[at-l] Ready's Hike August 19/20 TD 67/68

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

You can write to Ready!  readyhiker@yahoo.com


We had slept on a futon cushion on the basement floor
  of the Tabard House fraternity. It was after 9 AM when
we awoke, but due to the lack of windows in the basement,
we'd had no concept of the time.
We were up dressed and at "Everything but Anchovies"
for their Sunday brunch at 11:00. There we ate a massive
meal of all sorts of great stuff: French toast, bacon, eggs,
salmon, fresh fruit, potatoes, muffins, coffee, and juice.
We enjoyed this meal as we read the Sunday paper.
  'Nice way to spend a "0 day."
Next it was a quick stop at the Outfitters, where we saw a
pack that may be a better solution for me than the new pack
we had just gotten. We decided that we would come back
with my gear and give it a "test." If we liked it, we'd return
the new EMS pack. Spur teased me that I may soon hold
the record for "thruhiker who's carried the most number of
different packs."
We made our way back to the Dartmouth Outing Club to
use their computers. We answered some emails and I made
  some book purchases (the books written by Gail Donohue
Storey, whom we'd met on the trail, a book that we think Earl
Shaffer'd like, and a surprise book for Spur to give to him on
his birthday, coming up).
Spur uploaded a bunch of new photos, and I entered all my
  journal entries onto the website
( http:\\www.Spursjournal.com ) The entries are out of order,
but at least, hey're there, now. As we read and typed, a number
of folks came through, thruhikers and students. We chatted wih
almost everyone.
Late in the afternoon Charlotte and Zero showed up, followed by
  Mala and Tucker. The two dogs greeted each other briefly. Then
Tucker went straight to Charlotte's pack and very deliberately peed
on it as Charlotte and I watched in amazement and Mala yelled at
him. Charlotte was a good sport about the whole thing. The two of
us fetched some water from the restroom to douse it, hoping to
dilute the odor and stain.
All in a day's work on the trail, I guess.
Before we knew it, it was after 5 PM! We'd spent the whole day
on the computers!
Back at the frat house, we tried to nap, but there was too much
commotion. We read for awhile, but this too was nearly impossible,
since folks were continuously coming and going. We made a supper
of Spanish rice and beans and ate it with some of yesterday's leftover pizza.
It was late now, time to journal and go to sleep. Our 0 day had
  passed. We'd be on the trail tomorrow, after completing some tasks.
The alarm sounded at 6:00 AM and we quietly gathered our
things and left the room. We showered then returned to the
lobby to pack our packs. First stop - breakfast at Lou's. Second
stop - PO for our maildrop and a package from the EMS in
Manchester Center (containing the pack I'd previously carried).
  3rd stop - the Outing Club where Spur worked some more on
the webpage and I sorted our meals for the next 3 days. 4th stop -
he Outfitters, where we experimented with a new pack for me.
We opted to go back to Spur's Ultimate Designs pack, foregoing
the purchase of this Vaud pack and returning the EMS pack we'd
bought in Manchester Center.
The elusive search for the "perfect pack" would continue, for now
the Ultimate Designs was the best pack for me.
Spur took care of mailing the packages while I waited outside.
The skies had been threatening rain, and the rain finally arrived.
Porkchop came by for her package, too, followed by Steve and
Glenn (Coyote and Tenderfoot), 2 southbound brothers whom we'd
met at the frat last night. They were hiking for just a month or so.
Their deadline had been reached and they were at the PO picking
up their bus tickets for home (Ohio).


We were still in town, but back with the white blazes marking
the trail as it winds through Hanover. We stopped at Subway's
for a sandwich, then at the neighboring Ben& Jerry's ice cream
  shop to enjoy a house specialty, "the white blaze," a wonderful
chocolate milkshake concoction that is offered at no charge to
thruhikers who come in, Yum! Last stop in town - the coop for
cheese, bread and some candy bars. We continue in town,
following the blazes where they turn into the woods a short
distance after the coop.
Today's approximately 10 miles included no mountains, only
a few mild ups and downs. It'd been raining lightly and the treadway,
especially where we passed over rocks and roots, was slippery.
We kept a pretty good pace in spite of this, It was good to be hiking again.
We came to a bridge where the ridgerunner for the area had
posted a notice about the upcoming scarcity of water. Our
destination, a few miles past the next shelter, was dry. We
decided to hike only to the Moose Mountain shelter and to
pitched our tent there.
We hiked in rain, which alternately broke into sunshine and
resumed periodically. We crossed a particularly nice area of
trailwork. It was obvious new work, as evidenced by the freshly
worked soil. A trail runner passed us, commenting that none of
this trailwork had been here just a few days ago.
A really impressive short "grand staircase" (steps over 6' wide), a
longer traditional-width staircase, and a 2-log bridge were among
the structures we walked over.
We arrived at the shelter round 5:45. athereto greet us, staying
inside the sheer, were Takoma and Jason and the Argonauts,
a southbounder. Later, Rabbit Hutch came in.
Spur pithed the tent as I fetched water at the spring then returned
to the shelter where we cooked and ate supper while talking
  trail with the other hikers. After supper, Takoma got out his Martin
backpacker guitar and played some.
We were all in complete rapture over this guy! He can really play
and sing. His original tunes and some other sons by such musicians
as Leo Kotke, Tom Rush, Jackson Brown, and Jimmy Buffet were
captivating. His own tunes included Travel Well, Fallen Angel (about
Janis Joplin), Forever Smiles, Mountain Rythym, and many others
that were absolutely marvelous. Somebody sign this man up for a
according contract, please!
Although Spur and I had intended to hurriedly eat and then return
to the tent for journaling and an early bedtime, we sat mesmerized
  by the music until well past dark.
We finally made it up to the tent, journaled, and fell asleep. We've
got a fairly ambitious hiking itinerary for the next 2 days. Or goal
is to be at the Hikers' Welcome in Glencliff by Wednesday evening.


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