Date: 2004-09-06
From: Spruce Peak Lean-to

To: Big Branch Lean-to
Miles today: 19.2

Williams College Rocks! Actually, my whole day rocked! I had so much fun today; and tonight I caught up with my friends. Woohoo!I woke up at 7:30 and talked with Mario and Keith. As my day began I felt lazy and I did not leave the shelter for nearly an hour. When I did my mind was a blur and the air chilly. Still I felt content. My first 3 miles were mostly flat and I passed a beautiful little waterfall. I walked slowly lost in my own little world. The green of the trees made everything so tranquil. Three miles in I hit the road into Manchester and I passed it. That¢s right, I passed up an opportunity to zero :-).Shortly thereafter I began to climb Bromley. Still in my daze, I passed little frogs and ferns. It did not even register that I was climbing 3 miles. As I neared the top of the mountain I left the canopy of trees to climb a grassy slope. After a moment I realized: The trail was crossing ski slopes. Sure enough I soon reached the top to see a tram, an observation tower, and skiing signs. It was so neat! I was actually on ski slopes. My daze of wonder was interrupted by a group of college students on the hill: ¢Hey, do you want to join us for lunch?¢Holy Cow! ¢Yes¢. The next thing I knew I was playing Frisbee, eating bagel and cheddar cheese sandwiches, and telling hiker stories to a group of kids on orientation from Williams College. They immediately adopted me. Their 2 leaders (one of whom was a gorgeous blonde :-)) then led us to the top of the fire tower. There we played ¢hydration¢ games. This is basically playing drinking games with water instead of beer. By the end of a silly game I had finished 2 liters of water. While chilling with them I also beatboxed for them and told them about ¢Grizzly Dave¢. From jokes to silly comments to games I had a blast with them. I love being able to entertain and I love big groups. This group rocked. I could write about how awesome they were for pages but I¢ll leave it at this: I took a 3 hour break with them on a 19 mile day. When I finally did leave at 2:30 I realized I had 13 miles to do in 5 hours¢¦oops. I sucked it up and pushed on with blaring speed. To my shock, my body agreed to go fast. I flew down the mountain and up and over another. I crossed bog walks and shuffled through mud, still I kept going. While I usually like to soak in my surroundings the heart-racing adrenaline of my push was enjoyable. I passed ¢Mario¢ & Keith on a mountain, paused to say hi, and kept going stronger. I finally stopped at Peru Peak Shelter at 4:30 p.m. I had covered 7 miles in 2 hours and I had the sweat on my shirt to prove it. There at the shelter who did I meet but another Williams College group. I said hello and saw 3 kids struggling to hang a bearbag rope. Being the ¢experienced¢ thru-hiker I am, I went to help. Next thing I know I nearly lost their rope in a tree and I covered it in mud. Still I did manage to get it properly hung and I helped to teach them how to do it (uhh, kind of). As with the other group the kids were awesome! A number of them asked me trail questions. I answered questions and promised before I left I would beatbox. Realizing I still had 6.4 miles to go I knew I had to leave soon. Before I could beatbox a kid asked to videotape me. I complied and set off to perform. I had a blast and the kids seemed to love it. Just seeing the smiles makes me so happy to beatbox. At 5:15 I finally did leave after saying farewell to another awesome group. With 6.4 miles to do I pushed off in high gear again. I breezed past an awesome lake on my left. In no time at all I was at Davis Peak. There in the middle of an otherwise mundane stretch, a small rock scramble rises up to the peak. The view from the peak was magnificent. Clouds floated over the portrait of the giant hills guarding the valley below. In the valley water snaked its way through in S¢s dividing the lush green on its sides. I stopped my little scurry to take a 3 minutes pause. There I took pictures, thanked God, and took a few deep breaths¢¦ah!From the peak the next 4 miles were gradual downhill. I zoned in and flew. I arrived at the shelter at 7:05 p.m. in plenty of time before dark. Arriving at the shelter not only marked me making my goal, but found me staring at old buddies. There in the shelter were Knuckles, Underhill, Tombstone, and Peanut. Knuckes and Underhill are an unbelievable couple (trail hook-up) who I spent 2 days in Dalton and played the song game with. Tombstone & Peanut helped cheer me up a week ago on the rainy night when my flashlight broke. We all just caught up on the past weeks¢ events. I¢m so excited to have caught up to Nobo¢s, especially cool ones :-)!Before bed here are some final thoughts/questions that have been on my mind.2 observations:1) While I was pumped to chill with cool kids and ¢make goals¢ Mario saw a moose today. He was 15 minutes behind me and I wonder if I missed it in my hurry :-( .2) I love teenage groups, stories, and entertainment. The more I think about this combined with my religious beliefs, I really start to desire to be a youth pastor. Of course I know being a youth pastor is not just so I can ¢entertain¢ kids. This is something I need to be seriously thinking and praying about. Is this my calling?2 environmental questions:1) I read that Vermont has no poisonous snakes. How is this possible if Main, New Hampshire, & Massachusetts do? Do snakes know the state borders? 2) What is the ¢official¢ difference between a lake and a pond scientifically? Closing: Knuckles rocks because she let me use her light to write this journal. I am so happy, excited, and hyper that I wrote a small book (sorry :-)). Tonight I am in a shelter facing a small river gorge. The sound is awesome! Tomorrow I have friends to hike with me. Today was my 3rd straight day following my plan. That¢s enough about my day though, now I¢m going to listen to the sound of the water rushing before me until I hear it no more¢¦.Goodnight, BEATBOX   ttt