Date: 2007-08-20
From: Gorham, NH

To: Trident Col Campsite 
Miles today: 6.9

Jack and I had breakfast at the Town and Country Motel and then had one last run through our meal plan to eliminate unnecessary ¢extras¢ and to divvy-up the load between us. Then Cathy, one of the people working at the motel registration desk, drove us up to the trail head. Twenty minutes later, she made a second trip to the trailhead to bring me by glasses case and monocular that had somehow become disconnected from my pack in the trunk of her car. Soon we were off. We had not gone far before Jack discovered his first experience with ¢Trail Magic¢¢a bag of food and candy bars hanging on an AT sign with a note from ¢Little Red¢ and ¢The Wolf¢ (the couple whom I had met earlier in my travels and who had stayed in the same motel that I did last Saturday), which they had left behind for other Thru Hikers. We were less than a 12 mile down the road towards the entrance point of the trail when we were stopped by two motorcyclists who asked if they could take our picture. We posed as hikers for them. Moments later, a car pulled up and stopped to see if we needed a ride to town¢¦a true ¢trail angel.¢ Finally, we were about to reach a woods road and leave the access road that goes past the dam when an SUV coming toward us came to a quick halt with the three smiling faces of ¢Grasshopper¢, ¢Two Dogs¢, and ¢M&M¢ leaning out the window and waving. They told us they were on their way into Gorham with a friend of ¢Grasshopper¢s,¢ who lives in the area. We agreed we would probably meet up later at the tent site. Jack and I then started up the ridge leading to Mt. Hayes on this picture perfect, warm, cloudless, and windless day. Along the way we were treated to several beautiful vistas of Mt. Washington and the Presidents. From 20 miles away, we could see the smoke from the Cog Railroad engine as it chugged up the hill. We could see the smoke as it rose from the stack, blowing straight up. This vision of vertical plume was a sign that no wind was atop of Mt. Washington (what a contrast to the conditions two days ago that canceled the bicycle event when the wind was blowing in excess of 90 mph). We had lunch at 12:30 at the top of Mt. Haze and said ¢howdy-dos¢ to ¢Gandolph¢ and a few other NOBO Thru Hikers who passed by as we sat and ate our burritos of pepperoni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly. Mt. Haze was a little bit more than half way to our destination, so we took it easy in the afternoon and enjoyed a more leisurely pace, arriving at the tent site around 3:30 pm. This gave us plenty of time to select our site, get our tents setup, get water from the nearby spring, and enjoy each other¢s company. Today is Jack¢s birthday. His birthday dinner was Mountain House chicken breasts and mashed potatoes. As expected, ¢Grasshopper¢ and some others joined us on the rocks up behind my tent, where Jack had pitched his tent, and where we were having our dinner. Once ¢Two Dogs¢ and ¢M&M¢ arrived along with two SOBO¢s, Meredith and ¢Torque¢, we all sang happy birthday to Jack and then shared the chocolate cheesecake pudding and freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream I had brought along for the occasion. I also had a card and a few trail-related gifts for him ¢a bandana, warm head toque for sleeping, earplugs, and an AT bumper sticker. It was a very relaxed and fun evening, and I think Jack enjoyed his low-key birthday ¡la the AT. I am glad I got him the toque because it is supposed to get fairly cold tonight¢possibly even below freezing. The earplugs will be especially appreciated if the coyotes that are making a huge ruckus howling at the moon right now keep it up for very long. Their plaintiff cries are fairly loud down here in the col between the two rocky peaks where we are encamped.I feel very privileged to be able to share this ¢AT experience¢ with Jack, and I am really glad he had a chance to meet some of the friends I have made these past few weeks before they move on ahead of us tomorrow, as they push to complete the last 200 miles of their Appalachian Trail odysseys. I am particularly delighted that within a very short period of time Jack has already experienced some of the delightful aspects of the ¢AT community¢ that make the Trail so special¢he has seen ¢trail magic¢ and experienced the benevolence of ¢trail angels,¢ who as willing to help make the logistical aspects of anyone¢s trip possible. He has enjoyed birthday treats in the sharing of experience and stories, as well as, food and the other necessities of good, healthy life on the trail with others. Besides which, the weather has been perfect, and we have not had to cope with the undesirable aspects of cold, rainy conditions that make the Trail a bit more challenging and less enjoyable. What a great day!