Last night the hikers called us from the woods of Vermont. The weather has made this hike tough with yesterday's humidity and heat a challange. They had hiked 14 of the 20 miles that they had wanted to hike in the day. Kel called at night from the edge of a clearing...making his shelter under the low hanging boughs of a tree. No rain but the heat was lingering. It was dark and their headlamps were attracting moths galore! they are catching up to hikers that they met in Maine, and have met many that have lived in Maine at one time in their lives or another, making interesting conversation. They hope to catch up to "Tengu" again. He was one of the hikers that they shared the Caratunk Shelter with. No large wild life siting to report...please do leave a comment and list the questions that you have concerning this trip. I am mostly reporting their progress quickly as I jump from one task to another here at home. Your questions will add interest to this post! I, myself, can't imagine walking through the wilderness day after day with breathtaking views, sweating, and collecting bugbites and not showering, but that isn't all there is to thru hiking...although you hear a lot about the hiker smell...and, I can tell you it is different. So....email or leave questions on the comments...PLEASE! Clint, our hiker friend here at home ,was hiking in the Stratton area recently and he met hikers there that had met "Stickman & Faithful" on the New Hampshire border. How Cool. Hope to hear from you all (y'all for our southern friends) soon. About 1702 miles to Georgia!!!!! They have gone about 475 miles!
STICKMANS' JOURNAL...7/25/07...Wednesday... Another hot, humid day today. We managed to get on trail at 7:30 AM, and made our way to Stony Creek Shelter by 9:40 PM, a fairly long hiking day! We also were able to cover 17.0 miles of trail in that time. Had to do a bit of night hiking to get there, but everything worked out in the end. I find that I enjoy doing a bit of night hiking, as long as the L.E.D. headlamp holds up. We initially couldn't find the shelter, as it had not been marked out properly for SOBO hikers. Oh well, it was a nice night for an evening walk! We arrived at the shelter to the warming glow of a fine fire crackling in the pit. Stealth and Megaphone were our campfire benefactors, and they had done a great job of building it and gathering extra fuel. I went about collecting a bit more wood, wanting to contribute to their efforts, and, by participation, more closely share the fellowship of hikers around the fire. We spent a nice hour socializing, while I nibbled away at a packet of salmon for my evening meal.
Now, I have found my way into my sleeping bag... Although it is late, I pleasantly replay the days events in my mind, as I attempt to jot a few notes into the trail journal. Strange how these actions oppose each other... The act of journaling requires that I remain awake to pen my thoughts... the reminiscing of the day softens the hard floor of the shelter, and pulls my mind deeper into a featherbed of sleepy dreams, where the happiness of the day would be content to remain a memory. ... I will try to go on...
The day was quite warm, so frequent waterstops were the call of the day. It was not a day to pass up opportunities for water. At each water source I would drink up, while filling my bottles, then drink a bit more, before filtering the last bottle to the top. We also moved a bit more slowly, taking advantage of any stop that would rest us enough to "go a little ways more". We made one stop that was very refreshing. It felt as though we may have walked into an oasis! There was food and fellowship! It was the ON THE EDGE farmstand, where they had a nice selection of fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, ice cream, and pies. ...plus, all kinds of other things! I purchased a small strawberry-rhubarb pie and a coke. YUMMY! I also bought a nice chunk of cheese to help sustain me on trail. Aside from food and rest, the most refreshing aspect of our stop was the great time we had conversing with other hikers. Feeling, once again, capable of placing one foot in front of the other, we resumed hiking.
Near the end of the day, we had a great surprise! A sighting! No... not moose, deer, bear, or the like... We had just crossed a stream, and were walking quietly and respectfully through a fairly large group of hikers that had set up camp for the night. Some were by their fires, others walking about, some lying down, relaxing after a hard trail day. Suddenly, one saw me, and said, "Stickman!". It was MR. COWPIE! We had not seen Mr. Cowpie and his daughter, Jessie, since Avery Peak, in the Bigelows, in Maine! Then, here comes Jessie, (now TWISTED SISTER), along with TENGU! We hadn't seen Tengu since Pleasant Pond Shelter, in Maine! We had a wonderful reunion! It was so good to see them, and I am sure that they might pass us by, within the new day. They invited us to set camp with them, but we regretfully declined. As we parted, Tengu said, "See you down South!". ... which, of course, could be ANYWHERE South of where we were now standing! I had to chuckle!
I guess I'd better close for the night, (before the sun comes up!), but in closing I would pray, and ask for your prayers, for MR. COWPIE. He is trying to heal from an injury, and I pray for his healing, and good, safe hiking. Thank you all for your prayers!
God Bless you all, good night!
Stickman
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