Date: 2009-09-03
From: Madison Hut, NH

To: Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

It has been a beautiful day once again in the Whites. Our morning began around 6am with the sounds of the Hut "Croo" in the kitchen getting breakfast ready for their guests. All 10 of us thru hikers packed up quickly as the guests also started to wake up and come through our sleeping quarters (the dining room). Once breakfast was rolling for the guests, we all found ourselves fully entertained by the box of board games in the back of the room. Bark played checkers with Team Hiking Pols, and we realized very quickly that checkers is played differently in Poland. All of the pieces have the ability to move backwards and forwards and once "kinged," the piece can jump all over the board even skipping over multiple squares to take a turn. Anyway it rocked our world, and theirs, when all the "American" rules were explained. I believe the exact quote from Team Hiking Pols was, "Your king is powerless!" After checkers it was on to Jenga with the addition of another hiker named Son. Even though it was a lot of fun you better believe that when the Hut Master told us we could grab some food in the kitchen, our game table cleared pretty quickly. We all scarfed down some cereal, cream of wheat with toppings and some hot chocolate. A great way to start a hike, but not before we worked off our room and board. This mornings jobs were similar to yesterday's- sweeping out the bunkrooms, bleaching the bunks and walls and cleaning up the dining room. With 10 anxious (and very appreciative) hikers, the work was done by 9:15 and our packs were strapped on by 9:20, ready to conquer Mt. Madison, the last of the Presidential range. And what a finale it turned out to be. Imagine a 5,000' tall pile of rocks...that is what we all climbed up (at least the top 1,000'). It was an incredible view from the top of Madison with Mt. Washington off in the distance and the rest of the presidentials following. Son, the Hiking Pole's and us snapped some pictures before trying make our way down the steep and very rocky descent. In fact for the next few hours we did not do much more than descend from Mt. Madison, approximately 3,000'. Bark and I stopped around noon for lunch by a beautiful brook. For the next couple of miles we hiked on until coming to Pinkaham Notch. The notch houses the AMC headquarters as well as a lodge and small deli. Hiking Pole's, Son, Hot Chocolate, and Stick Cakes had passed us earlier in the morning, but where there is food, there are hikers. Sure enough when we came off the trail into the Visitor's Center parking area there they were with empty plates and drink bottles. We saw Hiking Pole's come out from the center with wet hair and she quickly announced that there were showers inside! Even though Bark and I have not had a shower since last Friday, we opted out since we were facing a 2,000' climb right after the road crossing- the sweat would have ruined the bliss of the shower; we will wait until Gorham. It was great just relaxing for a little while with everyone, including Moe and Lucky Joe who got dropped off after a visit to Gorham. Moe seems to be feeling better after taking some meds for Giardia and Staph infection- she is going strong! Bark and I were not quite ready to leave when everyone packed up so we decided to grab a sandwich and a few resupply items. While we were eating our sandwiches, the thought of the end of the trail hit me. To be honest, I will be more than happy to give my tired feet a rest, but one thing I will definitely miss...my time with Bark. We have been together for 24 hours a day for the past 156 days with more to come. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is shared and we have had some great months out here- would not trade the memories for anything. It will be hard readjusting to work weeks and time apart during the day, so I am determined to enjoy our last few weeks of constant contact with each other. It is strange because we were warned about the perils of being a married couple trying to hike together for such a long period of time...we have never been further than eyeshot from one another and have truly enjoyed every bit of it. Those skeptics! It is the Grace of God and nothing less.Well, we finally faced the fact that we must make it up to the Wildcat Peaks before it got too late. We started hiking right before 4 o'clock and only a couple miles later we were desperate for a campsite. Once again it was some serious hand over hand climbing with not many breaks in between. Once I am trying to shimmy up a steep rock face on the side of a mountain, you better believe I am not stopping until I hit flat ground again. We made it up and over our last peak for the day before seeing a tent spot back in the trees. It has been a couple nights since we were in our tent together and we are glad to say we are back in "our home sweet home." As nice as the hut stays have been, we are thankful for a quiet night in the woods on our own schedule. We hope to be up and out early tomorrow as we have a big day ahead...finish up the Wildcat Peaks A, B, C, D and E and then up 2,000' over Carter Dome Mt.