Date: 2008-08-09
From: Galehead Hut, NH

To: Zealand Falls Hut, NH
Miles today: 7.0

Ok ok, it¢s a record, I actually SAW the sun today¢¦for a brief period! I didn¢tquite get the 6 a.m. start I wanted. I was so tired, had a hard time gettingout of bed. I ate some honeycomb and Karen had me at the Gale River Trailheadby 6:45 a.m.It¢s 4 miles back up to the AT and .6 back to Galehead Hut. I hiked a total of14.3 miles today, but only 7 counted towards AT miles. I was interested inseeing how different the river level was. The ford that went up to mymid-thigh 2 days ago was the first ford this morning. It was slightly lowerand the other fords of the Gale River were much lower. It was a foggy, misty,cool 54 degrees this morning. About 1/2 up, I had to stop and put my OR haton. It was still warm enough for me to not wear raingear, because I¢d probablyend up wetter from sweating.I ran into a couple of hikers coming down from Galehead Hut and the weatherreport was the same as other days, t-storms in the afternoon, chance of rain,etc. They did say, however, that the barometric pressure was rising, so thatmeans there might be some better weather coming.I took a break around 8:45 a.m. and ate a new snack that A.M. told me about.Ring Dings..which are chocolate covered Devil¢s Food Cake cupcakes. Oh man,A.M. is in big trouble telling me about these things and after my hike, she isgoing to have to also suggest a Ring Ding Withdrawal Support Group, becausethese are now on my top 3 list of favorite junkfood pastries!I got back up to the AT by 9:15 a.m., and headed back to Galehead Hut, where Idecided to take another food break and get more water. Only the croo wasthere, and I didn¢t say much. Because I¢m in the Whites and the weather is sounpredictable here, here¢s what I had in my daypack:First aid kit, rain gear, crocs, tp, dry sack with extra warm clothes of hat,gloves, long sleeved shirt, under armour shirt, montbell down jacket, handwarmers, McCat Tarp and stakes, headlamp, extra batteries, map, and then mynormal camera, cell phone, steripen, and enough food that I could make it lastprobably 2 days if I had to.I took this set-up with the worst case scenario in mind, of having to spend thenite out here with no shelter, other than my tarp for protection, and enoughclothing and hand warmers to keep my upper body/inner body core warm over nite. After seeing how quickly A.M. got mildly hypothermic, it really brought home tome just how easily the conditions and situation can change and become dangerous,even when you feel prepared.I left the hut and headed up the toughest climb of the day, 1.5 miles up TwinMountain. It¢s about 2500 ft up in a short distance, so it was very steep, butI just hiked slow and steady. I¢m not fast going uphill, but I finally have thestamina to usually keep moving without having to catch my breath. It was verywet and foggy as usual, but because I was climbing, I soon ended up in my shortsleeved shirt anyway.I ran into a dayhiker and he was heading sobo. He asked about my experienceswith the huts and AMC, because he¢d been talking to thru-hikers and evennoticed while staying at a hut that they had been treated like second-classpeople. I could only pass on my one experience and my disappointment with thelack of truthful information. He was shocked. I also want to point out that itwas only 1 croo member (out of 5) that I felt needed an attitude adjustment.The other 4 crew members were really great.I continued up to the top of Twin Mountain and it was above treeline. I knewthe views would have been astounding if it hadn¢t been totally socked in withwhite fog. I sat at the top, and amazingly, it was warmer up there than downlower. I sat there on a rock, and saw the sun trying to burn through theclouds, but it hadn¢t succeeded before I started the descent. Too bad.I was happy to know I had the hardest climb of the day over, and it was only11:15 a.m. From this point, it was an overall descent all the way down toZealand Hut with a few interspersed climbs. The trail wasn¢t all that badreally. Some of it was nice gravely stuff, and some was rocky, rooty, muddy,and totally flooded. It was just an overall easier hike than the last severaldays of hiking, but probably a tougher hike in comparison to other states.So I really love hiking above treeline or among the very short trees. It¢s justcool to be so far up there and feel like you¢re on top of the whole world.Eventually, the trail dropped down far enough for the trees to be taller again. A married couple, Mr. T. and Berry (FL), sobo¢s came by, and they were sototally cool. We talked for a bit about the weather (of course) and they gaveme some good advice about getting