Mile 1984.0 (Tuesday)

Yep. That's right. Only 195.1 miles left. It was a huge excitement for
all the thru-hikers we saw today to hike past the "under 200 miles"
point. With the big mileage days we have been doing the miles are
going fast. People are planning their rides/flights/buses/trains home.
Me? As anxious as I am to pick "the day", I do not want to put that
kind of pressure on myself. Like, what if say, a HURRICANE comes this
way and I want to take a day off to try and avoid it??? I know, very
unlikely. Hahaha.

Here is the most recent trail food development. Well everybody knows
the best trail snack is the snickers bar, right? What about a
snickers bar dipped in chocolate frosting? Yep. That's the snack I
had up on Saddleback mountain yesterday. I can't take credit for this
magnificently decadent treat. I was just eating the plain ol' snickers
bar when "Rock-N-Roll" offered his can of Betty Crocker fudge frosting
for me to dip it in. Man, I tell you what...that's sweeter than a
Whoopie Pie. Ooohweee. I think we are on to something here.

Another really cool thing is that the leaves are starting to change
colors here. Not like Georgia where it's usually November before you
see the reds and yellows. August in Maine. Wow. The maples and the
birches are beautiful. What a treat! I get to experience fall twice.
In the woods over the next couple of weeks and later after I go home.

Hanging out with the locals

I cannot tell you what an experience it is to wake up to the sound of
loons. Although I have heard them on one other occasion, they always
surprise me with their distinctive calls. They began their eerie
chants this morning around 5am. When we began hiking we saw them on
the beautiful pond we were camped near. This afternoon in the middle
if another pond, we saw a moose with her calf near by. This has been a
special day for wildlife sightings. We were very close to the cow. She
didn't seem to care we were there at all.
The last wildlife encounter I had today was the game of chicken I
played with a red squirrel. He was in the middle of the trail with
some huge nut in his mouth staring me down as I approached. I won, but
just barely. He looked as if he wanted me to challenge him for the nut
and kind of ran toward me. Huh.

We are camped just past Saddleback mountain. It was a long arduous
17.4 miles today. At least we can mark one more huge four thousand
footer off the list. We are trying to get some big days in while the
weather is so nice. It was absolutely beautiful today.

How Rabid got her mojo back

What a super hike today! It was a difficult 17 miles, but it felt
great. We climbed huge mountains, saw several beautiful ponds, and
made excellent progress in a northernly fashion. It did, however, take
us almost 12 hours.

Tomorrow we summit Saddleback mountain, and another 17+ mile day.
That's alright, I am feeling much better than just a few days ago. The
weather has a huge amount to do with it. It was an absolutely
beautiful day. I also have been hiking with someone the past day or
two that is finishing up his 10 year section hike by doing the last
section to Katahdin. I am lucky because he's a psychotherapist. I
traded him a quart sized ziploc bag for my session today. As much of a
fan of ziploc products as I am, I think I got the better end of the
deal. It was a fancy double zipper one, though.

One potential issue that I see developing rather quickly is the rapid
deterioration of my hiking clothes. The duct tape is not staying on
the back of my shorts and a new tear has begun as well. My wicking
shirt is in the process of coming apart at every seam. If I counted
the holes in it, it would probably be around 20 or so. It's like they
get so funky and overworn they begin a slow suicide. Its like it just
doesn't want to be a shirt anymore. I am going to be standing on top
of Katahdin with nothing on but a few scraps of material. I talked
with one guy who said he was going to summit naked (you're a total
freak). So at least I will be in good company, right?

What a difference a day makes.

Today was an absolutely magical day on the trail. First of all, the
weather could not have been nicer. Seriously. Blue skies, not a cloud
to be found, cool and breezy, and the best part, there was not a
single moment I thought I might die. We are staying the night at a
lovely hostel in Andover, ME, and David picked us up from the
trailhead this afternoon with a cold jug of lemonade. Now let me tell
you about yesterday.

Yesterday was a little different. After climbing the Mahoosuc Arm the
day before, we camped at the Speck pond shelter just before the climb
up Speck mountain. When we awoke yesterday, it was drizzly, cloudy,
foggy, and windy. By the time we climbed (or crawled, as the case may
have been a time or two) up and over this horrific summit, clinging to
what seemed like near vertical rock face, wet and slippery, with
nothing but small toe-holds, I was having some, let's just say...some
anxiety. The trail ever since just before crossing the Maine border
has been the roughest terrain I have ever seen. Ever. I had no idea
it would be this difficult. And, I had never had the thought of not
finishing this journey...until yesterday morning.

