Date: 2011-06-27
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter, NH
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: few clouds

Friends and family - Reminder, if you want to see our entire Trail Journals (Chip's 2006 and ours for these past 3 years), go to: www.trailjournals.com/chipandsue2011Start Ore Hill Shelter, NH, mile 1775.0Stop Hexacuba Shelter, NH, mile 1767.9Hiked 7.1 miles SouthboundSleep shelterCell noneOld Goat's notes:Our day started off great and we were making good time hiking until we started up Mount Cube. The trail was steep and long going up, we were doing fairly well there but very slow. We considered going on to the next shelter which is 5 miles from here. The closer we got to this shelter the more we realized we needed to stop here. We knew for sure this was the right move when we started up the side trail to the shelter. The shelter is .2 miles from the trail all uphill, that little climb nearly did us in We would have never made 5 more miles. We arrived here at 2:25 pm which is an early time to stop, but it was the right thing to do. We immediately laid out our gear and claimed our spots in the shelter. I then laid down and took a short nap, I guess I was tired, too. What a different perspective I have hiking this section now after doing it as an in shape super hiking machine. I considered this part of the trail easier than it really is. The trail has my respect for being tough. It is nice to be back in the hiker community again. We all have similar and common experiences, the people are different but the stories are the same. There is a hiker out here with a 100 pound pack who the others call Uhaul, we had Minnesota Smith who carried a 70 pound pack. I carry a 30-35 pound pack and I'm a heavy weight. The more weight you carry the harder it is to hike. The weather is much better today. We actually had a great view on top of Mount Cube, we could see all of the terrain we'll be hiking tomorrow and it looks a long was off. We'll start with a downhill walk and then a long gradual uphill to the next shelter. We'll then hike downhill and have a relatively flat few miles before we climb to our destination. That should be doable with the rest in the middle. We are now using Thomas' Sandwich Thins for our lunch. They hold up pretty well in our pack and they taste so much better than tortilla's. Well life is treating us good on the trail and we're doing fine. Check 6's notes:By the time we were done with supper last evening the shelter was full. By 9pm there were also 2 tents and a hammock set up. We haven't been in such a full shelter since weeks before we stopped our 2009 thru-hike. It actually was fun to be in a full shelter again. Four of the guys are thru-hikers (Face, Spam, Sensai, and Windscreen). They were very entertaining, and it was fun to talk about places, things, and people that make impressions during thru-hiking. Many comical memories and comparisons. There also were two section hikers, Uncle Bob and T-Bone. Uncle Bob us finishing the AT this year. T-Bone has camped before, but hasn't done long distance hiking. He's hiking with Uncle Bob and plans to hike more of the AT after this. Two guys are a father and son team. The father is hiking a long distance (I don't remember how long) and has one son with him now. Another son will join him when this son has to leave, and then another son will join when the 2nd son leaves. I love hearing of families hiking together. Another section hiker showed up quite late (he has the hammock). His trail name is Stops-A-Lot. Since he started from the same place we did in the morning I was surprised he got there so late...until he told us his trail name. :-) I wonder if he'll be at this shelter tonight. This shelter is interesting. It's shaped like a hexagon and it's on Cube Mountain, thus it's name "Hexacuba.". It's huge. Beautiful day today - sunny, not too warm, and DRY. Mt Cube was challenging, so we made it a reasonable day in miles. We considered going 5 miles more to the next shelter, but decided not to after Mt Cube and knowing that 3-4 of those 5 miles are uphill. So we're enjoying the quiet and the sunshine. Prednisone is amazing! My poison ivy is drying up fast, and I have very little itching left. Of course now I'm not sure if I'm itchy from the poison ivy or new mosquito bites! I wonder if the Prednisone helps mosquito bites go away as fast, too! If not, the anti-itch cortisone cream the doctor gave me will help with those. :-)Sent from my iPhone