8/18/01
The early wake up this morning did not result in the early start on the trail that the fab five had discussed last night. I was packed and ready to go, but Priceless had to go to WalMart, Redneck wanted a full breakfast, and Phantom and Finn were glued to the TV set watching Saturday morning cartoons. Finally at 9:30 Paul from the B&B announced that he would take any hikers back to the trail who were ready to go. Redneck and I piled in and Phantom sprinted to the sink for water, then joined in as well. Finn was still enjoying Bugs Bunny, so we left him behind, knowing he and Priceless would catch up to us by day's end. The trail led us down a road for a mile before entering the woods, where we began a moderate ascent to Cascade Mtn. We stopped near the summit for lunch and to enjoy the views. As we sat eating, a loud clatter interrupted the peace. I looked up in disbelief as The Preacher stood over me with a grin from ear to ear. He was 30 lbs. lighter than the last time we saw each other just north of Hot Springs, NC, back in April. I was flabbergasted that he could have caught up to me on the trail! Soon I learned that he was slackpacking southbound and had skipped the Whites until good weather is forecasted. We shared trail news and took a couple of photos before we said goodbye and wished each other a successful conclusion to the journey. Preacher informed me that there were others behind him slackpacking as well, including Illinois Coy and Rocky and The Bedouin! After finishing lunch Phantom and Redneck and I resumed hiking, and I hiked with renewed vigor as I anticipated running into my old hiking buddies. About 30 minutes later on a descent I saw the slackpacking group coming toward me, so I hid behind a tree until Rocky and The Bedouin were nearly by me. I popped out from behind the tree and Rocky immediately exclaimed, "We caught you!". It was an exuberant moment as we exchanged hugs and caught up again on our trail experience. Another photo session and we said goodbye and resumed our hikes. As the afternoon hours passed, we hiked past Dream Lake and Moss Pond before finally arriving at the Gentian Pond campsite. Mud and Hard Time were inside the shelter, along with Stray Cat II. Since the forecast was for clearing skies we opted for a tentsite and located the last available tent platform. We set up camp and left room for Priceless and Finn, who we knew would arrive soon. As we finished setting up they both showed up. I was especially happy to see Finn as I had accidentally left my pens, journal paper, and "RABBIT" stamp back in Gorham at The Barn. Fortunately I remembered about two miles into the hike that I had left the items and the cell phone worked for a quick call back to Finn to retrieve them for me. Finn joined us on our double tentpad while Priceless sought the shelter for his sleeping quarters for the night. Deadwood tent camped nearby and Izzy and Stump showed up at the shelter just as we were settling in for the night. I was tired from the hike and tired of journaling, so I treated myself to the radio headphones and laid back in the tent for an hour or so before going to sleep! Today's stats: low 60, high 82. Partly cloud. Today's mileage: 11.8; cumulative mileage: 1882.0
