Mike McShane's cabin

So much has happened in the last few days! Right now Flora, Skittles, Butter and I are sitting in the living room of Mike McShane, a 77-year old man we met in McDonalds of Great Barrington, Massachusettes. He invited us all to his cabin (he usually lives in NYC) for showers, laundry, dinner, bed, and breakfast! We are watching the 1996 Braves/Yankees world series game. Mr. McShane is cooking and has welcomed us to his two refrigerators full of beer. 

A few days ago we stayed at a pick- your- own blueberry farm for an afternoon full of blueberry eating and a night out under the meteor shower ( I think I have seen my fair share of shooting stars now having watched them three nights!). While we were there two nobos came up to the farm. One of them looked really familiar and it turned out to be Griz, the guy who helped me figure out some gear choices earlier this year when I hiked up and down Blood Mountain with Mom and then went to Walasi Yi, an outfitter in Neels Gap. I was totally not expecting to see him and he even remembered me so that was random and cool! 

Anyway now I should explain a trail term called pink blazing. Pink blazing (as opposed to white blazing, following the trail as normal) is when a hiker decides to forego his normal hiking schedule in order to follow a girl. Griz and his friend Ice decided to turn around and go south for a day with us, a pretty blatant pink blazing. 

So! We four hiked to Upper Goose Pond cabin, where the caretakers make you pancakes for breakfast for free! We met a lot of people there including some nobo Toast, who we've heard rumors about including that he robbed someone at knife point, and some weekenders, including one guy Joey who humored me with a couple of games of cribbage and some welcome non-trail talk about his acrobatic flying adventures. 

At some point in the evening Griz got drunk and started acting completely inappropriately, which was disappointing but anyway. It was still good to see him. 

In the morning we said goodbye to Griz and Ice and headed south with Skittles and Butter. We came to a rope swing off a tree into Upper Goose Pond. It was super scary but we all did it twice (except Skittles, he only went once). Flora was super elegant, she remained tucked until the perfect point and dropped into the water gracefully with a tiny cute splash. I did not remain tucked and basically faceplanted into the pond, getting water in every orifice of my head, skidding across the water in the rope swing version of a belly flop. Twice I did this. On video. Someday you all will see this hilarity. 

Last night at the lean-to were two young section hikers, one of whom we trail-named Dinner Bell, because he wears a bear bell on his pack. He doesn't have to listen to it because he listens to his iPod. We ran ahead of him in the morning and took super-short breaks because wow those things are annoying. It is not Christmastime! I do not want to hear Santa's sleigh skidding along behind me! 

Skittles, Butter, Flora and I hitched into Great Barrington to resupply. It is difficult to get a hitch for four people. A guy in a car stopped for us but he had his son with him and could only take two, so Skittles and Butter rode with him, valiantly leaving us behind ("you girls get hitches easily, right? See you at the grocery store"). Well we got another ride and met them in town, ate some McDonalds, and met Mr. McShane.

Which brings me to tonight. Mr. McShane is so awesome, he has lots of cool stories. And I am clean:) and my clothes are about to be clean:) and we will be in a new state tomorrow:) and this baseball game is from back when McGriff was on first, Chipper Jones was still cute, and Javy Lopez was still catcher :)