through Mahoosic Notch (the hardest 1 mile ofthe entire AT by reputation). They told me it took them over 4 hrs to get downthe Arm and through this 1 mile of trail, and Berry said she started cryingbecause they didn¢t think it was ever going to end and it was getting dark.They suggested I stay at the shelter just before it, get up early, and tackleit early in the day. I shared info with them about what was coming up for themtoo, particularly about Garfield Mt. being steep on both sides. I told them tolook for Certain at the Rockfish Gap visitor¢s center, because I¢d really liketo put them up and get to know them a bit more. I loved their energy.I moved on and a little after noon, I found a great rock to sit down on and eatlunch. I was spoiled today, I had a bologna sandwich, doritoes, oreos, andstring cheese for lunch. And (drum roll please) THE SUN CAME OUT!!! It feltSO good¢¦the warming beams shining down on my legs. I kept looking at the skyand could see more and more blue, which made me feel safe and happy. I didn¢tfigure the trail would go above treeline again, so I wished I was eating lunchon top of Twin Mtn., because now I¢m sure the view was spectacular up there.I hadn¢t talked to my mom for awhile, so I gave her a call, and I called Karento let her know the weather was breaking a bit, but she said it had poured likecrazy down in town.I had passed a family with 2 young girls earlier, and they said they¢d come outfor just a few days last year and it was so beautiful, so they planned a wholeweek, and now they¢ve been in rain everyday. They had a great attitude thoughand their daughers (probably about 10 and 14 yrs old) were really great girls.They passed me again as I was eating lunch.I finally got moving again around 12:45 p.m. and this woman came hiking towardsme that absolutely cracked me up. Her name was Gretchen, from NY. She hadforgotten her rain pants, so she made some out of a couple of clear trashbagsand duct tape! They were so funny, but I got some pics of her and her creativepants.My next landmark was the Bondcliff Trail junction which takes you .7 to theGuyot Campsite, where A.M. and I were originally headed a few days ago. To mydelight, it was above treeline AND there was a view!!! The sun was out, therewere clouds in the sky, but they were high, and it was amazing. There was atiny boulder field to hike through and the Kulowski family was there again. Iwas actually surprised I caught up to them again, but apparently a sobo¢s I-podhad fallen off and down in between the boulders, so the family stopped to helphim find it. They found it, but it was way down in between 2 rocks in a verynarrow hole, so fortunately, one of the girl¢s arms was small enough to fitbetween the rocks and retrieve his I-pod. I¢m sure he was totally grateful.I stood there and enjoyed the view with the Kulowski¢s, and was so impressedwith their kids. I mean, most kids this age wouldn¢t be out backpacking withtheir parents, much less have a mutually respectful relationship with them. Weall started talking about the amount of weight loss men & women experiencehiking the AT, and how the weight falls off men so quickly, and quicker thanfor women. The younger girl started quoting information from a study she knewabout, and I was shocked, because you sort of expect a kid this age to beworried about missing the next Hannah Montana episode, so it was refreshing.I headed on, and just had a giant smile on my face due to the sun and clearskies. Oh these mountains can be your dream or worst nightmare folks.Love/hate¢¦.love/hate. I could see the top of Twin Mtn., where I had been a fewhours before with no view. It was so beautiful to see neighboring mountains,boulder fields, and layer after layer of mountain shadows in the distance.This above treeline section was very shortlived though.I headed back down and had about 4 more miles to Zealand Hut.Oh, by the way, to all hangers out there, so far, if I had been campingeveryday, it would have been totally possible to find a stealth site or hang @a shelter (not so much a hut), from Glencliff to Crawford Notch and not use thehuts (there have been 3 huts so far).   