Date: 2015-07-19
From: Pinkham Notch, NH

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 70.0
Weather: scattered clouds

7/12 Day 40, 7.8 miles M327.2Slow start today, left the lodge at 11:00 am checkout after nice big breakfast (lots of eggs). Started to loosen up after 2 miles of relatively easy flat trail and then another two miles of flat hiking to Osgood tent site at the base of Mount Madison. Stopped for a nice lunch of snickers, Gatorade, and a little jerky. After lunch, the next several miles were up. This hike over Mt. Madison was steep and after leaving the trees behind became interspersed with a few scrambles. Following the ridge line, the trail crossed several peaks before reaching the top of Madison. Boulders were huge and dry, a fun little hike up. Then came the down, tough and rugged and very steep decent into Madison Spring Hut where I spent the night. The huts are run by the AMC, a bunk generally runs $100 - $140 per night per person and reservations are best made 6 mos in advance. The AMC reserves Work-for-stay spots for AT thru-hikers. I was able to get a spot on this night. My job was to present the 'program' for the evening... a Q&A session on thru-hiking the AT. I talked for about an hour and a half with a small group who were interested. In exchange, I was allowed to sleep on the dining room floor, enjoy left-overs with the crew of the delicious dinner, and could have had breakfast the next morning. The White Mountains have a hut system and trails where hikers can trek through the Presidential Range without having to carry more than a day pack. All in all, it's a very nice arrangement.7/13 Day 41, 7.0 miles M334.2:Got an early start, forgoing the free breakfast. The views were great today with clear weather. I met a woman who might have been 20 yrs old about a mile into my hike who seemed a bit tearful who asked if I had any water. I didn't, but offered her the rest of the lemonade I still had not drunk from the hut. She had tried to get a Work for Stay at the next hut I would stay in, but they were full and couldn't take her. She had to move on, and I have no idea where she would have camped as there is no place among the boulders and rocks... but nonetheless there she was. She cried a bit more after drinking the lemonade down in a few gulps. She had also gotten off on the wrong trail and was so relieved when I confirmed I was also hiking the AT and she realized she had gotten back on course. I helped her orient again to get to Madison Spring Hut by siting Mt. Madison's peak as her direction to proceed. As we began to part, she fell and landed square on a rock with her right knee (full pack on her back). I helped her up and helped brush her off and confirm she was okay, gave her a brief neck hug (not so easy when we both are wearing packs). She was definitely in tears now. I assured her she is loved everywhere she goes and sent her strength and determination. She said "I feel it" and seemed to steel herself again as we parted. This was one of the those special moments I'll remember for a while. The hike along the Gulfside Trail around the huge gulf (basin) between Madison and Washington brought me onto Mt. Adams and Mt. Jefferson, and over Mt. Clay. Each climb was followed by a descent until finally ascending Mt. Washington. I had only seen a couple of hikers until this point (10:30 am) but suddenly as I came in direct sight of Mt. Washington saw and passed a stream of hikers going the other way. Must have been 40 all together. About half were French Canadian. I reached the summit of Mt. Washington, very tired, hungry and thirsty (since I had nothing to eat and little to drink that morning), sun-exposed, and ready to sit down after climbing hundreds of feet (multiple times) to 6288'. Mt. Washington is accessible by a cog railway, by automobile, or hiking trail. There is a snack bar and museum, and a weather station on the summit. I ate everything the snack bar had to sell as lunch (chili, chili dog, and slice of pizza) plus several bottles each of juice and soda.   I was able to text Lynette and then realized how tired I was. After my big meal I put my head down on the table where I had eaten. 3 hours later I awoke to the sound of a child screaming. I guess I needed the rest. I found an electrical outlet to charge my phone and while waiting made use of the bathroom and toured the museum and weather displays and browsed the gift shop. There's a post office on Mt. Washington, too (go figure?). Mt. Washington summit is a state park now, having been purchased by the State of New Hampshire around 1960 from Dartmouth College. I can't imagine at what cost.   As the sun began to lower in the sky, I hiked the 1.5 miles south and off the mountain to Lake of the Clouds Hut. I didn't get a work for stay, but was able to purchase a spot on the dining room floor for $10, and also got a couple of bowls of soup and a couple of squares of leftover cake (yum). While eating, I shared stories with a man who began hiking the AT in 2013 and is now completing the remainder this year. I surmised he has just discovered he has a terminal condition and is a bucket-list hiker. This was an amazing day, beautiful weather on top of Mt. Washington (rare). Clouds rolling in as the sun set.7/14 Day 42, 14.0 miles M348.3Coffee and Pop Tarts at Lakes of the Clouds Hut and out by 7am. Most incredible hiking day so far. The morning fog, high winds, sun rising over Mt. Washington as I hiked towards the southwest and the clouds rising and falling against Mt. Monroe. WOW. The light shining over my shoulder onto fast moving clouds passing against the mountainsides as the wind increased as it moved up to the ridge stretching the clouds made for some fleeting but incredible sights. I was able to capture a few pics... but nothing I