Miles: 14.3
Today was an excellent one, as all Town Days are. We had originally planned to stay at Pleasant Pond Lean-to this evening, but decided to push on to Caratunk instead. Good thing, too, because we got to the lean-to before noon. Would have made for a boring day at camp. After reading the register in the lean-tos, there isn't much else to do.
We started off with a climb up Pleasant Pond Mountain. It had about 5 or 6 false summits (where you think you made it to the top and after walking another 1/2 mile, you realize that you're not there yet), which made for a not-so-pleasant Mt. Pleasant. The top has some nice views so at least the payback was worth it. I can't believe that a blind person hiked the AT. Not because it's physically challenging, but because he didn't get the reward after all of those long days - the view. When I first heard that story, I thought, "Wow! I don't see how he could have done that." Now I think, "Wow! That guy was masochistic!"
So, anyway, I'm sitting here with Kevin (whose trailname is now Glorified Plumber) and Adrian at Caratunk House. Made it in around 3 - in time for showers, Ben and Jerry's ice cream and an all meat pizza (of which I could only finish 1 slice because I filled up on the ice cream) :(
Relaxed, enjoyed good company, watched a movie and pigged out. What more could a hiker want? There's a scale here... I've lost 5 pounds and Kevin's lost 10 already. Not bad, expecially because I weighed myself after cleaning out a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. mmm - mmm.
I'm looking forward to calling home tomorrow. Hope I can catch Mom and Dad...
- Piggy Bobo
PS - Many people have asked how Kevin received the distinct name of Glorified Plumber. At Georgia Tech, like all colleges, students have nicknames for the various majors. Chemical engineers are known as Glorified Plumbers, because they deal with chemicals that travel through pipes in a plant. Also, Kevin clogged up the toilet at the Caratunk House, after which Adrian and I affirmed that the trail name would stick.