Date: 2006-05-02
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 57   Tuesday Total miles 751.1 more than 1/3 of the way to Mt. Katahdin   Awoke this morning to the sound of mourning doves and a whipoorwill, then went back to sleep. After doing 18.5 miles on Monday with a 11:30 AM start, I saw no reason to beat daybreak for the same distance today. Cooked breakfast (oatmeal with fruit) and got away at 9:15AM. I had no one particular in mind to hike for today, but as the time passed I found myself stopping frequently to take photos of flowers, prompted in part by a comment my sister, Mary Dew, made on the phone Sunday night. She said that she appreciated the details I add to my journal about what I saw and did-not just miles. So as I took photos of flowers (most of which I can't name) I thought of Mary Dew (who can identify a lot of wildflowers). So Mary Dew, this day's for you. Speaking of flowers, the Mountain Laurel are budding out, and one or two are starting to open. In a week there'll be millions of pinkish-white blossoms. I left with Jigsaw and Jaybird and stopped to share a snack with them on the Trail. They are ending their weeklong section hike today, unfortunately. I would enjoy meeting up with them more. They are older than the average hiker (mid 20's), younger than me but close in experience and outlook. Both promised to send useful information via the Trail Journals guest book; Jigsaw can give me some good information about shelters, hostels, etc. near his home in Massachusetts. I repeated yesterday's schedule today-stop and cook supper in the afternoon, then hike in to the next shelter for bed. I stopped at Bryant Ridge for dinner, which is a large custom shelter with porches, 2 sleeping levels, and several neat design features. The Cornelius Creek Shelter is small and ordinary and older, but there are only 2 of us (me & POW), so we have plenty of room. For supper I cooked one of my Christmas presents from my daughter, Jennifer-a Mountain House beef stroganoff dinner. Thanks, Jen!                        Some random gear notes: I am considering whether to switch from my walking stick to poles. Everyone who uses them says they help with balance, pushing uphill to keep momentum, and taking part of the stress off knees during downhills. They are expensive, but if my stick breaks, then I'm really in a fix. I'm glad I kept some of my winter gear, especially the balaclava and the down sleeping bag. The nights have been very cool(high 30's to mid 40's), but I have stayed comfortable.   The outfitter in Daleville gave me a good tip to save money and weight on water treatment. Instead of buying the 2 bottle pack of pills for iodine treatment, just use the iodine pills and later add a little asorbic acid (vitamin C), either as a small pill(50mg or so) or as a powder, which I am doing. It's working fine to neutralize the taste and color of iodine-treated water. I've also started wearing the bottom part of my pants again-the zip-off legs. Even though it's hotter, it protects against briars, poison ivy, bugs, and stinging nettles. I also put in new boot inserts this week. The original pair looked to still be in good shape, but after 700 miles, it seemed a good time to change.                           One trail note: Today I dropped below 1000ft for the first time-the lowest elevation so far. Unfortunately that was followed up with two long climbs of 1100ft and 1200ft. I'm camping at about 3150ft.