[at-l] Ready's Hike 11/12, TD 58/59

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

We don't hit the trail until 9 AM. Because we have only 2.7
miles into Manchester Center, neither of us feels rushed.
I sat in the shelter talking with AWOL and Panfder and studied
the shelter a bit more closely. It's a cabin with a sliding door,
  real windows and a wood burning stove. Bunks and a picnic
table are the furnishings. Nice.
We hike out, walking a comfortable pace. It's an easy hike;
we both feel great and are eager to reach Manchester Center
  for a break from hiking. MC is a special place for us.
We get passed by Bander, who's hiking with Zirque, who we
haven't seen since he Shenandoahs. He's hiking with his
brother, Zack now. By the time we reach the road crossing,
they'd all gotten rides into town we learned from AWOL.
He's waiting for his wife to show up.
We opted to hitch and got a ride with a woman and her
toddler son, Jack. She got us to the PO in no time flat.
Four boxes! We had to get us and all this stuff to Sutton's
Place. Before long we snagged a ride from a man and his
young daughter, Allie. She was a bit shy, but obviously
intrigued by us. When we got to the B&B, they headed
across the street to greet a friend and we went inside the
B&B. With each load we carried up the steps, she smiled
and waved to us from across the street.
I needed a shower! Ahhh! We then headed out to the laundromat
and to Friendly's for lunch. It was freezing cold in the restaurant.
I borrowed a sweater from Marilyn, AWOL's wife, both of them
were here enjoying lunch. So were Angry Jack and Lollipop. Old home week!
Next stop: shopping. Shoes for me. Mine are totally torn up.
We settled on a pair of New Balance 803's. We looked at packs
for me. Spur found one that he liked, but I was hesitant. The one
  I'd been carrying seemed to work; that is, it did not aggravate
  the sciatica, even though it is too long for my short torso.
We stopped at the Mountain Goat Outfitters, too. There we saw
a Dana pack. It fit marvelously, but at $300 I definitely balked!
I remained undecided about whether or not to replace the pack
and we deferred the actual decision till the next day.
We spent Saturday night at the movies! What a treat! On the
way back to Sutton's we buy some cheese, berries, celery stalks,
bleucheese dressing and crackers (added to a bottle of wine we'd
bought earlier in the day) so we can hang out at the room instead
of going out for dinner. Such a decadent lifestyle! :-)
Saturday was our official "0" day. we slept late and went back
to Friendly's for a leisurely breakfast. This time I had my jacket
with me for the icy, cold restaurant. In fact, I had my pack and
al my gear with me. Our plan was to load the packs we'd looked
at yesterday and decide if I should buy a new one.
After a shoe shop stop, we headed to EMs, where Matt and
Brandon helped us tinker with the pack. Loaded up, this EMS
3000 pack felt great. We bought it. Matt also gave Spur a new
pump for the stove, so we can return the one we'd borrowed
from Mother Hen and Kimosabe.
We'd spent some 3 hours at EMS - between testing the pack
and chatting with Brandon, the afternoon had practically passed us by.
We went back to Sutton's to drop off our purchases, then
headed to the Sirloin Saloon for a salad bar dinner.
We'd done a lot of phone calling and phone call attempting
today in between all this activity. Wow, did the day pass quickly.
"Town time" indeed!
We still had tons to do and it looked like it would have to wait
  till tomorrow. We hit the sack pretty late. Tomorrow would be another 
whirlwind day.


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