Date: 2016-07-13
From: NH 25A - Wentworth, NH - Mile - 1,780.6

To: NH 25 - Glencliff, NH - Mile 1,790.4
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today's hike was intentionally short. Beth and I needed just under 10 miles to get to the base of Mt. Moosilauke and hiking Moosilauke is plenty enough to do by itself in one day. We needed a short day today, sort of a day of some rest. Our routine has become waking up by 4:30 in order to drive to the trail and start hiking before 6:00 a.m.. We have become tired and took advantage of the fewer miles to be hiked today by sleeping in and having a real breakfast. We've had a great stay at Dowd's Country Inn B&B and we're glad to eat breakfast there this morning. Dowd's feels like a home and you are a member of the family, a spoiled family member. We met a number of nice hikers today. The first was Carrot. He's from Austin, TX and just graduated from high school. Easy to talk with and helpful. Seems he's soon headed home. His girlfriend who was hiking with him sustained an injury on the trail. Carrot introduced the concept of "Wait For Stay", a creative (and sneaky) way to get floor space in the upcoming White Mountain huts without working there or paying the +$100 nightly rate. Essentially what he does is wait on the hut's porch until the hut's croo, who manage the hut, go to sleep. He then sneaks in to sleep on the floor. Sneaky and of help to anyone desperately trying to save some money. DT was the next person we met. He's 29 and is hiking to Maine's border this year. He'll finish his AT adventure next year when he returns to hike Maine. He spoke of the freedom he has to complete the trail in sections, specifically highlighting that he enjoys himself when hiking out here or else he'll head home and return when he'll enjoy it. It was an interesting exchange given where I've been the last month and a half. It was an exchange I didn't prompt or influence. Late in our hike today we met "Dutchess of Slug" and "That Guy". I told Dutchess about Slug coming north and how we were with him yesterday. I recommended that they discuss their family tree given their common names. Which brings me to the frequently mentioned request for Beth to get a trail name. A trail name for Beth was a topic of conversation last year as Beth and I walked near our home for exercise. To be honest, this was my playful attempt to plant the seed for Beth to someday hike the AT with me. These conversations began before there was a meaningful plan to hike the AT this year. Among the suggested names back then were "Arrow" and "Just Saying". Arrow was proposed to recognize Beth's role and influence in our decision-making process on important decisions. We'd playfully argue who really made decisions. If you've been reading this journal, then Beth's role and encouragement for my continuing this thru-hike is readily apparent. I clearly wouldn't have been able to be here now without her support and active effort to keep my thru-hike dream alive. I readily admit that my bout with Lyme Disease and my cumulative weariness with the trail got the better of me. She's pointed and nudged me to keep hiking - all in a positive, supportive way. I'm grateful and will say again how lucky I am to be married to her. During today's hike, she used a phrase she uses a lot. I'd proposed it to her as a trail name last year. This proposed name is "Just Saying". It is a phrase she routinely uses to softly express her thoughts on numerous subjects. When I reminded her that I'd proposed it as a trail name last year and that Mark and others were wondering when she'd get a trail name, she said she didn't want one or think she should have one because she has no intention of hiking the AT. It was then that we joked about how many AT miles she's hiked this year and over recent years. We never expected to meet Marvel today. We met her after moving a car to the end of tomorrow's hike. What began with my overhearing and inserting myself into a conversation about hiking gear led to an exchange of our trail names and recent hikes. Marvel and I never met before but I met her Dad and brother in Damascus. She just missed the feast that Fresh Ground and Blues Brother served up at Woodchuck's Hostel. It sounds like Marvel's Mom may still be a reader of my trailjournal. I asked Marvel to ask her Mom to sign in on my page and pass along info about Marvel's hike. Now I see that Marvel has her own trailjournal so I will be able to follow her journey myself. It was flattering how happy Marvel was with our conversation today. As Beth told Marvel, it was our highlight of the day. Beth and I take on Mt. Moosilauke tomorrow. It is often referred to as the "Gateway To The White Mountains". It is known to be a formidable hike. I'm continuing to hike and will continue to work on Beth accepting a trail name - I'm just saying.