Got my trail name--

Day 11 - 4/21/10
So I got a trail name today, but I'll get to that in a bit. I ended up
having a really good night with a bunch of other hikers at the NOC,
drinking beers, meeting lots of new people, and even celebrating one
guys birthday. I hung mostly with Keith, city squirrel, and lady
slipper (she's a really nice older lady hiking up to Hot Springs) and
we sat around trying to think up trail names because it stinks not
having one (Keith and I both know this well). You can't really force
it though and the best we could come up with was pretty crappy.

Anyway, I got up about 7:30 today and left the NOC an hour later.
Before I left a german guy named Marcus who is doing the hike was
talking to me about the outfitter store. We were both complaining how
it opened at 10, and I was saying how I needed to buy another fuel so
I'd have to wait around till they opened. He ends up offering me one
of his, and I say no, I can't just take it, so I payed him the 7 bucks
for it. It was really nice of him to hook me up, but that's what
people do out here on the trail. It's about being generous and helping
out when someone's in need. Another example is the birthday we had for
that guy. Some other hiker cooked him up brownies in the community
kitchen and he shared them with everyone. Good stuff.

Anyway, I had 6 miles of uphill to start the day. It was a 3000 ft
rise in elevation, so it was a long slow process. I hiked by myself
mostly, but about halfway up I met a woman hiker from Florida named
serentina (serenty-na) and I chatted with her a bit. She told me
stories about going on mission trips to costa rica and stuff. She was
really cool so I hope to see her again down the road.

Later on after the 6 miles of uphill I hiked some with firefox and
hotfoot, who I think I mentioned a few days back. Apparently they're
both firefighters so they told me all about that, answering all my
questions I had. Then they asked me where I was from and I told them
Maine, so they asked what animals we have exclusively up there. I
started to tell them about the Maine coon cat, and then hotfoot said,
"well how about coon cat for a name?" I thought about it and the more
I did the more I liked it. So I'm coon cat. I like the connection to
Maine, which is something I was hoping for in my name. Plus Daniel
boon wore a coon (cap) and so on. I think it fits me.

The rest of the day was pretty nice, but the last mile was this really
steep mountain that wasn't fun. I pulled into the shelter after and
decided to call it a day after 16 miles. I met two other hikers who
were eating dinner here, Yumyum (girl from NJ) and Herro (guy from
NY). I set up my tent in the shelter after they left, but some other
hikers came in so I feel a little odd, using up a lot of space. One
guy here, Halfmoon, is from Boston. He's thru'd before and he had some
wise words.

One little random story I want to tell is about this beagle dog on the
trail. You see a hiker with a dog maybe once a day, so clearly not
many people do it. This dog and his owner were also staying at the NOC
last night. All the dogs I've come across don't have trail names, but
this beagle does. Its name is Sneaky Little Bastard. I guess he loves
to run off the trail and away from his owner. Anyway, one day SLB and
his owner were on the trail, and SLB ran off. His owner couldn't find
him, so he's yelling out the dogs name for two hours, but the dog
isn't coming. Finally he just says screw it, he can't wait any longer,
and so he leaves. A mile and a half up the trail is the next shelter,
and there sitting at the shelter waiting was Sneaky Little Bastard. I
think the name suits him. Anyway I'll be going to bed in a bit.
Tomorrow I'm resupplying in Fontana dam. Good night from the trail.

Total miles: 151