Date: 2023-08-29
From: Bluff Campsite (Stealth Site)

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 12.1

From our camp spot, we hiked to Pinkham Visitors Center. This place was right on trail. While we were headed there, we ran into Shit Water. We chatted for awhile. She¢s really cool and chill. She actually is blogging for the Trek, which I think is pretty awesome. When we arrived to the visitor center, Moose Jaw and I purchased and ate some breakfast sandwiches. These sandwiches were delicious!! Of course we had some soda too!! Since we were running low on food, we also purchased some sandwiches to go for lunch. I considered packing out a soda, but then thought about the extra weight, so I decided against it. One mile back into trail, I regretted it. I think I may now have a soda addiction! Before trail, Moose Jaw and I never drank soda! Now, we drink it for the quick calories. We hiked an insane amount of incline today. Over 5400 feet in elevation over only 12 miles! We had a lot of steep descents and ascents. We hiked the wildcat range today in the White Mountains. As I was scrambling up a rock section, I was a little off balance and slammed my hip into the side of a giant boulder. I fell one other time today as well. Thankfully, I didn¢t really injure myself besides the bruises these falls have left. Near the top of Wildcat, there was a ski lift. We were so sad it wasn¢t running, because we all wanted to ride it down the mountain and go into town,¢¦ we all just felt so exhausted. So instead, we just sat down and ate some snacks. Bandit, Moose Jaw, and I kept seeing moose tracks on the trail. We haven¢t spotted any moose yet, but we hope that we see one while hiking before the trip is over! Well, see one from a distance that is. At the top of Wildcat, we stopped to drink some water. Bandit looked at a tree, and saw something hanging in it. He said, ¢What the hell!?¢ And grabbed this small item hanging from a tree. IT WAS A GEOCACHE!!! We opened it and he signed the ledger. Also inside was a tag that you can log your location into, take it, and place it at another location. It was so cool!! We couldn¢t believe that he found one!! We were all very excited!We made it to another hut around four, so thats when we finally were able to eat our lunches. Bob Ross arrived, and he told us that he messed up his shin. When we took a peek, we saw an absolutely GIANT knot on his shin. Apparently, he stepped on a piece of boardwalk, and he didn¢t realize it was broken. So, one end of the broken piece shot up and hit him in the shin. He was upset because he was hurt my something man-made that made the trail worse than something naturally existing on trail. We felt bad for him!Around 5:30, we deuces to hike up to Carter Dome. Our legs were exhausted, but we knew we needed to push, because it¢s supposed to rain tomorrow and we knew we would be hiking much slower tomorrow. The trail is nothing but rocks, and they are extremely slippery when wet. So, Moose Jaw, Bandit, Bob Ross, and I hiked up a steep incline to the top of Carter Dome. We found a stealth spot for Bandit, and another large spot that would fit Stogie and Bob Ross. We couldn¢t find any more, so Moose Jaw and I hiked on to find a spot for ourselves. We found a spot a mile later. It wasn¢t the best place, but we made it work! There were two other tents there, so we squeezed ours in. It was beautiful at this spot, and I couldn¢t believe how peaceful and serene the area was! It¢s nights like this, that make me love the woods!