Date: 2004-08-16
From: Ore Hill Shelter

To: NH 112
Miles today: 16.9

Today I learned why the "White's" are infamous! The trail was quite tame for the first 8 miles, despite the rain. It led me across the border of The White Mountain National Forest.What was waiting for me after the tame part was a mountain called Mt. Moosilauke. Moosilauke was the single highest, ascent I've faced since beginning. In fact, its the biggest thing I've ever faced in hiking, ever! It's huge and as I mentioned before, it takes me above tree line where nothing but lichens can grow, the conditions are too harsh. The only trees at the edge of tree line are dwarfed evergreens. No higher than your waist and yet a 100 years old.Moosilauke had my full attention from the start! Two hours of straight up ascent got me to the edge of where the trees disappear. The winds were at 25 to 30 mph and with my body and clothes soaked in sweat, it got cold fast. Clouds were blowing over the summit as fast as cars on an interstate. I yanked my hat down hard onto my head and continued into the zone where it was only me, the rocks and the cold howling wind. (At least all that anxiety I had earlier wasn't unjustified!)The white blazes we've followed on trees and rocks since Georgia are now replaced by cairns of rocks. I could see the summit when the clouds parted, so I just kept going. I could also see that I was alone, no one else in sight¢¦it was all quite haunting to be on such a huge mountain with all its raw power despite its stillness. The moment grew all the more dramatic as I neared the summit. The closer I got the higher the wind speed. The rain had stopped but the suns warmth was sorely missed. I was inside a void in the clouds cover when I touched the summit sign. Click, I took my picture, and then I looked for the way off this howling frigid tundra!If that weren't dramatic enough, the descent would be unlike anything I've had as well! It's sort of like a 4000-foot gravity fall with just a smidge of control. It's maybe about a mile down at a 70-degree angle. To make things more exciting, all the rocks, roots and wooden steps were wet. Slippery wet. Icy, slimy, slippery, mossy wet!I don't mean to be cocky, but since leaving Springer Mountain in Georgia, I've only fallen three times, that's 1780 miles on foot. Well, today, I fell three times just trying to get down off this monster.It wasn't without its beauty though. In all that harsh, raw power there was great beauty. Pure, untamed wildness. The power of the Earth that we take fore granted so frequently is on full display up here. And as far as the descent, it was along the longest cascading waterfall I've ever seen. It must fall some 3000 feet, all the while, no more than just feet away from where you're stepping carefully, hoping upon hope you won't slip and never stop falling!Like so many times in this adventure, I met two hikers the day before and again today who offered me a ride into town to a motel. I had decided earlier that a warm place to dry out would be a good idea. They were "Loco Motive" and "Navigator" and they've hiked everything I've hiked, only they've done it a section at a time over 13 years. We ended up having dinner together to share trail stories.Mt. Moosilauke is now to my south, for which I'm thankful for! I am most certainly in a place I'm not familiar with. The Whites have lived up to their reputation and this is only day one!!