Well, we are here in Digger's apartment in Providence, Rhode Island.  I know some of you aren't really interested in what I do off the trail, but since I don't have anything else to write about for the next few days you will have to indulge me.
	Greenman at the apartment.

	Monday - We went to Six Flags today - me, Greenman, Feral, Thorn, Digger, and Dirty Frank.   We rode the super roller coaster (I only got a little sick) and the bumper cars and went to the water park. We had a great time.
Feral's friend, Digger Dave, Dirty Frank, Greenman, and Feral.

The gang on one of the rides at Six Flags.	Our 2 favorite "Dominals", Greenman and Dirty Frank

Tuesday - We went to the Mall today.  I bought a new ski cap and a pearl snap shirt.   For those of you who don't know what a pearl snap shirt is, Pauline, it is a long sleeve western shirt with covered buttons made out of pearl.  I have a good friend named Deryl Dodd who is a country singer.  In fact, he is a cousin to my sister-in-law Brenda who is the webmaster of this site.  He recorded a good song called "Pearl Snaps."  So I had to have one.

We went to the movies today, also.  Saw Pirates of the Caribbean.  I liked it.   We also went to the movies Sunday and saw Swat

Digger took us back to Falls Village where he picked us up and we camped out next to the Falls Village Inn, actually behind it on a grassy area.  Greenman jumped off the Falls but didn't hurt himself.  Back on the trail tomorrow.

Wednesday - We hiked 13 miles today - didn't want to overdo it.  We did, however, get to the Brassie Brook Shelter before it rained.  Dirty Frank and Greenman had a tobacco spitting contest.  Frank won for spitting the fartherest and they tied in the contest for accuracy.  You will do most anything on the trail for entertainment!

Kung Fu and Blue Stool showed up.  Blue Stool actually carries a little blue stool on the trail, hence the name.  I didn't go that far, but when I first hit the trail back in Georgia, I figured out a way so that I would positively not go hungry on the trail and that would limit my having to cook a lot.  I carried a plastic bread box in my pack with a full loaf of bread.  I figured I could eat sandwiches and the bread would fill me up.  This lasted just a few days until I got to Neel's Gap and Tinman and Cornbread got ahold of my pack and lopped about 15 pounds off.

Thursday - Today we hiked Bear Mountain - 2,316 feet, the highest peak in Connecticut.   It was pretty rugged on the descent which was very rocky and steep.
It was pretty rough going.  We did about 20 miles, by the grace of God.

Also, crossed the state line into Massachusetts.

Connecticut is a very beautiful state.  We were only in New Jersey two days, I think, and New York about 5 days (but we stayed an extra day to go to the Monastery and Zoo.   And we were in Connecticut about 2 days (if you leave out the time we spent at Digger's in Rhode Island).  So you could say that we covered three states in eight days.

We hiked about .03 of a mile into Great Barrington.  Stayed on the river.  Dirty Frank dropped back, couldn't quite keep up.  He will catch us probably tomorrow.

Friday - Ran into Footslogger and Happy Feet, said Widget is ahead of us a few days.   I guess Baltimore Jack passed us while we were in Rhode Island.  I will look for his note in the log book at the next shelter.

We slackpacked today, thanks to Gail and her husband Hancock Hobo, who was a thru-hiker back in the '80's.  We saw her again this evening, and she took us to her house to eat hamburgers.  These are great people.

We camped along the Housatonic River this evening.  Looked for Dirty Frank, but could never find him.

Our buddy Sniper is not coming back to the trail.  He was running low on money.   I will miss him - he's like a brother.  Also, I heard that Night Owl is getting off the trail.  He just got tired of the hiking.  We will miss him, too.

Saturday - Did 19 miles today.  Picking up the pace and trying to make up some lost time.  The creeks and streams are swollen, and the mud at the bottom is so thick that it pulls your feet down, sometimes knee deep.  So your legs, shoes, and socks are muddy, muddy, muddy!  Just thought I would give you something to look forward to, Bgone.

Of course, it started raining.  We stopped at Upper Goose Pond Cabin, which is run by the Berkshire Chapter of the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club).  It was $3.00 per person, with bunks, fireplace, covered porch, privy, and swimming area.  And an All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE) pancake breakfast.  What a treat!

Sunday - We had a 20 mile day today.  On the way, on Washington Mountain Road, we passed by Marilyn Wiley's place.  She is known as the "Cookie Lady" because she always tries to have homemade cookies ready for every hiker that comes by.  She lives on a blueberry farm, and we picked dozens and dozens of blueberries.  They were delicious!

We got into Dalton, Mass. this evening, and went straight to Tom Levardi's house on Depot Street.   He lets hikers use his front porch or his backyard for tenting, if you get permission first.  His house is a two (or three?) story house right on the trail.   I was expecting to get a package from my Mom and she thought that I would get into Dalton on Saturday evening, too late to get to the post office, so she called the post office on Friday to see if the Outfitters would pick up my package on Saturday morning so that I could get it in case we left out for the trail on Sunday.  They told her to call Tom and he would pick it up.  Sure enough, he did and it was waiting for me at his house when we got there.  He is extremely hospitable and is a super nice guy.   All in all, it was a good week.

We will be in Vermont in a few days.  Time is getting short.  I am a little sad that a lot of my friends have left the trail.  I am the only one from our original group - Crazy Eight (later called Section Eight) - left on the trail.  And Greenman, Feral, and I are the only ones left from the Mairntt group, of which there were about 8 originally.  I hope this journal will give some strength and courage to all of you who will attempt to hike the A.T. some time if your lifetime, whether in the next year or so or in twenty or thirty years.  Maybe you can print all of the pages to this journal and keep it somewhere so you can read it over and over to remember that if I, a beginner hiker who never hiked more than two miles in his life before attempting this trip, can make it from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin, you can, too.  Endurance, perseverance, a sense of humor, banding together with hiker friends so that you always have someone to fall back on, and a great faith in God - this is what is takes to have the adventure of your life. 

Let me hear from you all.  Thanks for being there.  See you next week.