According to Pittsburgh:
AUGUST 6, 1997 - WEDNESDAY
we had breakfast at the B&B. CEREAL, FRUIT, JUICEs, COFFEE, BREADs, JELLYs. PANTHER FAN took NTO to MA 2 to begin her hike, then returned. we shot the updated JOURNAL, and some email, out over the phone lines. TIMMY did not hike today...
we all headed to VERMONT to WOODFORD STATE PARK and secured a campsite. after setting up camp, we all headed for PITTSFIELD MA to put GILAMAN on a bus. it was tough saying goodbye to such an amazing person. he meant a lot to all of us. the TOUR was the way it was because of him. he organized and entertained. things will not be the same...
we retrieved NTO at BENNINGTON-BRATTLEBORO HIGHWAY (VT 9). TIMMY took the day off. tomorrow we hike together. SUNSHINE will continue to take recuperative time off, but will hopefully be back hiking soon. i haven't hiked in a week or so, but i will be out there tomorrow. we spent the evening getting our backpacks ready. there is a great distance between road crossings, meaning that the support van cannot get to us, so we must backpack for two days. we are excited (sort of) !!!
AUGUST 7, 1997 - THURSDAY
at BENNINGTON-BRATTLEBORO HIGHWAY (VT 9) we put on the backpacks and hit the trail. it had been since the smokies, for TIMMY and me, since the backpacks had been on. that was at the end of APRIL !!!
since MARYLAND, we have been experiencing a drought. there have been many places that the GUIDE BOOKS indicate as streams, waterfalls, or water sources, that are dry. not just low, but DRY! here in VERMONT, the streams are empty, and the ponds are low...
the hike was exhilarating at the beginning. i had not hiked in a while, and being in VERMONT, just that much closer to KATAHDIN, is mentally positive. but, the pack does not fit me properly, even though i keep adjusting it. the hip belts that are to keep the weight off of the shoulders requires hips to sit on. i am of the round belly type, and have no hips for the hip belt to rest on! the pack continually slides downward, thus the shoulder straps rest on the shoulders. it may sound like the shoulder straps are supposed to rest on the shoulders, but they are not. when they do, the whole weight of the pack is on the top of your spine. this is not a good thing...
i walked slowly and rested often. the last few miles to GODDARD shelter, were steep. i arrived long after the ladies. TIMMY had her tent set up in front of the shelter, and was sleeping. of course i couldn't let that happen, so i woke her up. NTO was in a prone position inside of her sleeping bag in the shelter. she was not asleep. good thing for her. i unrolled my sleeping pad and bag on the deck of the shelter and got happily prone myself...
people that joined us for the evening: JOURNEYMAN and STARLIGHT (originally from PITTSBURGH), SPICE, BALTIMORE JACK, a young lady hiking the LONG TRAIL named PIPER, and a few others...
AUGUST 8, 1997 - FRIDAY
i did not have a good night. it may have been the coffee that i had at supper, or the mice scurrying about in the shelter. i did not sleep much...
TIMMY was up and gone early. NTO was not far behind. i lingered, then headed out with SPICE. we climbed the firetower atop GLASTENBURY MOUNTAIN. wonderful! we continued on, and i started the fight with my pack. the terrain was uneven, but not bad. i took many breaks, and continued to adjust the pack as i went. i was tired and frustrated and developed a BIG migraine headache...
i arrived at ARLINGTON-WEST WARDSBORO ROAD, our destination, a couple of hours behind the ladies. TIMMY actually began to hike south to find me, which she did a few tenths of a mile in. i was glad to be back. we headed for GROUT POND STATE PARK, where the guys, and SUNSHINE, had secured a campsite...
