Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Day 106: SOBO Season




Slept in until 8-something, after a glorious night of sleep. Just the right temperature for me and my sleeping attire. Since Scatters and I didn't get much sleep the night before, we really enjoyed the 10+ hours of rest. Apparently Xan and Itinerary had trouble sleeping because of the cold. I am definitely going to get my real sleeping bag sent back asap... (thanks in advance, Dad!!)

And then on to hiking! We saw Tripper and Wizard from OZ early on. They had stayed in Kent for a zero yesterday, but Tripper had fallen ill with food poisoning after we saw her at the laundromat. She was feeling better this morning, but still weak. Such a trooper, that Tripper.


Scatters and I hiked on as the day got warm. Took a break with Tattoo and Itinerary on Caleb's Peak, and then finished a mountainy few miles with a dramatic descent to river level. Quite a steep, rocky section going down. There was a summer camp group with a few kids rock climbing and repelling at the bottom.




THEN was what we had all been waiting for.... The five miles of FLAT trail along the river. It was really nice (literally handicapped accessible!), and we walked most of it as a group. The river looked good enough to swim in, but we'd heard to avoid it. Instead we got to the shelter and had lunch. I managed to break one of my Crocs, but was able to kinda fix it. We ate a lot. Neutron took a nap. Tripper caught up and came over for a chat. Then we left to hike the next 10 miles to the next shelter. (I guess they'll be called "Lean-to's" from here on out, but "shelter" is quicker to type...)

We ran into a trio of south-bounders on the way up a hill and stopped to chat. I had seen only three SOBOs so far, and only one had begun at Katahdin. These guys (Mzunga, Djangle and Paps) began at Katahdin around June 1st. Two brothers, Toothpick and Thrill Billy, showed up 20 mins later, began only on June 13th, and had already done 30 miles today!!?! Tattoo, Scatters and I picked their brains about what's to come, and we gave them back advice about what they'll soon see. It was a really nice chat! Hoping (and expecting) to see more SOBOs in the next month or so...

Back to hiking. We had 5ish miles to go, and they weren't flat. Tattoo stopped to eat. Xan and Neutron hadn't caught up yet from lunch/naps. Scatters and I conquered the hills and made it to the shelter, with Neutron, during the last 15 minutes of light. We got water and were setting up camp when Xan appeared. We ate dinner and slapped at MANY feisty bugs, and then Tattoo freaked us all out by sneaking into camp and screaming. Good times.

The moon is coming up, and I shall lay my head down. The mosquitos are multiplying!!!
(17mi 5st)


-- Posted from the trail...

Location:Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to

1 comment:

Tattoo said...

If you let me know when you will be crossing Rt. I-90 in MA I will try to be there with magic. E-mail me at
rfmason3@verizon.net.
Tattoo