[at-l] Aye

[Felix <AThiker@smithville.net>]

Yet another boring memory from Felix's thru-hike. Funny how many
different ways an e-mail from one computer can be viewed on so many
other computers. I reckon I send 'em for me. I reckon so. Two years ago
today sent me and Pokey over a cloud-socked, rain-soaked Whitecap Mt. It
was our first rain. And, I must say, Pokey handled it poorly :)  On the
downhill side, she took a nasty fall and added a nasty gash too her
not-so-nasty leg. As we were sitting there, in the rain, evaluating her
condition, a group of 5 to 7 northbounders passed. The names I remember
are Groovin' Moose (who later became a good friend on our southbound),
Tortoise and Hare, and something that makes me think of the name Jim.
I'll ask Moose Boy who it was. They asked about how Pokey was and went
on their way. I don't remember much else of the day other than it rained
the whole day. We got to Carl Newhall shelter fairly early. This is the
shelter that taunted me. Yes, taunted me. I won. As I walked up the
approach shelter, there, on one of the log overhangs, sat a huge, plump
beefeater tomato. (Not as good as a Brandywine, but in the woods of
Maine, a damned fine tomato.)  Some folx would have looked at the tomato
and dreamed and went about their bidness. "I'll give you 35 bucks for
that tomato!!!" were the first words out of my mouth to a shelter full
of wet hikers. A few minutes later, I was sitting behind the shelter
with my salt shaker, pocketknife and tomato. Free to boot. There were a
couple of section hikers there (a short three or four day trip. It was
their tomato I yogied.), Skippy ("What's your real name?" "John" "That's
a nice name") from Australia, and the Reinhartz (sp) from Tejas. The man
Reinhartz (sp) was wanting to stitch up Pokey's knee. The woman
Reinhartz (sp) was doing something else. The kid Reinhartz (sp) was
just..., well, never mind. That night, or the next morning, something,
or someone took off with my Peak1 mess kit. We really never missed it
(other than some sentimental value attached. Teddy Roosevelt had given
it to my grandmother as they camped on San Juan Hill, or some such)
Anyway, that was the second item in 8 nights that we lost. (I lost a
Petzl at Hurd Brook.)

Well, about that time, the tractor backfired and sent the dog into a
frenzy. "What is it, Spud?" Well, Spud didn't answer. If only he could
have, we would have known that the leak was bigger than we had thought,
and the whole thing was about to spill.  (Talk about a short attention
span...)

give me something to break...

--
Felix J. McGillicuddy
ME-->GA '98
"Your Move"
http://Felixhikes.tripod.com/



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