Date: 2005-09-01
From: Hanover, NH

To: the whites await
Miles today: 0.0

?Huzzah!? Yesterday I made my long-awaited return to the trail.? Two and a half weeks off.? Whew!? I was feelin' every one of 'em too, let me tell ya.? Naturally, the day I decide (well, actually, the day my _body_ decides to finally cooperate) to get back on, and what's the weather like?? Beautiful skies, you might think?? Balmy sunshine, perhaps?? Not to be.? It was rain, followed by wind, and then some more rain.? Good times.? And, did I pick a nice, easy stretch of trail to 'ease my way back in'?? Nah, couldn't go the easy route, now, could I?? Nope, it was up and over Moosilauke.? Which, I must admit, despite the long 3000' climb (which was actually easier than I'd imagined), and despite the short 2000' descent (which was much harder than I'd imagined), and despite getting buffeted by 50-60mph wind gusts on the summit (first time above treeline on the East Coast for me), and despite my trail legs being 2 1/2-weeks in absentia -- despite all that, it was unparalleledly _awesome_, being back on the trail, hiking once again, being w/ my trail family, just, well, everything.? I didn't even care that the views from Moosilauke were non-existent; that I couldn't even hear Poet, standing a mere 15 feet away, when she was yelling at me b/c the wind was so strong; that people were getting tossed around like ragdolls (I'll refrain from naming names here, but there were several tumbles atop Moosilauke due to the high wind).? It was all worth it.? It was what I'd been waiting for for the past month.? (Geez, has it really been that long?)? Unfortunately, it wasn't to last.? Now that I've finally conquered the mysterious fatigue and chronic headache (referred to amongst the Pod as 'Plum Disease'.? Don't ask.)?that'd been plaguing me?since early August, well, that couldn't be the end of it.? No, instead, I've been afflicted w/ a never-ending migraine.? Fun, fun.? I thought that I'd finally rid myself of _that_ yesterday, and I actually felt pretty good on the ascent.? But, once we reached the summit, then things started to go downhill.? Literally.? And figuratively.? By the time Poet and I reached Beaver Brook Shelter, I knew that the migraine had only gone into temporary remission, and had returned w/ a vengeance.? So, once again I find myself in town while the Pod hikes on...? I hitched in from Kinsman Notch last evening, to find that roughly a million other thru-hikers will be going through the Whites at the same time as our group.? And we were thinking that we were bringing up the rear of this year's NOBOs.? Hah.? There were probably 2 dozen other hikers at the Carriage Motel last night.? Lots of familiar faces that were good to see.? But, it's getting harder and harder, to stay behind and say goodbye to the Pod, to watch them hike on while I wait for my body to cooperate w/ my desire to join them.? Sitting around twiddling my thumbs is not exactly what I had in mind when I came out here.? I think I've even over-dosed on reading in the past few weeks.? (Gasp)? ? It's just so frustrating when your body isn't capable of performing what you ask of it.? Argh.? Sorry, don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I need to vent a little.? You just happen to be (some) of my unwitting audience.? Lucky you.? ? Fortunately, today seems to be a 'good' day for my head (although it's been such a long time now that I've almost forgotten what 'normal' feels like), and I'm hoping that the forecast for tomorrow will be the same.? The Pod should be rolling in to town to pick up maildrops sometime tomorrow, and, if the stars and planets align correctly, I'll be joining them across Franconia Ridge.? Climbing Liberty on my second day of hiking?? You betcha. ?Thanks, as usual, for all the letters, emails, etc.? I dearly appreciate hearing from all of you.? No idea when my next update will be, or where it will be from.? Don'tcha love surprises?