Date: 2015-08-17
From: NH2/Rattle River Trailhead Shelburne

To: Gentian Pond NH 1901.7 miles
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Monday, August 17th   This morning the Sherpa dropped off the Iceman and 3D, at about 9am, at the Rattle River trailhead on NH2 in Shelburne, NH. Last night and this morning the Iceman prepared his pack for the 2 night, 3 day hike, through the Mahoosuc Range. His pack is now much heavier than it had been the past couple of months since he now must carry 3 days worth of food, a sleeping bag, sleeping bag mattress, a tent and extra warm clothes for a possible change in weather. The extra weight will make his hike much more difficult. He doesn't cook when he's camping, as some do, because he would also have to carry a burner and fuel and even though the burner and fuel don't weight much, every ounce counts when it's on your back at this age. He took packages of salami, a variety of power bars, a few large tortilla's, babybell cheese, and some other food items. He doesn't carry water because he's filtering stream and pond water, to drink, with his Sawyer mini filter.   One of the hikers told him, last night, not to drink the water from the beaver pond, that must be Gentian Pond, because he said that the filter isn't good enough to filter out the bad stuff, but the Iceman thinks he's wrong and is filtering and drinking it any way. Let's hope the Iceman is right and the other hiker is wrong. Last night the Sherpa received a call from the Iceman who said that all was well and that the hike was very tough but they reached the campsite at Gentian Pond and were going to pitch their tents. At this campsite there are wooden platforms and instead of driving the tent stakes into the ground one must come up with a different way of holding down the tent. Ropes can be used and they can be tied around and through the slates in the platform. Perhaps that's what the Iceman did but it's hard to see how he did it as the photo, he sent from the campsite, is a bit blurry. The reception on the cell phone was not good but it sounded like he hiked 12 miles before reaching the campsite. There's a photo of the Iceman's tent in the photo section as well as many from the weekend hike up to the Carter Notch Hut and the hike down Mt. Washington on Sunday. The photo here is the Iceman at the summit of Mt. Success, elevation 3,565 NH, which he reached today, Monday, in the town of Success, NH. He had now reached the 1,900 mile mark. To pass the day, the Sherpa drove to North Conway and went window shopping in the many outlet stores just outside of the main village. On the way back to Jackson, dinner was a chicken sandwich and fries at the DQ; it wasn't edible, but would have to do, since eating alone, in a restaurant, isn't any fun. The fellow who took the Sherpa's order asked where she was from; he detected an accent. What accent???   Upon hearing " NJ", he told her of his recent sightseeing trip to Manhattan. The Sherpa then asked where he was from and the answer was "Romania". Talk about an accent!!! When the Sherpa got back to the Inn it was bustling and so she decided to go to the lounge and have a glass of wine before bed. The Sherpa sat at the bar, which has 6 seats, and started to talk with a couple that are visiting from just outside of Atlanta. They were at the Wentworth to play golf. There's a small golf course across the street from the Inn. The woman had promised her husband that when he retired he could play golf in every state in the USA and here they were in NH. They had just come from Bethel ME and were on their way to Vermont next. Sounds like fun.! They tried to persuade the Sherpa to meet them at 9:15 on the tee but the only tea the Sherpa knows anything about is the one she'd be drinking at 9:15 in the breakfast room of the Inn the next morning.