July 18 - 8.8 / 1,806.4

I have been a little behind on my blogs. It is partly due to my laziness and partly due to the lack of cell service. I made an offer to Samurai and Inferno to right my blog for me. Inferno has taken me up on the offer. Therefore, here is her perspective of my day.

In Inferno's words...

"BT has been whining about not wanting to write. Apart from not wanting to listen to him complain anymore, I thought he was starting to make the trail sound a little boring. So I agreed to write this entry.

It was a beautiful clear night when BT, Sam, and I all set up our tents and went to bed. I must have been tired because I only woke up a little bit when I heard BT outside saying something about lighting off in the distance, and if there was anything outside that shouldn't get wet it might be a good idea to move it. I sleepily thought that if I just ignored the lightning it would go away. Next thing I knew it was torrential downpour and lightning directly on top of us. Sam had made a joke earlier about how if it started raining our tent pads would turn into kiddie pools--which is pretty much exactly what happened. Although with lightning striking within a hundred feet of us I was too scared to even move, and BT says he was in his tent huddled in the fetal position. By the time the thunder and lightning let up I was lying in several inches of water. So I made a bare foot dash for the shelter with my sleeping bag. In the morn, BT had his tent hanging from a tree and pointed to his tent sight which was a puddle several inches deep. What the heck was the AMC thinking? (It's always nice to have some one to blame.)

I headed out a little before BT and Sam, but I imagine their conversation went along these lines: why the heck does it take me (BT) so long to pack up in the morning, and what on earth do I (BT) have in my pack that is so freakin' heavy?

There was a steep rock scramble up to Kinsman Mnt. BT caught up with me a little before the top. When we reached the summit, it was all cloudy and mysterious, but then as we were standing there, holes started to appear in the mist--it was very cool. Yeah for being in the Whites at last. Sam caught up with us while we were enjoying the view and talking to the caretaker of the shelters near there. We saw a glider plane while taking a break on Kinsmans north peak. It was so silent BT heard the people in the plane talking. On the way down I was ahead of the guys. I am a slower hiker, but BT likes to stop and talk to all the southbounders and day hikers. I have secretly nicknamed this side of him Chatty-Cathy. But I actually admire the way Chatty-Cathy asks everybody about their day and how they are doing with such enthusiasm that it usually leads to a conversation, in which he answers many of the same questions about hiking over and over-and yet never seems to get tired of it.

We stopped at our first AMC hut in the early afternoon. We sat there a bit awkwardly at first trying to decide the best way to yogi food. BT informed me that since it was a guy working, it was my job to be friendly. He was out of soup but said he could whip more up. I am pretty sure that all it was, was watery instant mashed potatoes and dill, but it was delicious. It turned out the guy working was an old friend of Tumbleweed. He gave us chips and hummus and was very friendly. There was a pull-up bar there and Sam did 15 pull-ups. It was a challenge which BT and I lost. So we paid for Sam's soup.

When we got to the road we tried to hitch for awhile without any luck so BT called a shuttle. The driver of the taxi must have weighed over 400 pounds. But he knew of most of the places on the trail just from driving so many hikers around. He took us to "Chets, one step at a time hostel" which is more then a little inspiring once you know his story, and especially once you meet him. Chet is warm,friendly, and kind. (BT will have to tell you his story, because this is taking foe ever as it is.) He has turned his house into a wonderful place for hikers. Pancakes with real maple syrup in the morning! After we all showered, we walked into town and went to G&H pizza (which is a tradition with my brother and me when we are in Lincoln). People watching was great. BT: "watch this guy get a soft drink re-fill without paying" or "that lady is lookin' to get some tonight, watch her touch his butt one more time." BT was correct on the butt touching. There were pamphlets for a machine gun safari, and one for "operating a real excavater for only 250.00."

At the grocery store the cashier asked BT if he wanted a stop and shop card. "No, too heavy!" She had no idea what he was talking about. It is a beautiful evening. Chet asked everyone to sign one of his fridges in marker with their trail names, so we decided we should have cool logos like a lot of other hikers do.

Wow this has taken forever to type; no wonder BT wanted a break from blogging. Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is doing well."

Inferno