Date: 2006-06-22
From: Lonesome Lake Hut

To: Galehead hut
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a later start this morning. Because of the weather I took the alternate route to Greenleaf Hut since I already hiked Franconia Ridge B4. Got there about 10 a.m. and sure nuff, 30 minutes later it started raining...again! So I hung around the hut a few hours. When I left, Mt Lafayette was stilled veiled in clouds, but they didn't look like real mean rain clouds. At the summit it was windy and about 55 degrees. I was lucky to not encounter more rain all the way to Galehead. There was even some clearing and sun by the time I got up and over Mt Garfield, although the humidity was pretty bad. I talked for a while with a SOBO hiker, Scott. We traded stories about past adventurous hikes in the Whites. Also met another hiker whose name I did not get but gave a couple of Aleve. The trail was beating up his knees too. My math isn't so good but I estimate that the descent from the Garfield summit was about a 22% slope, in other words, STEEP.Met Leaf, the carecaker at Garfield Campsite, near the summit and walked down with him. He and I shared similar thoughts in that there is no need to be so rigid in self imposed rules that you have to walk by every single white blaze to be a thru hiker. There are lots of other cool things to see along the trail by blue blazing.Today was a Jack Handy Day in that I was giving a lot of thought to why I am thru hiking, am I having fun, and what will I do when I finish. I've been asked these questions a lot by tourists. And now, the boring, philisophical stuff that sometimes makes up these trail journals.Today I will try to answer the 1st question, why am I hiking?Honestly, I don't know. I remember visiting the Whites many times as a kid and passing the Appalachia trail head near Randolph, NH and seeing hikers. I would wonder what they were doing. When I got my 1st real job after leaving active duty Army in 1993, I worked with a guy who had thru hiked the AT after college. I didn't know you could do such a thing. That was what gave me my 1st interest in the AT and I joined the ATC shortly after and have been a member ever since.I think the reasons are more deeply rooted than that. There was a time my self confidence was enormous (due in large part to my Army service) and felt there was nothing I couldn't do. Over the years, that self confidence eroded. So why not tackle something new that so many attempt but such a small percentage accomplish. There is also part of that adventurous mystique that drew me to deciding to hike. It was a chance to get isolated and think about my life but at the same time it was a chance to meet so many different people on and off the trail and share in a special camaraderie known only to thru hikers.More Favorite Equipment:4. Hydration tube - this little gadget lets me sip water from my Platypus water bladder as I walk. Otherwise, I'd be sure to be too lazy to stop every so often to get at a water bottle and end up getting dehydrated.5. Peak 1 Feather 400 white gas stove - At almost 2 pounds with a full tank, this baby isn't no feather. Another sentimental item I've had for about 10 years. And you know what? Some mornings while all those lightweight thru hikers are choking on dry instant oatmeal, I'm cooking pancakes o scrambled eggs.6. Fleece sack - this is a sack Linda sewed up for me. I stuff it with my town clothes (yeah, I have extra clothes too!) to make a comfy pillow and keep the cricks out of my neck.7. MSR cup - I sent this home in Waynesboro, but during the colder months it was super for keeping my coffee or cocoa hot. I got it at Hawk Mountain Shelter waaaaay back near Springer Mountain in a trail magic box put in place by Appalachain Outfitters in Greeneville, SC8. The rest of my equipment is just a load of stuff I carry around on my back to make me miserable.