Shawn here

Hey everybody, this is Shawn writing. Kelsey posted earlier that I was going to hike a few miles today, but that didn't end up happening. My fingers have some good blisters on them, and the weather is lousy, with thunderstorms coming tonight, so they convinced me to stay. Not a whole lot to report that Kelsey hasn't already covered. My new trail name is apparantly "Poker", after the hot metal poker that i grabbed onto last night. I knew as soon as it happened that an embarrassing nickname would probably come from it, and sure enough this morning everybody was trying to decide what to call me. It was between Poker and Branded. I kind of liked Branded, but oh well. It's been nice to take a couple of days off, but I am excited to get back to hiking tomorrow. Even though i've hardly even seen a squirrel and none of the plants are really in bloom, the trail is beautiful around every turn. I am amazed at how nice and willing to help hikers everybody has been. Kelsey mentioned the elderly couple that gave me a snack and a comfortable chair after climbing a ridiculously steep mountain. The Cloud 9 Hostel/Trout Farm, where I am staying right now, is also very nice. The caretaker, Crutch, got his name from a thru hike attempt a few years ago where he broke a leg early on, and continued to hike with a cast and a crutch. He had to quit in New Jersey, because it was late October and the hiking season was ending. Luckily my injuries aren't that bad, and as long as I go easy on my fingers, I should be fine. That's all that really springs to mind right now, so I hope everything is great back in Mass. or wherever you're reading this from, and I'll try to write again soon!