Date: 2021-06-28
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Shelter and campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

After a relaxing zero day (not as as relaxing as it could¢ve been because I got caught up watching ¢Hoosiers¢ and didn¢t go to sleep until 11pm) I was up at 5 to shave my head and get packed for hiking. I had time before the shuttle arrived at seven to slide up the road to McDonald¢s for a coffee and hashbrowns. I had a chance Sunday afternoon to call and talk with my parents to make sure they hadn¢t floated away from all the rain in dear old Michigan. We arrived in Pinkham¢s Notch at 7:15 for the two-day hike to the next hostel. The hike on the AT is about 21 miles, so we decided to split it up into two days and then do a resupply before heading into Maine. I had contemplated found all 21 in one go and then taking another zero, but this is more cost effective as I¢ll have a nero of 8 miles tomorrow with only one night at the Rattle River Hostel. So after a one mile pond walk the trail turned north and up up up we went. The first stretch went up 2500 feet in about 4 miles with some very steep sections in the first two. Quiksilver soon disappeared up the mountain as I slogged along. I do have ¢trail legs¢ in the sense that I can continuously climb, but I still don¢t do so very fast. After crossing the last Wildcat peak it was a steep 1200 feet down in just under a mile to the Carter Notch Hut where we took a break. This is the northernmost hut the AMC operates along the AT. Iceberg and Quiksilver got some lunch (potato soup and bread) while I just sat, drinking water and yawning like it paid money. Then it was a steep 1500 feet back up in 1.2 miles to the top of Carter Dome. The afternoon brought a few sprinkles until about 2:30 pm when a heavy rain shower hit just after I crested North Carter Mountain and started down the rocks and granite slabs on the north face of the mountain. I had some Bear Mountain, CT flashbacks as I started down (the knot on my right shin is still present a month later), but I was determined to take care and really think about where I was placing my hands and feet. Three times I chucked my trekking poles down a rock face, turned around, and went down backwards facing the incline. This strategy seemed to work better than my old one just falling. I may employ it in the future as well!I got to the campsite at 3:30 in one sweaty (it was 88 degrees), rain soaked piece. Quiksilver and I had no trouble finding hammock spots and Iceberg and Yeeha are at the tenting platforms. It rained for about 15 minutes just after I got set up and there are still showers in the area, but Tuesday should be rain free. I ate my cold dinner of peanut butter wraps and a protein meal bar before filtering water and sacking out in Ye Olde Hammocke. I am starting to think about the logistics involved in dragging my carcass back down to Virginia once I complete the Maine section. I¢m not getting too far ahead of myself, as a flip flopper with 731.8 southbound miles yet to do I don¢t have a case of ¢Katadin Fever¢ like the NOBO¢s who¢ve been hiking since Georgia are susceptible to contracting. I¢m going to enjoy my time in Maine as it is widely regarded as perhaps the most beautiful state on the AT. I have plans A-B-C and D currently, but plan A of renting a car may be out as one-way rentals are hard to come by. I¢m confident it¢ll sort itself out even if I end up on a two day Greyhound bus trip. This is fine. I¢ll be up by 4:45 tomorrow and packing up camp for the climb up the last mountain I¢ll be climbing in The Whites. Have a great evening/morning/day!