Date: 2003-03-24
To: Day 9
Miles today: 0.0

here i am, enjoying my 9th day on this trail. im at mile 90.9. i am at the foot end of the 'new' carter gap shelter, in my sleeping bag at 7pm, along with coyote, ATwannabe, spunky, cindy and rich and N.S. did 12.5 miles today from muskrat creek shelter. climbed up standing indian mtn (5498 ft), and had a wonderful view since it was clear and sunny and the tallest mtn around. no blisters at all so far. ive been conscious of my feet and if i feel any rubbing or friction, i take off my boots and put duct tape on that spot. its working fine. i have duct tape wrapped around my pack frame, so i use that.i dont feel sick or on the verge of being sick, so i think my trail hygeine practices are working. id say keeping your fingers out of your mouth and using rubbing alcohol once or twice a day to wash hands with is the best you can do out here. spunky and i have been doing pushups before putting the packs on in the morning. you dont get much upper body exercise doing a thru hike. so im sure it helps.ive been taking a bunch of pictures so far and will probabl have a full memory card ready to send by the end of this week. i always have the camera ready to get to for the perfect shot. i also discovered by accident that it takes mini movies too! Bonus!well, its getting dark now and its 733pm and time to sleep. yes, 733. when youre outside like this, all the time, youre tired enough by the time the sun goes down. and you normally sleep all nite. things are simple here. i think thats why people want to be out here. for months and even years, ive thought what itd be like doing this. you look forward to being with people at the end of the day, to talk about whatever, and have some laughs. ive brought some smiles to some and theyve done the same to me. you just cant be afraid ofgetting aconversation going. even if its just something like, "what do you do for water"? or"what kind of camera is that?" whatever gets the ball rolling. everyone talks about mileages and elevations out here. but believe it or not, not too many talk about back home things. im serious. i guess because you dont really get homesick. sure, you miss your loved ones, but its different. out here is where youdrather be. living this reality, disconnected from the constant barrage of information. the "world" seems far away or even non-existent somehow. last nite at muskrat crk shelter we heard some coyotes really close as they made their coyote noises for about 10 minutes and then walked off. that was neat. and also every now and then you can hear what sounds like "someone trying to start a lawnmower", as journey (also on trailjournals) said. im talking abouta ruffed grouse. and of course you hear the birds in the morning.well its getting late (758pm now) and tomorrow we're (me, ATwannabe and spunky) are doing a 13 mile day and going to NS's place for a town stop. a little breather you have to be willing to let yourself have every few days or so. get a good dinner and hit a store and get some more goodies. one more thing to say before i go. the nite before we started the trail, i was given 2 beers, coronas, of which i drank one. the other one is in my pack. ive been carrying this beer for almost 100 miles. i dont know why i even have it still. or why i havnt drank it. maybe ill have it when i get on mt katadin. hmmm...maybe we should have a contest. submit your ideas for when i sould drink it or what you would do. waiting for those responses. nite! and happy spring from NC (1 state d....own!!!)