Date: 2002-09-02
From: Katahdin, Maine

To: GA
Miles today: 0.0

MORE FOR SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2002By the way there is a hut about 2/10 mile away from where we camped so I went back there this morning, to go to the bathroom and sign in the register. The register is so that the southbounders will know I have been through here. Bodi the dog followed me all the way up there, I went to the bathroom, signed the register and sure enough there he was waiting for me to come back again. He kept me company all the way back. I am thinking that I would really like to have a dog. Even with all the inconvenienced, I think when I get home I am gonna call Jack Colby, he trains black labs, and have him train one for me. I am not very good at training, but actually I believe I will get a dog. For some reason I am feeling very good about his hiking today. I don¢t know if it was meeting those people last night, or getting my legs under me, my pack feels light today. But I am thinking that there are a lot of people who would give their right arm to do something like this and just aren¢t able to, don¢t have time, or don¢t have an understanding family that would put up with something like this. Things change daily but today I am glad I am doing it. I don¢t know if I mentioned it, but yesterday it was 15 miles. I don¢t believe in the last few days I have complained about my blisters and that is because they are actually healing. Knock on Wood. I think it is in due to the advice that I got from the couple from Illinois on how to tie my shoes so they stayed tight. Plus taking the soft moleskin and cutting a hole through it where the blister it and put the moleskin backwards. I have gotten a lot of good advice that I should have know to start with but better late than never. Bearfoot gave me the advice on how to tape. That helped me a lot. When I am going up a hill I go into cadence and under my breath I sing¢¦ [Singing]HOLY, HOLY, HOLYLORD GOD ALMIGHTYGOD IN THREE VERSESBLESSED TRINITY[again]HOLY, HOLY, HOLYLORD GOD ALMIGHTYGOD IN THREE VERSESBLESSED TRINITY1 ¢2 ¢ 3 Go GoNow going downhill is a different storyLOR-R-R-D ,help me make the right decisions, it¢s more of an art than a science. Just come upon the observation tower on this mountain, and I don¢t know what mountain this is but there is a nice big platform and benches to sit on. I can see for miles and miles. I can see a little village down there with a little lake around it. I can see Mt. Washington over yonder with a hut on top it/radio tower. And I have to see that tomorrow maybe. Mt. Washington has the highest wind speed ever recorded. You never know what the weather is going to be up there. Hopefully it will be nice. It is overcast over there but hopefully it will clear up tomorrow. I stopped at Pinkham Notch visitors center and got my mail drop and I have way to much food but I packed my bear bag full and left the rest of it in the hiker box for others to use. It just so happens that it¢s just about noon and they had an all you can eat buffet with cold meat sand. Soup salads and desserts. Drinks/coffee, just about everything. I sat there and I ate, and I ate and ate, you know how that is? It was $6.75 and that is not bad, because a sub sandwich will cost you 5 around here. So here I am back on the trail 12:50 and my stomach is full, my pack is full, must weigh 50 pounds again. I feel like a nap, but boy does it feel good to have my tummy full and they had BREAD PUDDING, and BOY WAS IT YUMMY. I had 3 helpings of that. :o) Plus Carrot cake, cheesecake, peanut butter jelly sandwich, one big dagwood sandwich, two cups coffee. Tonight I am going to go up the trail to Osgood Tent site. Talk about people, since Labor Day there is tons and tons of people all over, everything is just packed. I will be glad when tomorrow comes and back out there with solitude again. While I had been eating lunch I got to talking to a North Bound hiker, Ranger, he just retired from the army last April. Married had a son who just started college. His wife is going to nursing school and he is from Colorado Springs, CO. He says his wife is not too happy with him being on the trail. He has been home twice and he started in April, so here he is and he is really cookin¢. I ask him what he did in the army and he said he was a ranger. So he is in good shape. He is probably 40 he was in the army 20 years. Interesting to talk to. He said once I get to Glencliff I can really make some mileage. Hopefully that is the case. Right now it¢s slow going because these mountains are really mountains. Oh Boy, I will tell you, that lunch was good but I am paying for it now. Had a tough climb out of the Pinkham Notch with a full stomach. I reckon I made it about 11 miles today on Labor Day. I am at the Osgood tent site and tomorrow I am going to try to make it to the lake of the clouds hut. Which is past Mt. Washington. I have to climb Mt. Madison right off the bat, then up and down, up and down, up and down, and then the big one to Mt. Washington, which is about 6500 elevation. They say there is a big weather station and they have clocked the winds there are 231 miles per hour. Will tell you more later. Looks like I am alone here in the tent site. I had ramen noodles, with mash potatoes mixed in with hot chocolate, pop tarts, and then I have 4 baby snickers for a snack later. It¢s only just after 7 but I am ready to hit the sack. It¢s been cold the last couple of nights and my tights have a hole in them, I might have to have Mary send me some more. I have been wearing a long sleeve pantagonia shirt. But toward the middle of night I warm up. I bought a pair of ladies; one size fits all, ladies hose. BOY THOSE THINGS ARE GREAT, can¢t remember who suggested that, but they said that was the best thing you could do to keep your feet warm at night. Wear em around the campground with flip-flops. So I am gearing up to go through what they call the presidentials. Starts out with Daniel Webster Trail (of course he wasn¢t a president), then Mt. Madison, Madison Springs Hut, Airline Trail, Thunderstorm Junction, Loes Path, Israel Ridge Path, Edmonds Call, Randalls Path, 6 Husbands Trail, Corners Trail, Svens Call, Svens Trail, Jewell Trail, Westside Trail, Great Golf Trail and then Mount Washington. Then the next day is Mt. Monroe, Mt. Franklin, Eisenhower Trail, Edmonds Trail, Mt. Pierce (used to be Mt. Clinton but they changed it for some reason). Not because of President Clinton but for some other reason. Then comes Mt. Jackson, Mt. Webster, then it goes down and starts going to lower elevations and I think I am only about 3 days from there. Wish some south bounders would show up, I am getting lonesome for some of them people. You kind of get to know them and wish they would come around. But it¢s not dark yet, so maybe somebody will show. I don¢t know if I mentioned but I got here around 5. They have tent platforms here at this campsite. So I am glad I bought a freestanding tent. It stands all by itself. My ribcage is hurting some tonight and hurts to breathe deep. I think it is just bruised. I am kind of getting used to sleeping on the hard surface. I think I slept pretty good last night. But you know I am an old man and have to pee in the middle of the night and I am trying to train myself to hold it and wait till morning. So last night I didn¢t have to get up and go. Have to listen to my radio for awhile. It¢s about the size of a silver dollar, half inch thick. FM radio only, sometimes I get NPR, and sometimes Boston radio station with sports and weather. Sometimes I listen to that country music but that just makes me sad. Just when I thought I was going to be alone, here comes a young fellow wandering in about dark. Stumbling around looking for a place to pitch his tent on dirt instead of the wood platforms because he had one of those tents you have to stake up. I was concerned about that before I made this trip, to be caught in a place where there wasn¢t enough stakes. Anyway he had a tough day, he was on top of Mt. Washington and the clouds rolled in and he couldn¢t¢ see 20 feet in front of him and it was drizzling rain. He was really glad to get below tree line where he got out of the mist and drizzle and of course he was late getting in. I believe his trail name was Duct Tape from PA. He is a north bounder.