Date: 2013-08-22
From: Base of Mt. Garfield

To: Crawford Notch ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ US Rt 302
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: broken clouds

Few thru-hikers stayed at the shelter [partly because they didn't want to pay]; many camped along the Trail behind or ahead me; a few others went on & got "work-for-stay" at Galehead Hut. After I had gone the 2 miles to the hut, they were all gathered to eat the leftovers from breakfast. I joined them & then went on over Mt Guyot.Last time I came thru here, it had been starting to rain. I had felt I had to choose between continuing some distance over an open ridge [rocks & stunted trees] to an area with more tree protection, or even going on to the hut to ask for work-for-stay; or, on the other hand, going 0.8 mi. down the side of the Mtn. to Guyot shelter. I had chosen the shelter as the safest way out, tho it meant going over a lot of exposed trail anyway plus having to come up almost a mile in the morning just to get back on the AT. When I had gotten back on the Trail, I had discovered a number of suitable campsites not much farther along than the shelter & among taller trees. When I had gotten to the hut, I asked if work-for-stay would have been available, & they said Yes. I guess I hadn't made the best choice. All kinds of contingencies make for slow travel thru the Whites.   No rain today, tho; a nice sunny walk all day. A few more miles brought me to Zeecliff, & from there it was downhill to Zeeland Hut. I fixed a dehydrated meal at the top, but instead of waiting for it to hydrate, & then eating it, I just carried it with me & took a few bites at a time after it seemed ready. Thus I learned a way to save some time & keep on hiking, tho it doesn't get me much rest. On the way up the Mtn, one of the younger hikers told me they all had a lot of respect for what I was doing ¢ how I hiked the hike at my age was the implication ¢ I thought it was a nice compliment.One thing I noticed was that the top of the Mtn was a certain type of non-slip grey granite & that that same rock persisted all the way down. Usually, there's a mixture of different types of rock boulders [left by glaciers, I suppose], but here when there were boulders they were this same granite. Even when I saw gravel or sand deposits on the trail, they looked like they derived from the same source. When I got down to the hut, I asked the naturalist what kind of rock it was. She didn't know much geology, but said she'd try to find out. Some of the hikers around the hut were hoping for work-for-stay; the rest were going on to Ethan Pond or all the way to Crawford Notch.I had asked Susan to pick me up at Crawford Notch, remembering the Trail [8 mi.] from the hut to the notch as pretty easy, level trail. Well, it's pretty level, following a river or 2, but there were enough breaks in the levelness to make it slower than I expected. During the afternoon, I was passed by at least a dozen thru-hikers, plus an orientation group from Harvard. The NOBOs were talking about being caught up in a "bubble" of thru-hikers. I was thinking, "You ARE the bubble."At the turnoff to Ethan Pond some of the group was hanging around trying to decide whether they wanted to go to the campground or go on, maybe finding a "stealth camp" site along the way. At least half a dozen of them passed me as it got dark.My headlamp wasn't very bright, & I was going slower & slower. Probably trying to do 17 miles even in this part of the Whites was a bit over-optimistic. I hadn't had phone service for a while, so I couldn't notify Susan of my progress; but some of those who passed said they'd tell her I was coming. Apparently at least 4 of them spoke with her in the parking lot, & they had good things to say about me. That felt good.I finally got to the trailhead too, & we headed for Gorham, where Susan had a motel room.