I continued down Speck mountain, and arrived mid morning at Grafton
Notch. A truck pulls into the parking lot and out steps "Soda Mike".
He asks us if we are thru-hikers and if we wanted a root beer (my
favorite soda amazingly enough). Unprompted, he proceeds to tell us
how a lot of hikers he meets at this point are extremely discouraged
and fatigued. He said that most of the really tough stuff was behind
us and it will begin to seem a little easier soon. These few simple
statements changed my outlook on things immediately and gave me a
renewed hope I had lost earlier in the day. In fact, when Safari told
him that he might have just saved my hike, I went over to him and gave
him a big hug. I think I surprised him half to death, getting a bear
hug from a complete stranger...that smells like a homeless person.

After speaking with Soda Mike, as well as two other hikers (older men)
that confided their own fear of these beastly summits, I feel so much
better about the remaining miles ahead. As I have mentioned numerous
times, we are all provided with exactly what we need at the exact
moment we need it. What an amazing gift. I am so full of gratitude
for not only the wonderful people I have met along this incredible
journey, but everyone that has sent all the positive encouragement
along the way. Thank you.

Rabid 1 Mahoosuc Notch 0

(Thursday)
The Mahoosuc Notch. The guide book poses it as a question. The most
fun or the hardest section on the Appalachian Trail? I cannot say it
was the most fun but it was scary as hell at times. I was so happy it
wasn't raining but it was slippery as could be. I had been anxious
about this section including the infamous Mahoosuc Arm (crazy uphill
climb afterwards) for several days. Our daily mileage has taken a nose
dive the past two days. It is taking us two more days to get to
Andover than we planned. It's a good thing we both pack too much food!

Some exciting milestones this week though...crossing the Maine border.
The last state line crossing. That just seems unreal. Also, we are now
camped at mile 1,907.7. The next 271 miles do not seem like easy ones
from what I hear from the sobo's. Beautiful? Yes. Easy? Not so much. I
am going to have to say, so far, Maine is kicking my butt.

Need I say more?

Another one bites the dust

It's true! I have found yet another use for duct tape! This magic
tape will fix just about anything. Who needs needle and thread when
you have this shiny sticky miracle in your pack? Yes, I am sad to
report that I have duct tape all over the seat of my ass. I have hit
yet a new low. The whites killed my shorts. I think I slid down one
too many rocks on my butt. Sometimes there is just no better way down
and I am not too proud to admit it.

We have successfully made it through the white mountains and tomorrow,
amazingly enough, we will be crossing the Maine border. It seems hard
to believe, really. I have heard a lot of great things about Maine and
I am totally stoked. The Mahoosuc Notch is just a day away and
everyone says that's by far the hardest section of the entire trail. I
try not to get worked up too much about what others say about upcoming
sections. It never turns out to be as bad as "they" say. It has only
taken me almost 1,900 miles to learn this valuable tidbit. What do
"they" know about anything anyway, right?

So, here we are in Gorham, NH trying to dry everything out once more.
You're totally right. We were here before. Fortunately, there are two
highways into Gorham that the trail crosses at different times. You
know you have spent too much time in a trail town when you start
recognizing locals. We have become "regulars" at the bar/restaurant
next door. I have become totally addicted to their grilled veggies on
rosemary ciabatta bread sandwich, as I am about to go eat my third one.

That's right, he called us ridiculously awesome

The, "youngster"...I know I know they don't use that word anymore but
that's what he is, that picked us up hitching back to Pinkham Notch
this morning called us "ridiculously awesome" when he learned we had
hiked here from Georgia. Now there's a compliment for you. He was a
nice young fellow, (There is that better?) and was slightly obsessed
with "driving fast, but not fast enough to hit a moose". At least
that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Thanks Adam, and watch
out for Bullwinkle.

The Wildcats today proved to be steep, never ending and at times, hair-
raising. We did some actual rock climbing which would be fine save for
the ridiculously less than awesome 35 pound beast clinging to my back
at all times. To add some excitement to the mix, it began drizzling
after lunch which made the even more hair raising "OMG, how am I going
to get down this" downhills slippery. It was a long day on the trail.

