Date: 2004-05-12
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: broken clouds

Log entry: 102Today a quick shout out to the Kennett Hign Alt. Ed Math class. I'll see you in a couple weeks but in the meantime, y'all need to get your assignments done. Your teacher sounds like a cool dude, so listen to him. Regardless of what you may think, he actually does know more than you. High school was hard for me until I realized I wasn't smarter than the teachers and if I listened even a little I could maybe even learn a thing or 2. As humbling as that was.   Start time: 0720End time: 1605Morning weather: Warm and sunny, even at 0630. I am glad I got up early.Afternoon weather: Hot all day but from about 1330-1430 the sun was on/off due to partial clouds. Evening weather: Bright sun and blue skies at 1800. Not enough breeze to keep the gnats off though.Breakfast: Vanilla CIB and fudge roundsLunch: Poptart, Nut raisin mix from an MRE (anyone know what a "filbert" is? I guess I ate some), MRE cracker with peanut butter, raisins.Dinner: Tea, chocolate-peanut butter pudding, instant mashed potatoes and sausage gravyTrail description: Only one real climb today up Stratton Mt and that was 1500 feet or so over 3 miles, so very mild. It was actually fun. You can see Stratton Mt since yesterday and it was fun to approach and climb it finally. "Fun?" you may ask but after 1,630 miles and 102 days, anytime I can mentally turn something into a game it's a bonus. Everything still feels very remote and wild.People: "Bearmeat" at Story Spring shelter then later on up the trail, a couple from Raleigh, NC doing a section of the Long Trail.Animals: More moose sign but still no visuals. More chipmunks, they're so cute.Money spent: NoneComplaints: A small mental funk in the first few miles but that worked itself out. Body felt great until the last mile or so. I feel great always until right around 20 miles. Only 2 more 20+ milers left! Woo-hoo!Thoughts: The great thing about getting done on time is that fact that you can actually go to bed when you are tired. Like last night I had everything done by 2045 and I read the Bible for 45 minutes before falling asleep. So by 0630 I was raring to go. It helped that the sun shone directly into the shelter too (which was a fantastic sunrise).As I made my way towards Story Spring shelter, which is only 4.6 past Kid Gore,I kicked myself for not pushing on yesterday. But I soon realized that I may not have felt as good this morning if I had pushed ahead yesterday.A main quote which I have based many of my days on has been, "Don't put offuntil tomorrow what can be done today". Now that is a great motto to live by at work, doing homework, or if your goal is to hike the AT. But not if you want to enjoy your hike on the AT. There is a time and a place to push your body to its physical and mental limits but not everyday. So I snapped myself out of the funk with a little prayer time and before I knew it, 0900 exactly, I was upon Story Spring shelter where "Bearmeat" was packing up. Bearmeat is an older guy hiking this year from Delaware Water Gap to Katahdin.He left April 1st. I was glad to finally meet him but sad I couldn't spend more time conversing. I moved ahead and enjoyed every minute of the climb upStratton. Up top I met the couple sectioning the Long Trail who was just heading off the mt after a break. I took my lunch in the firetower, on a sunny and clear day too no less.I also got minimal service on my cell and paged my Dad with my secret codefollowed by the mileage I was at. I didn't think I had enough service for aphone call but minutes later Dad lit up my phone.It was good to hear his voice again even though it has only been since Sundaymorning since we last spoke. We talked a little about Katahdin plans and theyare going to see about getting reservations at Katahdin Stream campground. I am giddy with excitement.After the call I got signals of voicemails which include one from Andy,"Rowboat" I should say, letting me know he was in Fontana. Hopefully I will beable to return his call in the morning.The rest of the day has been uneventful. I ran into Bearmeat again just beforeWiliam B Douglas shelter. My heart initially sank because I thought I had beenon the wrong trail all day but it turns out he took a shortcut to avoid Stratton Mt. I hope he shows up here tonight. This shelter is too cool to have to myself.