can write nor the pictures reflect the amazing 360 degree view, the feel of the cold, thin air moving so fast carrying the clouds, the alpine smells, and being along the ridgelines where 2 or 3 steps in one direction would put me out over cliffs of several hundred feet. I hiked on around Mt. Franklin, Eisenhower, Clinton/Pierce, and finally, after two half-days above, followed the trail below the treeline to Mizpah Spring Hut where I had a very refreshing Gatorade lunch. I left at 11am for Webster Cliffs... an amazing 0.5 mile hike along perilous cliffs overlooking Crawford Notch a thousand feet below. A highway and scenic railway run across the notch. The trail was right along the edge of the cliffs in many places and was not a place to be in a rush to get where I was going. After a merciful descent into the notch, the trail found its way up the other side where I found Ethan Pond Shelter and Campsite. My feet hurt after 14 miles and I put in for the night just as the rains came.7/15 Day 43, 14.5 miles M362.8Rained all night, so trail was wet and slippery. A cold front came through. I'm not used to summertime cold fronts, but definitely needed my jacket when I got up this morning. Felt good all day (2nd 14-mile day in a row). Fairly easy hiking for the morning then a steep climb up to Zeacliff Ridge and Mt. Guyot then up to South Twin Mountain. Nice views and good (but rugged) trail. Just need to read the signs and make a few assumptions about which is the AT.No room or Work for Stay available at Galehead Hut, so I fired up my stove there, brushed teeth and used the privy so I would be ready for bed as I headed to the next place... which was Garfield Ridge Shelter 2.7 miles south on the AT. I reached Garfield Shelter and paid the $8 to say in a very nice, new shelter. The temp was dropping fast and was predicted to drop to about 30 degrees (this is July 15!). Was finally able to get a weak cell signal... first really since Mt. Washington, just enough to send a text through to Lynette.7/16 12.4 miles M376.1Amazing views today. On top of Mt. Garfield, got a really good signal and was able to talk with Lynette. Made my way over Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln and on to the Lonesome Lake Hut. Today, the trail brought along a ridge with a series of peaks, more than 2 miles above the tree line over these majestic, rugged mountains carved up by glaciers millennia ago. On the top of Mt. Lafayette, a stone wall had been erected (about 3 feet high) to serve as a shelter from the wind - which I used to have a windless and warm lunch. Without the wall, I would have felt cold and blustery and could not have stayed too long. 3rd day of over 12 miles, feeling better, though tired and feet are very sore. Had a really nice, big dinner at Lonesome Lake Hut where I did a work for stay (organize the pantry) and had some nice conversation with the hut hikers. The lake and Mt. Lafayette in the backdrop made for a very beautiful setting. Still cold and leaving me glad to have good, adequate gear.7/17 Day 45, 13.3 miles M389.4Started with a big breakfast at the Lonesome Lake Hut. I liked the crew. I did a bit of Yoga before leaving and was able to get a couple of pics. Today's hike over the trail into Kinsman Notch was much like Maine -- muddy, lots of roots to walk over, rocks, and forests, with many ups and downs within larger ascents and descents. Early in the day, I connected with Lynette about sending my next pair of shoes as the ones I'd been using had begun to wear out. The trail led me over Kinsman Mountain down to Eliza Brook and up Wolf Mountain. I had intended to hike on another 50 miles before coming off the trail and get the new shoes in a resupply box Lynette would mail to Hanover, NH. Well, my right shoe started to bother my heel around noon. Usually able to apply tape to solve these abrasion problems, I applied tape, then tried again. Finally about 1 mile from Kinsmen Notch coming off Wolf Mountain, I gave up trying to work with tape. The pain in my heel was so bad when walking that I removed my right shoe and began walking with my right Croc (my camp shoes). Better to move a little slower without the intense pain. I made it to the road at Kinsman Notch around 8:30 pm, and tried to hitch a ride into N. Woodstock where there is a new hostel that opened July 15th. I was unable to get a ride. I had begun walking down the mountain with both Crocs on now, in the dark, and reached The Notch Hostel about 10:30 pm. Thankfully someone was still awake to get me settled into their overflow tent (as they were booked for the night and following night). Thankful to be settled. Was a good day overall, but the ending of walking 5 miles on a paved road didn't do well on my feet and knees. Glad to get a shower and get to bed, late as it is.7/18 and 7/19 0.0 M389.4Took a day off to get some new shoes. Amazingly, I found an outfitter in Lincoln, NH that had the exact shoe I needed in stock. I began reading a good book about Emma Gatewood, the first woman who, at age 67, thru-hiked the AT solo in 1955. I found it meaningful and inspiring. Her hike was so much more difficult than mine putting my own effort in perspective, but with a sense of common experience, too. On the morning of the 19th, the weather predictions were for thunderstorms, so I stayed another day to allow my feet to heal a bit more and to avoid lightening over Mt. Moosilauke above the treeline and very steep ascent and descent in the rain. I was able to finish the book and able to connect with my sister Mary Ann via phone. The time at The Notch Hostel was very well spent. The owners are a very young couple, married 3 weeks prior to my arrival. I am among their very first thru-hikers. They did a great job with their first weekend and are off to a strong start.