The other fun part of the day was Safari and I got to make fun of what
eachother bought for lunch when we "resupplied" in town. This is what
happens when you buy food in a town that doesn't have a real grocery
store close by. Yep, that's right.... The convenient store. The
selection is bad, but at least you pay more. Did you ever see someone
go into a Circle K and spend $35 on junk food? It's just sad. So, as
I watched Safari eat his English muffin topped with nacho cheese dip
and jerky for lunch, I enjoyed a bag of nuts, candy bar and Combo's
for lunch today. Combo's hold up well in the pack, but they have this
new flavor called zesty salsa tortilla. It's very spicy and they give
me heartburn. For some reason I keep forgetting this and I have bought
them now three times. Hmmm.

Mile 1860.1

Gorham, New Hampshire. We hitched in with super nice guy Jim from
Pennsylvania in his beautiful clean nice smelling Audi. Sorry Jim. I
know we made your car smell like death. He was kind enough to chuckle
and only say that we smell like thru-hikers. Of course I always blame
it on Safari. Ha. One time we caught a ride with this nice lady that
had two small kids in the back seat. I was lucky enough to sit in the
back with them and one of the little girls said, "Mommy can you roll
her window down?" A few moments later all the windows came down, as
they usually do. Yay. It's laundry day.

Well, tomorrow is the Wildcats. Apparently these peaks are quite
ferocious, but different from the presidentials. I am still in shock
at how nice it was on top of Washington. It was a completely calm
sunny morning. I have been told this only happens a about 14 or so
days a year. What a gift.

I am feeling much better and ready for whatever the last 19 miles of
the whites has to throw at me. It is supposed to be 43 tonight, highs
in the 60's, and sunny. Can't get much better hiking weather than that.

A day full of victories

No, I did not fall off the face of the earth (or thankfully the top of
one of the presidentials). I have, however, spent the last two days at
the Lakes of the Clouds hut, one mile from the summit of Mount
Washington, very sick. Thankfully I can report now, from the other
side of Mount Washington, that I have made a nearly miraculous
recovery and hiked out this morning on one of the most beautiful days
I think that mountain ever sees.
The day before yesterday, I was getting weaker, and slower, and more
ill by the minute. By the time I made it to the hut, I had a stomach
ache, nausea, and a fever. I reluctantly went to the "dungeon" to
sleep. This is an emergency storage shed under the building that looks
like it hosts more mice than people. Creepy as it was, it was the only
option at that moment in time and I slept down there for 12 hours.
When I woke up yesterday morning, I could not see more than ten feet
in front of me let alone any mountain peaks. And, I still felt sick.
Very sick. So we each donated 91 bucks to the AMC and bought bunks as
a guests. (Safari was kind enough to stay the night as well...thank
you Safari!). I went right back to sleep and slept all day long. I am
so grateful to feel well enough to hike up and over not only
Washington, but Madison, and all their friends today. Being sick for a
couple of days has made me very appreciative of the days when I feel
well.

On a brighter note, the hike today will be one I will remember
forever. It was above treeline and it was so crystal clear you could
see for miles. The scenery was truely stunning. It was one of the more
challenging days, complete with a hard fall.

We are camped at a tentsite about 4 miles from Gorham, New Hampshire.
It has platforms that you are supposed to set up your tents on. Well
whoever designed these square sets of wooden planks clearly was not
thinking about non-freestanding tents. It took us, let's just say, a
really long time to figure out how to get our tents up...and not
without much cursing and frustration and a lot of extra rope. It was
dark when we ate dinner. What a day. It certainly was a day full of
victories.

Rain delay at Crawford Notch...

Well, Mount Washington is just going to have to wait a day. I awoke to
steady rain this morning with a forecast of possible thunderstorms.
This is a mountain that calls for clear skies. Of course after we made
the decision to wait until tomorrow, as usual...right on cue, the sun
popped out. Uhuh. That's okay, I needed the afternoon to dry
everything out from setting my tent up in a depression in a mossy bog.
That's right. There was a nice brown puddle of water in/under/around
well, not much, just everything I own. That's okay too, because the
sun that popped out unexpectedly dried everything nicely. Again.

Today, makes exactly five months I have been on the trail. My
calculations put me on Katahdin almost exactly six months from my
start date. With 345.1 miles...approximately... left, I can sense the
end drawing closer. With so many pages from my guide book gone, the
reality of finishing this amazing adventure looms large.

