Date: 2009-09-07
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I had ambitions to be unambitious today. I remembered the Whites from 2003. I remembered their grandeur and their beauty but I also remembered that they were tough. Not tough as in 'it can't be done' tough but tough as in it 'takes longer' tough. The miles come slower and take a bit more out of you. Normal days become big days in the Whites. Big days can become tough days. What I remembered was that this was not a place to beat yourself up, it was a place to savour. I didn't just want to relive my previous experience though. I wanted to mix it up a bit, take more breaks, overnight at different camps, be fresh where previously I might have been tired, to see things in the evening that I had previously seen in the morning, that sort of thing. So today I reckoned 6.9 miles would be plenty.I planned to take my time during the mornings 3,500ft climb, I hoped to take my time on Moosilauke (weather permitting), I would probably finish early and hoped to enjoy the smashing view I remembered from Beaver Brook Shelter.Stopping at Beaver Brook would also mean that I could enjoy a leisurely stroll down to Kinsman's Notch tomorrow morning. I remember it as a super stretch but last time I had sat out a thunder storm and found myself a little behind schedule and conscious that I had to keep moving. Tomorrow I planned to limit my movement to a crawl and to enjoy what I missed last time around.So I was in no hurry this morning. I lay long, pottered about getting water and ate breakfast in camp. That said I was still on my way by 7:15. It was chilly and misty; not the start I had hoped for but the start I got. Now I hoped that it would burn off as the sun rose.I made good progress. There was some iffy path finding but by hook and by crook I managed not to stray too far from the white blazes. The trail went up, up and up; but it was fair. Slow and steady progress would see me to the end soon enough. I passed another Dartmouth College group as they rested and then they passed me when it was my turn to rest. There was no point in any of us killing ourselves. Today I would have my heaviest load, but as I ate it would lighten. Tomorrow I would have 10 to 15% less food. I might not notice it tomorrow but by Wednesday or Thursday I would find myself moving more freely. Those would be the days to keep moving, today was a day to keep resting.With no real sign of the mist lifting I stopped for an early lunch hoping to buy myself a little more time and to improve my odds of a clear summit. I sat on the trail with small, weather stunted firs on either side of me. I was nearing tree line and there even these hardy little trees wound give up hope and abandoned the environment to the mosses an lichens. As I sat I saw some blue sky. Hallelujah. I packed in a frenzy, not wishing to miss any break in the weather but by the time I was shouldering my pack it had already began to close in. Oh well, onwards and upwards.Onwards and upwards and thankfully out of the mist. I don't think the mist cleared much, I just think I walked out of it. Visibility was still patchy and far from 360 degrees but if you chose where to look there was some glorious blue sky. It wasn't going to be like yesterday but it wasn't going to be a washout either.The summit was fairly busy. Another group of Dartmouth students appeared to have spent the night up here. The leader kept moaning about people walking off the path. He had a point, there were, after all, clear signs stating that this Alpine environment was fragile and asking people not to leave the path. He questioned their intellect, couldn't they read, how big would the sign need to be, all fair enough except the sign also asked people not to camp and here they were, having spent the night. They had cowboy camped and they had stayed on the trail but once again it does not set a good example or show particularly good stewardship. To me it looked like they were ignoring the very same request they were berating others for. Interpreting it to suite there own needs.More people arrived and I was amazed how many reached immediately for their cell phones. One woman called her mother and two other guys seemed to phone friends.But I'm bitching and moaning again. I'm being uncharitable because I would have liked the whole summit to myself. Unreasonable I know, and selfish, but I do like peace and solitude in wild places. Popularity and accessibility turns mountains into something else. Like the Dartmouth leader I can only see things from my own point of view; but even knowing that I cannot help being judgemental when the first thing people do is reach for their phones to check for reception and missed calls. I think they are missing more that calls and its right there in front of them.