Date: 2005-08-01
From: Upper Goose Pond

To: Near Finerty Pond
Miles today: 4.5

Near Finerty Pond, 4.5 miles?When I wake up this morning everyone is alsready downstairs eating breakfast. The caretaker is making pancakes. That should sound really good but I'm still extremely sleepy and have no desire to get up and eat. Finally I drag myself out of bed. I'm not very awake but manage to find me some pancakes and a cup of tea. Very slowly I enter the land of the living and I'm able to make conversation. I still don't have much energy though and think about going back to bed. The weather isn't helping me out much. It's raining and the thought of putting wet (still wet from swimming) pants on doesn't appeal to me at all. Everyone else is leaving today though. It's a big crowd headed for town. Another reason to stay here a little longer.I say goodbye to the Gypsies and the Trolls and head back upstairs for more sleep. I meet Hareball here though and we start an interesting conversation. UG joins us and we talk for quite a while. I'm trying to convince her to stay too. I'd love to chat more but she insists, she has to leave. Oh well, maybe I'll catch up to her someday.UG and I volunteer to go get water from the spring on the other side of the lake. After Hareball leaves we jump in the canoe and try to get to the other side. Clearly we have not had much experience working together in a canoe. I have trouble letting UG do the steering and switch sides whenever I feel like we're going in the wong direction. I'm not supposed to do that since I'm in the front and UG has a bit of trouble dealing with my assertiveness ; ). The result is not the most direct route to the other side. We do eventually get there though. The spring is nice and clear and freezing cold! We fill up a bunch of gallon jugs and haul everything back in the canoe. The return trip goes a little better and soon we're back at the cabin. After a food break we decide to go for a canoe trip just for fun. We go through a small canal and get to a bigger lake. As soon as we hear a motor sound (chainsaw? motorboat?) we turn back to 'our' lake though and head for the small island in the middle. We land there and enjoy the scenery for a while. The weather is clearing up rather nicely and after returning the canoe UG has finally found the courage to go swimming. We head back to the water and take a dip. At least I take a dip. UG, the Florida boy, chickens out and only goes up til his waist. I call him a wuss but he still doesn't go in. Since the weather is so nice now I'm thinking I might not zero after all. I'll just leave in the afternoon and that way I won't have twenty miles to town tomorrow. UG doesn't want to change his mind and stays. He'll surely catch me tomorrow though.The caretaker is surprised that I'm about to take off. It is already 4pm. Well, when I finally leave it's closer to 5pm. I had to get some food in me. And now I got to meet up with Sunshine, Camel and Romer again. They've been taking it easy since Songline left them.The hiking is quite easy and on top of Becket mtn I write in the register that I might push for October mtn shelter. I also write that I'm not sure my body can take it. I'll never find out though because shortly after passing Finerty pond I get sucked into a small tent city consisting of Mul, Che & Peanut, Crazy Legs, Prof. Nutbag and Low Bridge. At the cabin I had said that I was shooting for five miles. I'm close to that now, why push for the shelter? I could get tired again... now who would want that to happen?