I am going to sleep now. I have to rest up for a FIVE THOUSAND foot
elevation gain climb in the morning. Why do all the big mountains have
such low river valleys in between them??? A hiker from Maine, in his
thick Maine accent, told me back in the beginning, "If you don't like
the gaps you're gonna hate the notches!" Well let me tell you. NOW I
know what he was talkin' about (in a thick Georgia accent). I'll be
okay, I am eating a Whoopie pie for breakfast!

A moose on the loose

Of course the highlight of any day in the whites is the peak of
whatever enormous mountain you happen to be climbing, however, today
we saw a moose. My first moose on the AT, and my first bull moose
ever. He was huge! He was in a pond mostly with his head under water
feasting on whatever aquatic plants there are, but when he lifted his
head out of the water... Wow! It was very exciting.

So far, the most amazing views have come from the Franconia Ridge
including mountains Haystack, Lincoln, and Lafayette. There are no
words to describe this above the treeline ridge walk on top of the
world. This was so worth the truely exhausting climb. In fact, the
past several days have left me so anxious to crawl into the sleeping
bag the second I reach my campsite I have not been writing any blogs
or journals or anything. Today was no different but I am excited about
the next section of trail and of course the whole moose encounter. The
next mountain to summit is the one and only Mt Washington. I have been
looking forward to this for a very long time. Unfortunately, they are
calling for thunderstorms and that could certainly put a damper on
things. We agreed we were going to delay summiting Washington until
nice weather since it can get really nasty up there. Someone even said
something about snow. Huh.

My favorite sign yet

High on Whoopie Pies

Did I mention New Hampshire was steep? These mountains go straight up
and straight back down again!
All I can say is wow. Moosilauke is absolutely beautiful. We were
above treeline, saw alpine meadows, and followed a waterfall all the
way down to the bottom. The hike was not even as hard as I imagined.

Today we climbed the Kinsman(s) and saw more beautiful scenery than I
can even describe. Due to some confusing trail intersections and a mob
scene of tourists at the Lonesome Lake Hut, we ended up tacking on a
few more miles than we anticipated. It turned out to be over an 18
mile day, which for the Whites, is a lot. Needless to say, I am
totally pooped.

However, I have made an amazing discovery.... The WHOOPIE PIE. Those
of you from the south, like me, may not be familiar with the whoopie
pie. Apparently this delectable treat is as well known and well loved
as the moon pie is in the south. (Yuck! I say!) These things are way
better. They are nothing but pure sugar in one form or another. Two
round pieces of chocolate cake with a hurt-your-teeth sugary icing in
the middle. Someone first gave me half of one last night, that's right
half of one, and I stayed awake with a sugar buzz for I don't know how
long. We decided that was definitely what we were going to buy to take
with us today to eat before the second 2,000' elev gain climb and we
all ran up that mountain like we were on fire. Seriously. The power of
sugar.

398.5 miles left

I am camped at a hostel at the base of Mt. Moosilauke in Glencliff,
NH. Yep that's right. I have made it to the Whites. This mountain,
"The Moose" as I have affectionately come to call it, has been on my
mind since, like, I don't know...Springer??? When I used to flip to
this page in my guide book, it would literally scare the heck out of
me. It's HUGE! It's a 3,700' elevation gain. Did you hear me??? That's
three thousand seven hundred feet!!! It's not even the climb up that
has had me worried. It's the steep downhill and the warning in the
book about it being steep and slick. Yikes! But you know what? I am
not worried anymore. I am so excited. I have been hearing about how
"the whites are so beautiful", "the whites are your dessert", "you've
done 80% of the trail but only 20% of the work", and my favorite, "the
whites are going to kill you". Well I am hear to say HOOOAH! Bring it
on.

(P.S. This didn't get sent until the top of Moosilauke)

Mile 1,766.2

Wow. New Hampshire is...well...how should I put this? Let's say,
steep. So far in the last day or so we have climbed up and down
several mountains I like to call "A-frames", including ones with
ladders and metal rungs bolted in. One even had a knotted rope hanging
down to assist in climbing. What's that sport they use ropes to climb
the side of mountains? Oh yeah, it's called ROCK CLIMBING. Each day
has been an amazing adventure. Some days, the trail designers get
called nasty names. Sorry, it's just fact.

