Date: 2007-06-18
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: Blackburn PATC Center
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

The first 'round the world sailboat race was an absolute spectacle. Organized by a British newspaper, it created the sort of drama that makes journalist foam at the mouth. There was the quintisential good-boy, Nigel Tetley, and there were the bad boys, one of whom built a multi-hulled behemoth only to discover it couldn't sail worth a damn. He circled the Atlantic above the shipping channels and created a fake log in the hopes of creeping back to England and fooling everyone by skimming across the finish line without having actually raced. And then there was Bernard Moitessier, the French sailor aboard his steel ship, Joshua. Through luck and good seamanship, Moitessier appeared to have the race won. Until one day, when he found himself tacking north up the Atlantic in a contrary wind. So, seeing the winds as some cosmic hint, he turned Joshua around and headed south to go around the capes once more, effectively giving up his trophy. He sent word of his decision to England via a note in a film cannister which he lobbed onto a cargo ship to pass on. I can't remember the specifics of the note, but I do recall it saying that he was pressing on, in part, to "save his soul".I believe that Moitessier is one of the most magnificant small boat sailors to ever live because of this extravagent act. He dropped his competitiveness, his ego, and sailed on for the pure joy of the sport. How many of us on the trail have achieved such a perfect contentment with our sport? Certainly not me, though I'm trying to not try, if that makes sense. I have noticed a slowing down of my days; a tendency to stop and gawk at insects on the forrest floor, and ability to allow the mind to disengage for long blissful periods of time. But, I still fell the sting of the mileage nazi -- a cringe and a shudder every time a pack of exhuberant twenty-somethings tear past me in search of a big mile day, a need to justify myself.Khatadin will be there. It will be there as long as I live, and it's a foolish thing to mindlessly race to a mountain which is oblivious of my existence. Khatadin has no schedule. Neither did the 3 capes for Moitessier. Unfortunately, I'm neither a mountain, nor and enlightened French sailor. But, I hope I can learn a little about deviating from the plan and saving one's soul. Perhaps.I slept in this morning, and when I woke, I laid in my hammock and watched the silhouettes of insects crawling on my tarp. Some creature, I suspect it was a rabid monkey, visited our camp last night making obscene howling noises around the periphery of the tenting area.Bad Influence and I hooked up with the delightful Ohm and 1/4 moon for the day. We had a mission planned which included:a.) sleeping in b.) Ben and Jerry's ice cream for brunch at Bear's Den c.) getting lunch and beers at Snicker's Gapd.) rolling into Blackburn Trail Center for dinner and possibly sleep.That's a pretty ambitious itenerary for an 11 mile day, but it seemed doable. Until we found out that Bear's Den doesn't sell ice cream until 5:00 p.m., the bar/restaurant close to Snicker's Gap is closed on Monday's, and the temperatures were in the 90's. We had to by-pass the scheduled Ben and Jerry's break and found an alternative restaurant .6 miles further away at Snicker's Gap. And, we braved the last of the Roller Coaster in the brutal afternoon heat to get dinner at Blackburn just in the nick of time.A word about Blackburn: It's amazing! If you're in the area, go there! The caretakers, Hopeful and Redwing, are some of the most gracious hosts we've encountered on the trail so far. And the facility is neat too, with a main house, wrap-around porch to sleep on, a free bunkhouse for hikers, and other primitive (in a rad way) amenities.So, it was a great day. Once again.