Date: 2007-09-20
From: Chairback Gap Lean-to ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 2085.5

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 2097.2
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: few clouds

Day 169 ¢ 9/20/07Start: Chairback Gap Lean-to ¢ 2085.5End: Sidney Tappan Campsite ¢ 2097.2Day Miles: 11.7I wake up to a nice morning but just feel like hanging out and taking my time. I am far from the lean-to and have no urge to go hang with the other hikers. I feel Katahdin calling but I am also savoring the last few days and the total solitude. I am now wondering why I did not hike solo much sooner? I think I actually felt some inner need to be part of the group and I was always surrounded by good people. On the other hand I often felt lonely in a crowd. I think I felt I needed a support system to keep me motivated perhaps, but now the end is in reach and there is no question I will finish. That ¢knowing I will make it¢ has given me new freedom. I am also more satisfied with myself and my progress hiking alone because there is no one else to judge against. I guess I am way too competitive at heart or perhaps lack self-confidence. That is a huge character flaw of mine. I can be perfectly happy with where I am until I see that other people have gotten farther. Why???I actually procrastinate long enough that when I do hike out everyone at the shelter has long gone. There is a little more climbing to get over Chairback Mountain and then the descent down to the West Branch of the Pleasant River. The spring at the lean-to was nasty as I had been told. The ¢spring¢ was more of a rusty bog so I took a pass on getting water because the book showed a spring and stream about 3 miles out. Again, I am disappointed because all I find is a dry gulch. Either I have missed the spring or it is dry as well as the dozens of other water sources I have relied on lately. I am soon out of water again. I know the river is ahead so I decide to just hold on and break for lunch and get water there since I have to take off my boots to ford anyway.When I get to the river I meet several couples who have walked in from the nearby road. I decided to cook up some lunch and hang out in the sun at the river crossing. Just as I am packing up and ready to go an older couple, who passed before, return and we have a conversation about thru-hiking. They are shocked that I have walked all the way from Georgia and insist on taking the picture of ¢a real, genuine, Appalachian Trail thru-hiker¢ fording the river. After my ¢heroic¢ river crossing (thank goodness I did not fall) we call our farewells across the river and I head up the trail which is smooth and wide for quite a way. This is the Hermitage and Gulf Hagas so it gets a lot of foot traffic from day hikers who now have access from the nearby logging roads.Time seems to drag on and I get to the lean-to a little later than I expected. There is one person there. He is a southbound section hiker hoping to possibly thru-hike. He has no money and an odd array of equipment. However, the oddest thing is he is carrying about 12 pounds of oatmeal and hopes to survive mainly on that because it is cheap. He already is starting to hate it. Rhode Island Red had been through early in the day. I decide to head up to Sidney Tappan Campground to get one more climb out of the way tonight. The section hiker thinks I am insane. ¢It will be dark.¢¢ It is REALLY far.¢ ¢Man, the climb is really steep.¢ These are his words of caution before I head out. I suspect Numbtoe and Shadow are not far behind so I left a note in the shelter log that I am staying at the next campsite and they can still catch me.The climb is much easier than I expected. I see firsthand all the work on new stairs done by the trail crew I ran into way back in Grafton Notch. Led by former thru-hiker Beer Poet, they had told me about building over 600 stairs in this area before the crew was relocated to finish the re-route coming out of Grafton Notch.I get over the summit and expect to find the campsite right away but it is farther than I remember. There is a lot of evidence of moose bedding down all along the side of the trail. I am concerned about getting in, setup, and getting water before dark.I finally walk into a large clearing and find that Dragon Breath and his Mom have setup their sleeping bags to ¢cowboy camp¢ right in the middle of the clearing. It looks like the perfect place to get trampled by a scared moose. J-Beard and Mango are setup in the trees so I move down the trail 100 feet to a wide spot hoping I am clear of the moose traffic. I get water and have diner, socialize by the fire with the other hikers, and then turn in at dark. There is a heavy dew and it is cold. My tent fly is soaked and I am sure that Dragon Breath and his Mom¢s sleeping bags are soaked as well.At 10:00 pm I am awakened as Numbtoe and Shadow roll in and setup right behind me. They had read my note at the last shelter and decided to catch me after they had dinner.