The water has been really scarce the past few days. We had heard from
a few sobo's that the first few shelters had no water but it seems to
be as dry as PA, NJ, and NY had been. Until today. Today we learned
the lesson of "Be careful what you wish for". As we summitted Moose
mountain yesterday, the thunder became louder and louder. We were
heading for Trapper John shelter and barely made it before it started
bucketing. We hung out with a young sobo named Radar, that gave us a
lot of information about the campsites, huts, and shelters in the
whites. Which, by the way, we enter tomorrow. It was so cool. It was
like talking to someone from the future. I asked him if he was named
after Radar O'Reilly and he didn't know who I was talking about.
(Read: old fart).

He said he had been passing nobo's for quite some time and said the
early ones he had called "katahrded" which I know is horribly un-p.c.
but I couldn't help laughing. Ok. Laughing hysterically. Because it's
true. These "uber hikers" we will call them are just all about the
miles. They are not taking the time to enjoy the scenery they are
running past at 4mph. To me, they are missing the point entirely. It's
not about summiting Katahdin, it's about the journey there.

New Hampshire, baby! New Hampshire!

I crossed over the bridge with Safari and Hollywood into Hanover, NH
this afternoon. We were all very excited and nearly got ourselves run
over with all the running across the road taking pictures and what
not. There is a couple of miles of road walking on the trail just
before town. Several people had put cookies and other homeade baked
goods out beside the street with signs that say "trail magic". It was
so sweet. One guy that had hiked the trail in 2002, (Thank you
"Chief"!), pulled over and gave us each a cold bottle of juice.
Vermont and now New Hampshire have been very good to us. Like I said
before, Vermont, so far has been absolutely my favorite section. I
hear many good things about the last two states remaining.

Unlike trail magic, there is the darker, unfortunate side of things
that we now call "trail tragic". This is the Coleman cooler you see
just ahead on the side of the trail after that long grueling
climb...beckoning you to come peek inside. Cold water? Cold soda? Some
kind of treat? No! It's empty! Thank you all for all the trail
magic...we know it has to run out sometime...it's
still...sometimes...tragic.

So yet once again, I have indeed lightened my load. Yes, it's true. I
threw my Big Agnes pad in the garbage! It leaked. Again! So I broke
down and bought a Thermarest NeoAir. (Short!). I am so ultralight I am
totally ridiculous. The BA was 24oz and this thing is a whopping 9.
Thats right, 9oz! I am sleeping on it tonight for the first time. I
will let you know. Hmmm.

I have cankles

Yes. It's true. And don't let any hiker tell you they don't get them
because they do. You take a day off (two days ago had a great day off
at the Inn at Long Trail near Rutland, VT...a terrific lodge and one
of my favorite places along the trail) and blamo! You don't know
where you feet start or your calves stop. Cankles. I am not sure what
happens exactly.

Today was blackberry heaven. They were everywhere. I feasted for
thirty minutes in this one patch. Of course when I finally dethorned
myself I look like I had lost a fight with a cat....or twelve. It was
totally worth it.

After a couple of really hard long days, I am camped in West Hartford
in the back yard of two of the nicest people. The trail goes right
through town and Steve and Kathy let hikers camp in their yard and use
their water spigot. We ate sandwichs, chips, ice cream, and drank
sodas at the little general store two doors up. The weather was
fabulous with a bright blue sky all day. I used my sleeping bag for
the first time last night and it was so cold I stayed zipped up in it
all night. Life is good.

Remind me to tell you the story of the privy pig some time.

As usual, the trail provides...

It's a well known fact that there is nothing on the trail that cannot
be fixed with either duct tape or "Shoe Goo". Today, I fixed a pack
strap with duct tape, kindly provided by another hiker via the "hiker
box" here in Killington, and a shoe insert with Shoe Goo, kindly left
at the last shelter I temporarily inhabited....along with an enormous
mice colony. But that is another whole story.

I remember my mom using Shoe Goo to fix her running shoes when I was a
kid. Who knew one day I too would come to value this amazing yet
totally toxic viscous "goo". I have needed it to reglue soles back on
boots before, just as most hikers will to try and squeek out a few
more miles before buying new boots. I found this tube just as I
realized the metatarsal support, which had been taped on with two-
sided tape (like that had any chance of sticking in MY shoe), began
floating around freely inside my new fancy-dancy shoes. The goo worked
great! Thank you, whomever, for sharing your goo. Timber had found a
tube just laying on a bridge bannister one day, amazingly when she
needed her own boot repair. Like we always say, the trail always
provides.