The forest below treeline is extremelydense and thick though, so if you opt to camp, there¢s pretty much always beena stealth site before a mountain summit, after a mountain summit, andbefore/after a hut. I¢d recommend though, not ¢taking a chance¢ on findinganother site when you see one, because of the density of the forest. I¢llcontinue paying attention to this, because I know it¢s a big question in thehanging community about getting through the Whites.I headed on and the trail was very wet and flooded in some sections here. Partswere ankle deep and/or had very deep thick mud. The sun eventually disappearedagain, and it started looking cloudy again. I was down in elevation though, sowasn¢t too scared about storms at this point. I got to the Zeacliff Trailjunction. So, the AT has multiple names through the Whites. Just today it hasbeen called Garfield Ridge Trail, Twinway Trail, and eventually Ethan PondTrail, so it can be quite confusing at trail junctions. I looked at the signand saw Ethan Pond Trail (starting right after Zealand Hut) was 1.3 away, so Ifollowed this trail. I headed down a very steep trail and could hear a strongriver way in the distance, so I assumed it was the Zealand Falls. I sort ofhad a weird feeling though, because this trail seemed not as maintained as Ithought it should be and then I saw a freakin blue blaze. Oh man¢¦did I takethe wrong trail? I luckily had my map, and looked at it, and yes indeed, I hadtaken the wrong trail. Both of them ended up as Ethan Pond, but this bypassedthe hut. Ugh¢¦.I hiked back UP and probably ended up adding almost 1 mile to myday. I hate that, but I will admit, the only reason I knew for sure I¢d takenthe wrong trail was because I had my map.So I got up to the trail junction again and then noticed I¢d overlooked a tinylittle (AT) in paranthesis at the top of the other sign, where I¢m not used tolooking for the trail name. So the moral of the story¢¦be careful at trailjunctions.I sat down and ate another snack, then headed on. I was feeling pretty tired bynow though, but only had 1.2 to Zealand Hut and an easy 2.7 out to the parkingarea. The descent to the hut was pretty steep in places, but as usual, it¢sbeautiful here. I heard the falls and arrived at the crossing where there wasa rope tied across the river and a sign on the other side saying ¢Bushwachupstream for a better crossing.¢ The water level wasn¢t that bad, so I optedto hang onto the rope and get one foot wet and hop to the rock. It was easierthan all of the Gale River fords.Finally, I was at the hut and there were tons of people there. I sat down andate another snack. I watched a very busy mouse pitter patter across theserocks in front of me. It was cute.At 4:45 p.m., I headed down the Zealand Trail, side trail. I had officiallycompleted this ridge and was officially at Crawford Notch now¢¦.1829 miles ofthe AT complete with 345 miles to go.Seriously, the Zealand Trail is an awesomely easy trail and very very beautiful,so I enjoyed the hike out, but was really starting to get stiff and hurt in myhips and knees. Karen was going to be at the parking area by 5:30 p.m., and Ifigured I¢d be within 15 min. of that. A little after 5, I looked up and thereshe was! She had hiked in to meet me, which is always such an awesome surprise. We hiked out together and it felt SO GOOD to be finished with this 14+ mileday. Karen brough provisions, knowing I¢d be hungry¢¦some chocolate chip cookiedough¢¦yes, I LOVE cookie dough. I sat down, enjoyed some of it and thenrealized I should have stretched, because I was so tight, but oh well.We got back to the room, I showered and we went to Munroe¢s for dinner. Abouthalfway through dinner, my body finally said, ¢Ok¢¦that¢s enough..time tosleep.¢ Karen noticed an almost instant change in my energy level and I couldhave fallen asleep right there in the chair. So weird how that happens, it¢slike the brain knows, ¢I¢m clean, I¢m warm, I¢m dry, I¢m safe, I¢m fed¢¦.ok,time to shut down immediately¢I got up to pay for our dinner and was hobbling along and some people at thetable next to us was laughing and making jokes about how that¢s how they¢regoing to walk in a few years, so I stopped and talked to them and we were alllaughing.We went back to the room and a crazy thunderstorm rolled through with tons ofrain¢¦.again. Tonight we enjoyed watching the Olympics. I think I laid my headdown and my eyelids involuntarily slammed shut within 10 minutes. I woke once,and Karen told me I had been snoring, which I almost never do, so I must havebeen in some type of coma-like state.Long hiking day, but I¢m excited about being at Crawford Notch and having thePresidentials next. Tomorrow, we¢re checking out and heading up to Gorham toget Karen a better place to work. This place told us there was wifi in theroom, but the signal is too weak, so you have to go outside or down to thelobby. Hard to work and write and those conditions. So a zero tomorrow andthe weather will determine when I head back out, but I¢m thinking probably onTuesday.It still feels like Katahdin is a million miles away, because of the difficultyof this terrain, but I keep looking at the mileage left and wow¢¦345 to go.That¢s hard to believe too.~Certain