Date: 2010-08-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 97.4

Happy birthday me!!  I'm in Gorham New Hampshire having now completed Maine and 297 miles of trail.  Maine didn't let us go easily, in fact it chewed us up and spit us out.  We are staying at a place called White Birches trailer park which is full of old guys who park their RVs here in Summer and Florida for winter.  I am sitting around a fire with a bunch of them now.  When older folks find I'm an ICU nurse they feel compelled to yell me their latest lab values from the doctor, their prostate function and surgical history.  In exchange I guess their social history and medicatios they are probally on. I lecture them on the importance of actually taking their meds and why their blood glucose level is so much more than something more their Doctor can nag them about.  I believe in holistic nursing and that nursing is part of who I am and not just a job. You don't have to be wearing scrubs to make a difference. I enjoy this, and I enjoy them.I've made some new buddies.  Stoker (jarred) and Wolfman (louis) both from North Jersey.  They were frat brothers who just graduated Penn State.  Their birth on the trail goes something like this.  Wolfman was researching hiking when he came across the AT online.  In a drunken conversation he tells his buddies he is going to hike it.  In a drunken mel©e of zealousness Stoker says sure I'll hike it to.....hahaha.  The next morning, a hung over stoker knocks on a hung over wolfmans door and says "hey I got nothing to do this summer, let's talk about this hike".  They are great company and are my style.  Ample breaks and naps are part of the routine as is swimming at every oppurtunity.  On one particular afternoon we stumbled upon a blue blazed trail that led to a waterfall.  I should explain something.  Along the trail there are other trails with blue blazes that often lead to special interests....vistas, cliffs, summits waterfalls ect.  Now this would be considered extracurricular hiking.  There is nothing we enjoy less than hiking "extra".  My feeling is that the AT is 2179 miles long.  There is plenty to see in 2179 miles without doing extra.  On this day we opted for extracurricular hiking at the prospect of swimming.  What we found was the kind of place I envisioned when I dreamed of hiking the trail.  Two waterfalls, a deep swim hole and big rocks to jump off.  We had a blast.  After a couple hours stoker mentioned if he could find bait he could catch a bunch of fish there.  Yeah right!!  Your a jersey boy stoker, what do you know about catching fish in a hole in Maine.  I told him if he caught a fish than I would eat gish for the first time.  He pulled out a pill bottle with fishing lines and hooks and fashioned his trekking pole into a fishing rod.  He started splitting logs until he found grub for bait.  Don't you know that kid caught eight fish!!  Brook trout.  He gutted it, and that night.....I ate fish.  That kid is freaking Myguyver.  He has mad woodsman skills....and from Jersey?  In fact he has taken up widdeling.  He fashioned a wooden figure that we have named Wilson (see cast away).  Wilson has a caniving grin and a pinnochio nose.  He is God like and we have declared him the knower of all things.  He hates us mostly. We ask him for advice and input, and we imagine he reminds us we are fat and lazy and need to hike.  One day I accidentily took a blue blazed trail down a mountain.  I was a mile and 1000 feet down before my day dreaming stupidity looked up and saw the wrong colored blaze.  I could have cried.  This was not only extracurricular, but an extracurricular descent and climb.  That's the worst kind!!We celebrated Christmas in July.  I declared Dec 25 Christmas and declared my trail name "father Christmas" for that day.  We sung carols and exchanged stories of family tradition.  I also declared I could announce Christmas at any time I wanted.  Sometimes you just need a little Christmas.Tater-isms.  This is a term we fabricated to keep track of funny language, stories or words Tater chip uses.  This will become a staple in my trail journal.  Taterchip carries bear spray.  This is funny to us because it is generally considered useless on the trail.  Tater explains " well heck the spray ain't for the bear.  If I see a bear coming at me I'm gonna spray myself cuz I don't wanna see what he's fixing to do"When hungry tater might say..."I'm so hungry I could eat the north side of a duck flying south". Translation: I could eat a ducks ass.Well that's all for now.  I will update tomorrow again, lots more to tell.For my parents and those of you who asked for a mailing adress.General DeliveryPlease hold for thru hiker John BitnerLincoln, NH03251I'll be there in a little over a week.  if you label it as written above it will be at the post office when I get there.Thanks all for your Birthday wishes,texts and facebook messages!Churchill