In case you don't know what a hiker box is, it is a box of discards
(food, clothing, half used tubes of Shoe Goo, one wool sock, etc) that
you usually find at places frequented by hikers. Of course usually
they are filled with ziploc bags filled with mystery powder (What is
in all those baggies of pink stuff???) and dubious recipe components
that are mailed to hikers in their resupply boxes. People! Before
placing that bag of ambiguous powdery mixture in the box that will get
tumbled around just enough to create a hole in the bag, and leak
indeterminate sticky stuff all over everything else, label it with the
sharpie that is almost always present in the bottom of the box.
Really. Mommy would be so proud of you.

Another handy thing to have on the trail is the device I hold in my
hand this very moment. Timber notoriously always said, "Just ask the
Superphone". Just yesterday, Safari and I were crossing the road to
Rutland, VA that my guide book indicated having a restaurant a short
distance away. So naturally we headed that way for breakfast and hot
coffee. Whenever I have good service, I always check the weather. I
realized as we sat there with about six other hikers that there was a
huge blob of dark green and yellow heading right for us. (Read: Green
bad. Yellow worse. Red really ugly!) So we completely chilled out and
waited for the rain. One guy didn't believe me and started back toward
the trail. I told him to wait TWELVE minutes but he went on. And about
fifteen minutes later we all, well most of us, were celebrating our
success at avoiding a huge storm. Of course we had to sit outside the
Whistlestop restaurant for three hours. Ha. "Tree, ALWAYS trust the
superphone!"
There have been numerous times it has saved us as well as helped us
find hotels, restaurants, laundromats, our way back to where we got
dropped off, etc. It even tells you the best route to walk there! I
love this thing. Thank you!

A note I saw in the middle of the trail:

Seedless Joe,
We are going home. Good luck.
Signed Bill

I don't know Seedless Joe or his (former) friend Bill, but hopefully
Seedless Joe wasn't counting on Bill for anything important.

The new shoes are feeling a little better today. At least the numbness
and tingling in my toes is beginning to subside somewhat. I still feel
the plantar fascitis in the left foot (Marge of course) but I have
high hopes of a full recovery.

Today was a very nice 15 mile hike. We took a side trail to the White
Rocks Cliff and also had a nice break at a beautiful waterfall. There
was this one place where over the years hikers have built an entire
city of cairns. They were everywhere. One on top of the other. It was
quite the display. And of course we had to go search for more rocks to
add to them.

I have come to the decision now that I have less than 500 miles left,
that I want to once again eat hot food. In fact, if I have to eat one
more tuna in a tortilla meal, I might go totally nuts. Plus, I miss
mashed potatoes! I have come to the realization that cold food is
much heavier than dehydrated food. So now that I am getting my heavier
winter stuff back, I need to cut back on weight as much as possible.
And I hate tuna. And peanut butter. And tortillas. But especially
tuna.

Another day in the life...

I am sitting at the base of Bromley mountain, waiting for the chair
lift to open up for the day. I sure am lucky to need rescuing on a
weekend day. They only run the lifts up to the summit on Saturdays and
Sundays. Wow. Marge and Lefty's temper tantrums have good timing, eh?
Otherwise I would have to hike this mountain twice.

Later today...
So I was able to get back up Bromley on the chair lift this morning
and hike a moderate 12 miles to the Lost Pond shelter where I am
camped with Safari and some section hikers. Yep, Safari caught up to
me today where I was having lunch. The second new shoes are okay, I am
still having a lot of foot pain and numb toes. The light meshy
unsupportive trail shoes are totally different from the heavy
clodhopper sideshow bob boots that I have been used to for 1,650
miles. The jury is still out whether these are good or not. Marge and
Lefty just cannot be pleased these days.

The weather is lovely, cool, partly cloudy, 40's-50's at night, so
pretty chilly still. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. That is never
fun so we shall see. I bought a new pack cover in town so hopefully it
works better than the "rain insulating" p.o.s. I had before. It ended
up in the hiker box along with a note attached to it for the future
owner to use at their own risk. I thought it might work better on a
larger pack. Or maybe I just couldn't stand the thought of just
throwing it away. Who knows.