AUGUST 9, 1997 - SATURDAY
i opted not to hike AGAIN. the ladies headed out from ARLINGTON-WEST WARDSBORO ROAD. the rest of us headed for MANCHESTER CENTER VT to do some shopping and laundry. we stopped by the hiker hostel, where we planned to spend the night, at the ZION EPISCOPAL church to see who was there. goodness, gracious, there were lots of hikers. a fellow named CHURCH MOUSE was making a large breakfast in the hostels kitchen, and we were invited to join the masses, which we did. we then proceeded to haul people all over town in the van and in PETER PANs station wagon. the post office was a popular destination, plus the laundromat, and some people actually wanted to go to the trail and hike. this town is somewhat magical (it even has a BEN & JERRYs store), and has a tendency to make people stick around for a few days...
i picked up the ladies at US 11/30, about five miles out of town, and headed back to the hostel. the hostel a separate building beside the ZION EPISCOPAL CHURCH, that has a large common room where people sleep, a large fully stocked kitchen, a sitting room, and two restrooms, one with a shower. we set up tents behind the church, took showers, headed out to supper, then went to BEN & JERRYs. a very nice evening...
some of the people at the hostel: CHEWBACCA, BALTIMORE JACK, CHICKENMAN, APPLE JACK, COSMO, HUFF & PUFF, JOURNEYMEN & STARLIGHT, WANDERING STAR, WALLACE, SPICEBOY & PITTER, WATERGIRL, AQUAHOLIC, ACHILLES, FOXTROT, WHISTLER, LANDSHARK, CHURCH MOUSE, SPICE, WOOLYBOOGER, WAYWARD TRAVELER, WRANGLER, BLUE FEATHER, SPACEBOY...
AUGUST 10, 1997 - SUNDAY
the ladies have requested less miles. this is not easily accomplished when the road crossings dictate the length of the hikes. we had some 16s, 17s, and 18s planned, but the terrain and the temperature dictate shortening these up...
we dropped TIMMY and NTO off at US 11/30, then headed back to MANCHESTER CENTER for breakfast. todays hike is to be done in two segments, the first ending at MAD TOM NOTCH (USFS 21). we secured a campsite at HAPGOOD STATE PARK, left SUNSHINE there, then headed to MAD TOM NOTCH and picked up the ladies. they ate lunch as we drove to UPPER COLD RIVER ROAD, the beginning of their second segment. we dropped them off, and they headed south...
we drove to RUTLAND VT for lunch and a look see, then headed for CLARENDON GORGE (VT 103) to retrieve the ladies. this accomplished, we headed back to the campground...
TIMMY has been using a liquid supplement, named ENSURE, that seems to be helping with her calorie intake and overall health and stamina. NTO has been having some fatigue problems lately, so she will be starting the same regimen...
AUGUST 11, 1997 - MONDAY
we dropped TIMMY and NTO off at MAD TOM NOTCH (USFS 21), then headed into RUTLAND to accomplish various tasks. we then headed to DANBY-LANDGROVE ROAD (USFS 10) to pick up the ladies. they both arrived smiling and cheerful. NTO was especially happy because of less fatigue...
we secured a campsite at EMERALD LAKES STATE PARK and settled in. it felt like rain, so we decided to sling some tarps. the rains came as we were doing same. we had a good evening huddled under a 12X16 tarp around a picnic table, cooking, eating, singing, gossiping, and playing cards...
AUGUST 12, 1997 - TUESDAY
the rains had stopped during the night, and the ground had soaked up all of the moisture. after breakfast and breaking camp, we all headed to DANBY-LANDGROVE ROAD (USFS 10) to drop off TIMMY and NTO. the rest of us headed to RUTLAND to do some chores, and to secure a motel room for the night. PETER PAN headed out to the trail crossing at VT 140 to check on TIMMY and her new boots. i headed out later to pick the ladies up at CLARENDON GORGE (VT 103)...
PAKABEAR arrived while i was waiting, and we talked about FOOTBALL (positive) and RUSH LIMBAUGH (negative). TIMMY and NTO arrived shortly after PAKA left. we headed back to the motel...
showers, restaurant for supper, then most of us went to see the movie CONSPIRACY THEORY with MEL GIBSON and JULIA ROBERTS. it is a long, laborious movie about a super secret government agency that can do whatever it pleases to whomever it pleases. sounds familiar, huh...