Date: 2015-08-20
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: The White Mountains
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So I'm watching the mileage slowly tick away (and I do mean slowly) and I find myself getting all reflective and stuff. It's been amazing. Friends like Miami Vice always shows up to help me get my head straight and life into perspective. Drop Bear appears and makes me laugh. Friends are lost and found everyday. Even this late in the journey, I meet people for the first time to discover that we started just days apart. It is said that if you took away the social aspect of the AT that it's just another dirt trail. I'm so thankful that the social aspect exist because it makes the experience so great.I'm in a hostel tonight ran by the 12 tribes - the yellow deli. This is a great place and the people so nice. Hostels are so hit and miss. A while back I stayed at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. Let's say very rustic. I ate dinner with a family of skunks running around the table. First time I've eaten slowly with no sudden movements since I started this hike. They actually came into the hostel during the night and destroyed one guys food bag. The most unique feature there was the "pee wall". First time I've seen one of those. You go behind the wall and the sign says " pee on the rock pile, not the ground ". It's amazing the places and things we'll endure for the promise of a hot shower. Ha! Maybe I'll put one of those in at home. Later I stayed at The Notch hostel. It was like a B&B. I didn't want to leave. Big relaxing rooms where you could pick up a book or a guitar and Chill. Much earlier I stayed in one in a residential neighborhood. I don't think it was legal to have a hostel there and he kept the hikers hidden in his basement. Some good, some bad, they are all part of the experience.About the Whites. Hard. Often wet. Demanding. Unforgiving. Maybe one of the most beautiful places that I've ever witnessed. We've now crossed the presidentials, including the deadly Mt Washington. I saw a list of 182 names of people who had died in the area. Highest wind speed recorded by a manned station on earth. Hurricane force winds 50 days out of the year. OK, I haven't personally verified all of these facts, but they seemed to come from credible people. Anyway, the climb was great and minutes after summiting, the clouds moved in and the temps dropped 20 degrees. So we were a little wet and cold, but had amazing views which is more than most get. The trails here are boulders, slabs or rocks, often above tree line. Many hikers spend the day cursing the trail creators, but a kid put it into perspective for me early. I rounded a corner and paused to figure out how I could possibly get to this monster steep slab. This southbound kid appears from the top. He looks at the slab and steps onto it and immediately goes into a glissading slide, as if he was on a snowboard. I braced myself, got down like I was behind home plate and prepared to catch him before he launched of of the side of the mountain. At the last second he straightens up and with a couple of quick hops, stops in front of me. He gives me a big smile and says. "The Whites. You have to treat them like a jungle gym." I loved his enthusiasm. Since he didn't have a trail name yet I knighted him Jungle Jim.He's absolutely right though. It's a playground out here. At times you feel excited like when you mastered the monkey bars for the first time and at times you feel like the playground bully just took your lunch money. Still, beaten and tired at night, you can't wait to get back to the playground tomorrow.So, let's see what tomorrow brings.