Date: 2014-08-02
From: hexacuba shelter

To: moose mountain shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

Day 4017.7 miles/double dinner/free ice cream. Life was hard and easySo let's begin. I walked a lot, usually I have big goals and then I drop them. Today was the reverse, we planned minimal miles (minimal ment 12). But we made it to 12 and the extra 5 wasn't too hard so we just pushed to 17. It is actually noticeable that the terrain is not as rough. The mountains definitely are not as high but the walk up them still sucks. I refer specifically to the 3.5 uphill yesterday and the 1.7 at the end of the day today. Although the mountains are not substantial walking up for 45 mins when you are tired from 14 miles already wears down on you. I can't imagine longer up hills but I know they exist and I do not look forward to them. All I need to do is remember at least it's not fuckin southern Maine or the whites.Superstition: I have a thing i have been doing since I started. It's a bit superstitious but every time I pass by a white blaze on a tree and I notice it and am within poles length of it, I bump the tree with my pole. That's it, my favorite goalie when I was a kid was patrick Roy and I remember reading about his superstitions and deciding i wanted one, and because of that, I have a lot . I just thought yull would like to hear about the newest one.Also trail ivy. I've had poison ivy many times in my life and it's not from lack of trying to not get poison ivy. The greatest hits compilation goes1.the first time, full body, eye swollen shut, endless pain2.boy scout camp out, full body, endless pain3.watchin a hockey game on my sisters couch and the dog got ivy, full body, endless pain4.California, back of knee, couldn't walk normal for 2 weeks, targeted painAnyways I hate poison ivy. There's this thing I've been saying, as someone who kinda knows what it looks like but not really and that "leaves if trees, let them bes". I know it's three leaves but isn't my rule safer? Anyways my family always says "oh you got into poison ivy again" and usually that's the case. In California I went off trail, down a mountain to hang out with my favorite bush (sorry George) but here there are points where the fucking plant is dancing on the trail. It would take Kenny Wu (that's a D2: the mighty ducks reference) in order to get over the ivy without getting touched. I try, I stick out my poles and minimize contact with my legs but damn, it's impossible. What this all means is my back is annoying me again, it has little bumps I think it's related. I am just taking my Benadryl pushing through the pain and mindful that once again wheni get to town I will need to wash all my stuff (pack included) to get the urishol oils off. That is, until the next point on the trail that poison ivy bribed the Dartmouth outing club into not trimming the trail down and having the bush like the giant wipers that go to your side in a carwash :/Lastly I got free ice cream from bill something, just an old dude who lives next to the trail and started in 2004 giving out trail magic ice cream sandwiches to thru hikers when his sons did the trail and told him about how awesome trial magic is. It was good