Date: 2006-07-14
From: Story Spring Shelter, VT

To: Sutton's Place, Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: 0

Cell broke.I forgot to mention my cell phone died because it got wet two days ago. The reason it got wet was due to a hole in the ziplock I carried it in - the rain penetrated it and killed the phone. Due to my communication blackout, I had to hike long and fast today. The reason I have to do this is because I'm meeting Sue tomorrow, and I need to arrange our meeting place and time. My main option was to get to town and use a pay phone. I made it into town by 4:45 pm, and even made it to the Post Office before it closed to get my mail drop.When I finally reached Sue on the phone, she told me how worried she was for my safety. Being close to home, and in the same weather belt, she knew how bad it was out here. Then when she didn't hear from me, she became worried. I explained the problem, and she was relieved to hear I was okay.Old GoatSue's Note: What we've done with updates from Old Goat since he's been on the trail is that I send an e-mail update to close friends and some family members shortly after Old Goat and I talk, so they know where he is and that he's okay. When they get entered into this public Trail Journal, a couple days later, I edit some of my stuff somewhat. I decided not to edit what you'll read below. Below is exactly what I sent to friends/family after we talked this evening. (P.S. His real nickname is "Chip.")To friends/family, Fri, 7/14/06, 9:55pm:Today was the first time I REALLY worried about Chip! When I figured out (last evening) that it was only 31 miles from where he was Tuesday night to where we¢re meeting tomorrow, I thought he would reach that destination about mid-day today at the latest. He had not called since Tuesday evening, so I figured he was in a cell phone dead zone. I didn¢t worry Wed or Thursday ¢ I worried A LOT today! I kept my cell phone with me at all times and expected to hear from him any minute after mid-day¢¦..but the phone didn¢t ring, and didn¢t ring, and didn¢t ring¢¦..I was in a near panic by the time I got home! I imagined he slipped off a cliff with the horrid conditions he had to be in (because we had a record-breaking amount of rain Wed ¢ the most [4.29¢] EVER recorded in our area - and that storm had gone his way). I was trying to figure out what to do to find him. I had decided to drive to the town we agreed to meet at tomorrow morning, and if I hadn¢t heard from Chip by the time I got there, I would contact the local police, and we would back-track the AT until we found him.I kept telling myself that if he was injured on the trail, other thru-hikers would have found him and gotten him whatever help he needed. If that was the case, I would have heard from whatever services helped him (rescue, medical, whatever). That¢s why I thought he could possibly have fallen/slipped down some hill with all the rain and mud ¢ and maybe no one saw him go down the hill, and no one could see him. Now that I have your rapt attention (kind of like a suspense novel, huh?), Chip called me at 6:18pm from Manchester Center, VT. He¢s okay!!!!!! He did get the torrential rain we got, so he got TOTALLY soaked Wednesday, and the bag he keeps his cell phone in leaked. The cell phone ended up in a puddle of water and now is a useless piece of plastic! To complicate things, he was in a cell phone dead zone ¢ so even if his phone did work, he couldn¢t have gotten me. (That¢s why I wasn¢t worried until today ¢ that¢s happened before for 3 days in a row...no biggie.) Other thru-hikers loaned him their phones, but none (Verizon, Cingular, whatever) had reception, so he couldn¢t call. As a result, he pushed hard today to reach the town so he could use a pay phone to call me! (He originally planned to leave the last 3 miles for tomorrow morning.) The minute I heard his voice, the first thing I said was, ¢ARE YOU OKAY?¢ He is fine!!!!!!........WHEW!! (I wouldn¢t have worried if I didn¢t calculate how many miles it was between his last known location and our meeting location. I¢m used to cell phone dead zones¢¦..pretty normal on the AT.)Now to backtrack ¢ Wednesday night Chip was at the Goddard Shelter (mile 1606.8).Thursday night Chip was at the Story Spring Shelter (mile 1615.7). When Chip arrived at the shelter (in a downpour), the shelter was packed full and there was no room for anyone else. There were a lot of tents there already, too, so he ended up with a leftover spot. There was a big lump¢¦..making it feel somewhat like he was in a lounge chair while he laid on his back. If he tried to roll over on his side, it was awful. He was so tired, however, that he slept VERY well last night.Tonight he is in a boarding house in Manchester Center, VT (mile 1636.8). (Look at the miles! Over 1600! Can you imagine doing that??????!!!!!!)Even though he slept well last night, he¢s looking forward to a zero day tomorrow because these past few days have been exhausting with all the rain, and now extreme heat! When he got to the town, the first thing he did was secure a place to sleep for the night. He has a bed in a boarding house and fells quite good about that for tonight. I¢m leaving no later than 6am tomorrow to go be with Chip. If he had arrived in the town in time to call me earlier today, I would have left work early and driven there tonight (Google tells me it¢s a 4 hr drive). When I finally heard from Chip, it was too late to drive there tonight. I would have gotten there around 10pm, and I am very uncomfortable getting to unknown places in the dark and trying to figure out where I am and where I need to be. We¢re meeting at a book store in the morning...around 10am.I went to the Cingular store and bought Chip a new phone this evening, so he¢ll be all set when I see him tomorrow. An interesting tidbit...Chip is passing SOBOs (South bound thru-hikers) now who started on the AT around June 3rd. Taking into consideration that they are just now becoming ¢seasoned hikers,¢ Chip figures he¢ll reach Mt. Katahdin about 40 days from now.All is well.On a sad note, Gail, DieHard's wife, sent me a message late Tuesday telling me DieHard had to go home. I don't know why - I can only hope he's okay. Looking at the Wingfoot book, I think he may have hiked 18 miles in the two days...in the torrential rain, no less...not a small feat!!!! DieHard had hiked 700 miles when he first got off the trail - a huge accomplishment! Hurrah, DieHard! Fabulous accomplishment! I hope you are well.Another sad bit of news is that NEFFA left Old Goat a message in his Guest Book (of this Trail Journal) that she is off the trail for physical reasons, as well. I hope you are well, too, NEFFA!