dogs, not just one. General paid no attention to the owner hollering at him. I warned the next hikers I met with a dog (on a leash, natch) to be alert. Walking down into Dalton, I paused briefly in front of Tom Levardi's place. It looked pretty busy. I wanted a quieter night than that. I continued into town and procured a room at the Shamrock Inn. Then I headed over to Jacob's, which the hiker grapevine said had good Reubens. I can't resist those. Once I got there, though, I saw the steak tip wrap special and ordered that. And was glad I had. It was stuffed full of marinated steak goodness. I could have eaten it until I burst. I ate all they gave me, anyway, and left happy. So back at the motel I'm texting JD, thinking about turning on the heat, and preparing for an early night. Tomorrow: Cheshire. Again.