Date: 2015-07-18
From: Edmands Cutoff Trail - Mile 1859.8

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was windy all night and rained on and off but not a lot. We woke up early and were able to pack up our tents after another bout of rain stopped. We started hiking just before 6 am. Poor Sullivan was not happy to be wearing his booties to protect his paws. He was walking around funny and sulking. When we started hiking he refused to move. We were way up the trail and he was still at the camp spot. A heavy wet sleet rain started and drenched us. Fortunately it was at our backs. Then it was windy. Then it rained again. Then it was windy. It took us nearly 2 hours to hike the 2.2 miles to Madison Spring Hut. We arrived just after the guests finished breakfast. We hung out warming up and waiting to see if there was any leftover food. Cliffhanger was there doing work for stay. Phantom had stayed there as a guest and we chatted a couple times. He isn't planning to summit until August 15th so he has plenty of time to hike to Katahdin. We entertained ourselves watching the weekend hikers pack up and leave in the rain. They all gave Sullivan a lot of attention on their way out. There was leftover eggs with bacon and Portuguese Sweet Bread so I enjoyed some warm bread. It was delicious. The croo were really nice. After 9 am we finally put on our wet gear and went back outside. The trail immediately climbed straight up in a steep Rocky half mile ascent up to Mt Madison. The wind was gusting hard and we couldn't see much ahead. We continued along the ridge which was also a steep descent getting pushed over by the wind gusts. It was easy to lose your balance up on the rocks. And the wind really knocked you over. I put on my Go Pro to try to capture some of the experience because it's so difficult to describe. You had to pick your path wisely. I chose unwisely a couple times and ended up stuck as my pack got stuck on the rock and my feet were dangling too short to reach the next rock below. I had to scoot to the edge and slide down the rock which was a little rough on bare legs. Finally we descended back below the tree line where the trail was more piney but very steep and littered with wet rocks. Knees were not happy! It took us 3.5 hours to cover the 3 miles from the Hut. We finally emerged onto some nicer terrain which wasn't quite as severe. Our goal was Pinkham Notch. The weather did get warm and turned into a nice afternoon but more rain was forecasted later this evening. We had decided to stay in Gorham since a couple people needed to resupply and then slack pack the 21 miles from Pinkham Notch to Gorham tomorrow. I arrived at Pinkham Notch just before 3 pm. Wookie arrived and then Sugar Magnolia and Crafty. We decided to hitch the 11 miles to Gorham. We stood at the exit ... We were 4 people plus a dog. Not great odds. But Victoria pulled over and offered to take us. Another woman walking to her car had room for one so Wookie went with her and we rode with Victoria who is from Lincoln and out day hiking. She dropped us off at the Town & Country Inn where Uphill already had a room. After the five of us had showered, we walked a mile while trying to hitch ... Unsuccessfully. We stopped at the Barn Hostel to see if we could take the Walmart shuttle. We said "hello" to Six Strings. The shuttle would leave in an hour so we had dinner at he Salt Pub and then walked back to the Barn Hostel. There was only room for 3 people in the shuttle to Walmart so the others went since Wookie and I did not need to resupply. Instead we went to the Cumberland Farms and got ice cream and walked back to the hotel. A couple hours later it started pouring so a good night not to be tenting in the rain!