Day 12 on the Trail

Dave and I had a difficult time getting connected yesterday evening.  He called while our power was flickering then went out (as did our phones) and even my cell phone was not getting good service.  I plugged in our old phone that doesn't need electricity and we were finally able to talk.

As of 6/23/11
Miles today: 8.6
Miles to date: 132.8

As I've mentioned before, those are miles strictly on the trail, and do not include additional miles he walked to get to the Post Office and to the grocery store to resupply.

Today is Dave's sisters' birthday and he said he would try to call.  If he does not get through, his message is Happy Birthday Candace and Sandy!

Dave made it into Unionville, NY, yesterday and picked up the first resupply box he packed in advance.  He overestimated his food a little (much better than underestimating!) and asked me to take a few items out of the next box.  Also, he was not thrilled with one type of 'trail bars' he made and doesn't want to eat any more of them. He said his cranberry ones were good, but the 'brown' ones - whatever they may be - were not.

After 5 days of finding wonderful fresh blueberries, there were none to be found on Thursday.  He saw deer, wild turkey and 5 swans yesterday, and told me that earlier on his hike he saw geese flying - below his point on the trail!

If the Maners are reading, Dave wants Mary to know he finished the de- and rehydrated vodka sauce she made, and enjoyed every bite of his flavorful pasta!

He also enjoyed a GOOD cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll when he was in town.  Unfortunately, it was still raining, so he didn't stick around for lunch, he got back on the trail to make sure he got to the next shelter in time to get a spot inside.

Dave was still singing the praises of the privately owned shelter from the night before.  Jim Murray, a hiker himself, built it for the hikers going through his property.  It has solar showers which provide hot water, and he also dug a well so hikers can pump fresh water.  Jim is what you call a Trail Angel!

One of the hikers in Jim's cabin came in totally soaked from head to foot.  He put down his bag, crawled in it, and fell asleep about 6:30 pm.  Unfortunately, he was an extremely loud sleeper, snoring, snorting and coughing.  No one could sleep and one guy actually left the cabin about midnight to pitch his tent outside to get away from the racket.  This caused some noise, everyone was awake, and the hiker was quiet.
Dave: Are you awake?
Hiker: Yes.
Dave: Are you allergic to Benedryl?
Hiker: No.
Dave: Take these.
Dave said everyone slept better afterwards, and the hiker didn't even wake up until after 7:30.  Dave was afraid he might be sick or something, but when he did wake up, he packed up his stuff and left.  Dave was glad he did not find him in last night's shelter.  This is where Dave spent last night - Pochuck Mountain Shelter.  Its style and size is typical of the shelters along the trail.

Dave's biggest challenge now that the trail is much better (goodbye rocks) is that his boots are wet and he needs sun to give them time to dry out.  The rain gear he made is not holding up to the hard rain he's been in, so I will be sending his REI jacket and pants in his next box.  He says he expects to get some rain showers every day, but dry weather is supposed to be ahead.  Keep your fingers crossed.

He mentioned the trail names of couple of hikers - Gypsy who is from Australia, and Mayo (because he loves ... mayo) is from England.  He mentioned a few more, but I was taking notes by flashlight and somehow didn't get all the names down.

Megan is visiting; it's nice to have company!  Tonight we're going out to dinner with Adriana and Dennis, who are here from Atlanta.