Date: 2003-08-30
From: Franconia Notch/ Approach Trail

To: Campsite
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: overcast clouds

No kidding....I can see my breath! August 30, the sun hasn't even set and I can see my breath! This can't be good!   Yesterday, and half of today, were spent traveling up to New Hampshire and buying Bumpkin another pair of boots. Yep..she blew out another pair! And buying boots in the middle of a hike, with no break-in time is a tricky process, so that was a major undertaking. But it has to be done and we were lucky to find a local outfitter, EMS, that really helped a lot! The time off the trail has me irritable and antsy. I am also feeling somewhat out of control of my own hike, and that bothers me. Decisions are made with no regard for my thougts, and that puts me in a mood that is less than pleasant. But, I knew that once I got out on the trail, these kind of things would fade away. I was sort-of right... :)I did have a highlight to all the running around, however! We stopped by Dalton, Mass. to check our mail and I got TWO care packages!! My wonderful friends Suzie and Charlote obviously love me cause they went to such trouble to send me these great packages!! New socks, poems, herbal tea and smoked oysters....these are just a few of the things that they sent me to make me smile! I also got a postcard from Ragamuffin, a woman from my internet hiking club! Thank you ladies for really brightening my day!!   After running all of our errands, Bumpkin, Jerry and I finally got on the AT this afternoon at 4:30. We were officially in the White Mountains, and we were happy. Plans called for us to hike just 3 1/2 miles, so we figured that we could make it to the campsite before it got dark. I wasn't on the trail 15 minutes before I ran into Grinder, a woman that thru-hiked last year. She was nice as she could be, and as I was leaving, she pulled out homemade chocolate-chip cookies that she had made to give to thru-hikers! Trail magic! Ok...maybe things are looking up! It wasn't the cookies that were so special, but meeting a person that loved the trail and her thru-hike, and that wanted to pay back a little kindness. I just think that is so special!   The White Mountains are somewhat of the crown jewel of the AT. With the exception of some parts of Maine, it is unsurpassed in terms of both beauty and difficulty. It is that 'difficulty' part that has me worried! We will be above tree-line for miles and miles, and on top of having some of the scariest rock sections on the AT, it also has the most fickle weather!! Sunny one minute, snowing the next....you get the picture! Encompassed within the Whites is the Presidential Mountain Range. Mount Washington has the most violent weather on the planet, with record setting winds. Did I mention that the AT goes right over it?! Well, you will be hearing lots about all that in the days to come! But for the time being....   Remember that 'difficulty' I just mentioned? Well, after a mile of some of the most rock-y, root-y, (I know...it's still not a word!), dark and beautiful trail I have ever seen, things started to get.....um......intense.The woods are gorgeous. Thick and rich with Aspen crowded up against each other for as far as you can see. Fir trees compete with them for spaceand the end result is a forest that looks like it is crowded with secrets. The trail became a jungle gym of rocks that went steeply uphill in lazy curves. These curves serve the purpose of making sure you constantly think you are almost at the top!   The rocks themselves, surprisingly, did not bother me! I just went slow and treated the trail like a big, wacky, fun-house flight of stairs. A really, really LONG big, wacky, fun-house flight of stairs! :)Between my increased fitness and all the breaks I took to talk to other hikers, the climb was really no problem. However, the sun was not on our side, and it started to get dark before we could get to our intended camp site, so here we ended up in the woods. Dinner was quick due the above-mentioned breath sighting, and we all made a mad dash for our tents as the temperature plummeted. I am in my sleeping bag AND silk liner.....together which should keep me warm down to 10 degrees. It isn't working!!! The wind is roaring through the Aspen, and despite the cold, it feels like home. As I begin to fall asleep, I decide that will concentrate on getting through the next two weeks. Then...my brother is coming to visit!! I cannot wait!When I went home, he spur-of-the-moment drove up from Florida for the day! Isn't he wonderful! His visit culminated in oneof our famous Huthmaker Family Trivial Pursuit Games complete with my mom climbing up on the table!! The whole thing reinforced in me not only how much I love my family, but how also how much I just flat-out enjoy spending time with them! I can't wait to see Charlie, and I will just focus on that as we climb mountains for the next two weeks!Love, Anna aka Mud Butt