I decided not to leave Moxie Bald lean-to today. When I woke up, the rain was falling hard. Wane No and Brooks left for Caratunk. I stayed in my sleeping bag and fell back asleep.
I soon awoke with a stomach cramp. I just made it to the privy on time. I think I caught a virus of some kind. My stools were bloody and I had a slight fever. Shortly though, by noon or so, I felt fine once again. I still remained at the lean-to, and soon a man and his son arrived, Gino and Kyle. The rain and the blow downs had taken their toll. After hearing that I was taking a zero day, they decided to stay and fish. They didn’t have any luck fishing, but Gino had great stories about climbs over 20,000ft, the expeditions he led up Mt. Whitney, and those expeditions in which he participated in Argentina and Russia. Kyle, 15, told stories of SAR (Search and Rescue) in Washington. He’s the youngest person ever to be certified. Gino lives in Maine, his son in Washington. He has brought Kyle onto the trail for a week of the two weeks that he gets to see his son each year. Gino, who grew up in East LA, said he couldn’t speak English at all until much older. He said he lived in a community where English wasn’t often spoken. I can hardly consider that a community like that might exist near my home, but I wonder.
Tomorrow I’ll hike 13 miles down the wet trail. The rain fell all day today. The fords tomorrow should be tricky and the slate mountains slippery. I hope for no injuries.
Share your comments...