Date: 2004-08-15
From: Cabin at Upper Goose Pond, MA

To: Sore Foot, Slower Pace
Miles today: 14.9

The remnants of Hurricane Charley passed over the area last night, dumping a load of rain on the Appalachian Trail. I barely noticed the sound of the downpour as I slept in the bunk at the cabin.I got up late in order to give my body, especially my feet, additional rest. The rest helped, but there was still soreness in my feet, especially the left foot.This cabin has a great reputation among hikers. Volunteer caretakers cook pancakes each morning for guests. The cost to stay here is a voluntary donation. Last night when I arrived, sore and exhausted, I did not sign my name on the guest list which asks if a person wants pancakes in the morning. Nobody told me about this list. When I entered the kitchen at breakfast, there were only a few pancakes left over, not enough to satisfy my appetite. But a few pancakes were better than none.Just before leaving, I met a section hiker in his thirties who was completing his final section of the Appalachian Trail. His name is Red Bee. He has been hiking with a miniature dachshund dog named LP, which is short for "Lost Puppy." On a previous section hike, the dog, a puppy at the time, had shown up at a shelter. The puppy was lost and hungry. Its teeth were falling out from malnutrition. Red Bee fed the ailing puppy and carried it inside of his backpack. Since the, the dog has become healthy and accompanies Red Bee on his long section hikes. Now the dog walks on his own.Back on the trail, I met three people who were day hiking together. They were curious about my thru hike. I chatted with them and they gave me an energy bar.Over the years, I have driven my car under a pair of footbridges that span the Massachusetts Turnpike. The words "Appalachian Trail" appear on these bridges. Sometimes I would imagine myself crossing the bridges with a backpack on my shoulder, on a thru hike from Georgia to Maine. Motorists would honk their horns with encouragement. I would wave back to them.This morning, my imagination became a reality, but not exactly as I had envisioned. I crossed the first bridge expecting to hear cars honking. Nothing happened. As I crossed the second bridge, a motorist in the slow lane activated a blinker and began easing his car into the fast lane. The other motorists, I surmised, directed their attentions to this car shifting lanes. My presence on the footbridge went unnoticed. Oh well.I hiked slowly today, unable to find a spring in my step or gain momentum; there were several reasons for this.There were wet conditions on the trail, a result of four consecutive days of precipitation. I was frequently picking my way through or around stretches of muck. What made this problem all the worse were the swamps through which the trail passed.Another problem was a sore spot on the sole of my left foot. At lunch break, I removed a splinter, the source of the pain, from the foot. The pain eased somewhat, but as the day wore on, the pain at that spot intensified.My lunch break was lousy. I was harassed by mosquitoes. But there were no flies present. Lately, there have been fewer flies¢the garbage kind¢in the woods. I wonder if their absence is an indication that their time has come and gone for this year. Since Virginia, I have been reminding myself that eventually the heat, the bugs, and the humidity will ease. Perhaps this easing has begun, at least for that kind of bug.While passing through October Mountain State Forest, I stopped and observed a wetland that contained a beaver lodge. The scene had a wild, almost wilderness appearance. As I observed the setting, a cool breeze kissed my cheeks. I had a sense that I was hiking within a remote place. I took a photo and resumed hiking. Minutes later, the blare of loud diesel engine interrupted the quietude of the forest and shattered my illusion of wildness. The trail crossed a gravel road situated nearby.The trail crossed lots of streams, many of them potential sources of drinking water. For a while, I did not draw water from them, concerned about the sources of this water. This region has few mountains and lots of swamps. Eventually, I had no choice but to draw water. I chose the best possible stream, specifically, one where water cascaded over rocks. When the water filled my bottle, I noticed a yellow hue in the fluid. The discoloration was likely from tannic acid which is supposedly harmless. To obscure any bad taste to the water, I poured some sports drink powder into the bottle.Slow hiking, wet conditions, a sore foot, yellowish drinking water, an overcast sky; those were some of the reasons why my mood was downbeat today. But there were some fleeting moments that were upbeat. Whenever I wiped my sweaty face with a bandana, I would detect a smoky aroma in the fabric of the bandana. Last night at the cabin, I had dried the bandana by the wood fire in the fireplace. The smell of the smoke was lingering in the bandana. The aroma evoked images in my mind of the fireplace and the relaxing ambiance in the cabin. It's fascinating how the mind reacts to things.My destination for the day was a shelter located near Dalton, MA. Late in the day, it became apparent that I would have to ramp up my hiking pace in order to reach the shelter before darkness. But I had a sense that my sore foot would get worse if I pushed harder. Accordingly, I began scanning the surrounding woods for places to stealth camp. I was reluctant to camp in an area of low elevation due to bug problems and lack of a breeze. I ended up camping on or near the summit of Warner Mountain. A forest covers the summit. There is no water source near the top.After eating supper, I heated up some water from my reserve bladder and removed my mud caked sandals and socks. I poured the water on my muddied feet and wiped them with a bandana. Then, using an alcohol wipe, I cleaned the sore spot where I had removed the splinter from the sole of my foot. Hopefully, the cleansing of the wound and a night of rest will revive my ailing left foot.As I compose this journal entry, the mosquitoes are whining on the other side of the bug netting which just about touches my face. Hopefully, they will go away when the light turns off. I just heard an animal running by my camp and circling back in the direction it came from. It had large strides, or better said, long intervals between steps. I do not think it was a large creature. Instead of striding, maybe the animal was hopping. There is also an owl in the vicinity with a robust hoot.Time for lights out.