Date: 2007-09-16
From: The Perch Shelter

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

September 16, Ice and Yellow JacketsWe woke up to 32 degrees in the shelter. At 32 degrees, we knew everything could be icy since it rained all day yesterday. Since entering the Whites, the trail has been all about rock scrambles and rock hopping - not a great scene when icy. Also, part of our day would be above treeline. So we weighed our options... we could hike the full day or we could take a side trail to get down the mountain. After much talking in circles and the unsolicited advice of a fellow shelter-mate, we "decided" to hike the full day. We'd start and if we deemed it too icy, we'd take a side trail off of Mt. Madison (which was two mountains away from us). We left around 8 a.m., no one too fired up. The hike was along the Israel Ridge Trail which we had taken the other night to get in before dark. It was fine for about half of a mile. Then we started sliding around a bit. Then I noticed it - everything was, indeed, covered in ice. It was beautiful. We could see the whole ridgeline and it was white with ice. The pine trees along the trail were covered too. It really was a spectacular scene. We tried to push a little farther but the more icy it became, the more silly it felt to be hopping from one rock to the next, knowing one of us could slide off at any moment.We all stopped, frustrated and cold, and lamented the fact that it was such a beautiful day but that we really shouldn't be hiking. We all wanted to go on at that point but it was too dangerous. So we turned around and hiked that same trail for the third time.We took the Israel Ridge Trail all the way down the mountain, stopping only for snacks and lunch. Oh, and for the hive of jellow jackets that erupted and attacked Melk and I on the way down. We were just walking along merrily when I felt something stinging. I looked down and it was a yellow jacket stinging me through my clothes! There was a whole swarm of them! I started screaming. Then they got to Melk and she started screaming. I ran down the mountain to try and escape and I mostly did except a few followed me down. Melk, for some reason, ran uphill and had to bushwhack to get around the hive. All I could think about while I ran away was Chris Farley running from his car yelling, "bees"! I was stung three times and Melk had a whopping nine stings. All we could do was laugh. (Yellow Jacket, if you're reading, this whole incident made me think of you.)So we made it to the road and hitched into Gorham with a really nice guy from Vermont who was headed to Maine to visit friends and family. He dropped us off at the Mt. Madison Hotel and we checked in and did laundry right away. I barely moved for the rest of the day, finally cozy and glad to have relief from the scary White Mountains....We did all finally agree on a plan for the rest of the hike. For weeks we've been talking in circles about it, none of us wanting to compromise our ideal finishes. Ronin and I both want to end on Katahdin, Melk doesn't care. None of us really want to skip anything but we've all realized we need to in order to finish before Katahdin closes. So our plan is to hike as far north as we can until October 1. On October 1 (or whenever we can get a ride), we will jump to the 100-Mile Wilderness and finish the hike. We figure we'll have to skip somewhere between 75-100 miles. So, although it's not totally ideal to be skipping anything (especially in Maine), this takes a lot of the stress away. I was very happy we all could agree on a plan.- Sound of Melk snoring, a garbage truck outside, the fan.Post Trail Thoughts:Well, I caught a lot of flack from some of the readers of my journal for the new plan for the remainder of my hike. Some told me I'd regret it. Some told me to move on and that my friends were holding me back. All in all, I'm glad I went with this plan and, over a year later, I don't regret a thing.It was too bad we couldn't hike that day - it surely would have been one of the most beautiful days I'd see on the Appalachian Trail. The sky was clear and the icy layer of white covered everything in sight. A real treat. But, alas, we headed under tree cover for safety, Melk and I planning to retun to Mt. Madison together in the future.