Date: 2004-07-27
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

i got to sleep a little late last night. the hostel has a set of movies and 'the boys' where watching flick after flick. i had my ear plugs in and could still hear the tv. moving downstairs, i asked the rat pack and others to lower the volume. you'd think i asked them to give me all their snickers bars. in the silence of their stares, one guy grabbed the remote and dropped the volume. mission accomplished.this is the second time i've seen a group of youngins mesmerized by tv. i just don't understand it. they watch the tube all night, get up late, hike late, and get to the shelter past dark. before someone gets cranky and sez "hike your own hike", what i've noticed is the hiking seems to be secondary to partying and watching the boob tube. why come out on the trail then? today's fun was hiking up mt. moosilauke in the cool mist of the morning. the peak of the mountain usually gives you this spectacular view of the whites, but on this cool breezy day. we got a 360* sea of white. no worries, i got my picture taken with the official sign and skidaddled off the peak so i would not freeze my butt off.i continued hiking to the beaver brook shelter. an outdoors group of teenagers (all girls) had taken command of the tenting areas. the leaders had their gear in the shelter, where i also dropped my stuff for lunch. i talked some with the group leaders and a lot with the young hikers. we did the usual question and answers which i don't mind doing. i love to connect to people out here. i always get the impression from people that going on a thru hike is amazing stuff, but once you do it, it feels quite natural to be away from the daily conveniences for 5 months.the group, known as the "antelope cabin", said grace and ate their lunches, offering me some fresh cucumber slices and a snickers bar. yummy!the trail that followed wasn't bad even though the sobos were complaining about rocks and roots. they weren't bad. what was bad was the continual ups and downs. up down up down up down up down... it's maddening i tell you. the progress was slow and i was hungry and wet. eliza shelter seemed like it would never come. but wait! there a sign ahead. oh joy, that's it! nope. "eliza shelter 1 mile".bummer, more slogging to do.i finally got there and the shelter was near capacity. i grabbed my little 3x6 piece of real estate and made dinner. after dark the rat pack rolls in. one of them can squeeze in here, but the tired adage, "there's always room for one more", is total BS. you hike the AT, you carry a tent. you stroll in late, you may need to set up your tent, even in the rain. people will make space if conditions are dangerous.since i'm bitching and playing mr. know-it-all... here's one more thing: hiking at night, in the rain, in the cold, over slick roots and rocks... not smart. actually, that's wrong. causality is something entirely different than a + b + c = high probability of x happening. (this coming from a guy that works at an insurance company, lol) the above mis-statement will not preclude someone to end up with a disaster, just a very different experience than us daytimers.i'll hike into town tomorrow for a nero (a roman holiday ) and resupply for the whites.at the shelter area today... 16 nobo hikers... holy jesus!! stargaze, fuzzy, eelz, bees knees & hubby, kato, zipoff, the rat pack, and a woman tenting with her dog.