Date: 2006-07-19
From: Trident Col Tentsite

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: clear sky

A quiet night at Trident Col. I was the only one there, after the tree felling maintenance worker left. No more thunderstorms during the night but everything was wet and damp this morning. I packed up the wet tent, took a deep breath, and dived back into my wet and cold hiking gear and set out. It turned out to be a great day to hike. I had started early to get some miles in before the oppressive heat of the sun, and was rewarded with a great view of the white clouds filling the valley below as I set out. There were a number of ponds and lakes today ¢ the first one, Page Pond, has the trail crossing over it on a beaver dam! It took me a moment to realize that, yes, that was indeed the trail on the top of the dam. At Wocket Ledge there was a grand vista in what was now a warm and pleasant hiking day. Was that still Mount Washington that I could see from the Ledge, far away in the distance? I met Blind Monkey SOBO and soon after a kilted hiker making fast progress, but little talk, SOBO. The trail was good ¢ I now consider any trail that can be hiked in an upright position as good ¢ and I was under the trees and out of the sun. Water was plentiful today along the crest, and there were lots of puncheons and wet lands. I did however manage one mis-step on one of the puncheons and was rewarded with a boot full of water. Then it was past Dream Lake and, in remarkable short time, I was able to see Moss Pond, leaving a short 0.7 miles down here to a midday arrival at this shelter. This is a beautifully situated shelter with a great view to the front. I decided to get my water from the nearby pond, ignoring the signs to another water source that I had already passed 0.3 miles south on the AT. The mountains that are framed in the shelter door seem to be the Success Range and I can hear the inlet brook for Gentian Pond rushing and tumbling down a steep gully. For lunch Tortoise SOBO, from NC, joined me. Seems to have a similar slow-go philosophy as myself, and we had an enjoyable lunch conversation together. She told me stories of a 20+ Boy Scout Troop from Florida under the supervision of two local guides who took all of the space at Carlo Col last evening. One half of the troop managed to get lost by ¢going the wrong way¢ after a water stop, and arrived late, tired and upset with their guide. I have spread out all of my wet and damp gear and, thanks to a nice breeze and a hot sun, now have totally dry gear once again. We will see how long that lasts! By the time the gear was dry, Brian, section hiking from DWG who is here for the night, joined me. A whole bunch of other hikers have just arrived in search of tent sites here. This was a very good day. I covered the distance in very good time, and the left knee, although not perfect, did well. I feel good emotionally, and my appetite has finally kicked in - always a good sign in my book. I was again struck today by the importance of the simple things that are all around us, that, if we just look and see them, are capable of giving us such great satisfaction. The lines from a Kathy Matea song came to my mind; ¢We roll by just like water And we never seem to learn Spend our lives parched and empty Standing knee deep in a river And dieing of thirst¢Thought for Today ¢ Everything we need is all around us