Date: 2004-07-21
From: Bennington VT, Rt 9

To: Kid Gore Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: few clouds

It was a late start to the day this morning but the extra sleep was truly needed. Besides, what ever my problem yesterday, the night before was a poor nights sleep. After a nice long shower it was time to head out. It was nearly 11am, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. It was a gorgeous day for a hike. A couple of blocks up the road there was one of those discount stores that has a strange assortment of things like a Family Dollar store. I got a big bottle of 200mg Ibuprofen tablets there. As chance would have it there was a soft serve ice cream place next door. Oh yes. Back up on the main road, US-7, there was a bagel shop that made a nice veggie sandwich. After eating that it was time to hitch a ride to the trail.It wasn't too long after starting the walk out of town that someone picked me up. He had done some hiking on the trail and of course fancied doing the whole thing some day. He dropped me at the trail. It was about noon. Ah yes. A good old crack-of-noon start. Just like the good old days back home. It was nice to be hiking again.Machine and Waterloo were eating lunch just a hundred yards from the road by the bridge over the river. They were surprised to see me figuring I would be well out ahead of them. That's not to say they didn't move pretty well themselves, because they did. An explanation of my adventures of the last day and an half along with my kind of waiting for Buick, put it all in perspective. Now the question is, where did we first meet. That would be a good one to answer.The thousand foot climb out of the pass went well. Goddard Shelter was a mighty fine place. Unfortunately it was way too early to stop for the day. There was a family at the shelter, mom, dad and a kid or 2. They lived near by and came up here at least once a year.They talked about a really nice bushwhack they frequently take to get here.Now, understand, all the photos from this part of Vermont were lost. At the end of May in 2005, I hiked this section and took these pictures. My main objective was to find my journal entries. Unfortunately all the journals had filled up and been replaced. The Goddard Journal had been replaced just days after my visit in 2004. That meant there were lots of entries from friends who were behind me. That explains all these journal photos.The day was just fine all the way to Kid Gore Shelter. Chris Gardei and I had stayed here our first night on the Long Trail way back in 1997 or was it 96. Today's hike was only 14.4 miles. Short days were becoming a habit but it had been a late start. Pushing it seemed like a bad idea considering the recent health questions, so this was far enough.There was another thru-hiker here at Kid Gore. It was just the 2 of us. That was nice. It should be another good night¢s sleep. This was another traditional Green Mountain Club shelter with the bunk decks and table built right in. The edges of the lower bunks double as benches for the table. We were sitting across from one and other working on dinner and talking. Surely my ordeal of yesterday was the hot topic of discussion.Now What's This:It was about 7pm when something strange happened. My upper left lip started to get numb. I paused, grinned a perplexed grin, and told my shelter mate of this new twist. Within a few minutes the whole left side of my face was numb from my upper lip to my left eyebrow to my nose. It was like getting a big shot of Novocain from the dentist, only he had missed his target. Though there were chuckles on the outside there was some fear within. Was this a side effect of the spinal tap? There was still some soreness in the small of my back. A virus wouldn't make my face go numb. Would it? How bizarre. Then about 15 minutes later my face was back to normal. This was scary. Oh well.