Date: 2014-07-19
From: Galehead Hut

To: Ethan Pond campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

Galehead Hut to Ethan Pond Campsite--12 milesEthan Pond Campsite to rt 302--2.7 milesThis state is killing me! I've done all the NH AT hikes as section hikes but not with a full pack. What were once easy hikes with a few jungle gym pulls have become monstrous rock climbs and impossible miles. I beat!Doing work for stay at Galehead was a lot of fun. The warm sudsy water for dishwashing was soothing and sort of bath like. I was looking forward to a great night's sleep on the floor. But it was not to be had. Mosquitoes dive bombed me all night and the high pitched whine seemed to surround me. Also, the bathroom door has a loud squeak and so I was awakened every time someone used the bathroom. You'd be amazed at how much visitation those bathrooms receive in the night!I was up early and was grateful to see that the thermal pot of hot water that had been left out the night before still had hot water in it. I made myself a packet of Via coffee and worked on putting my pack together. To be continued...I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes again and need to apply spray and go to bed. All packed up and out the door by 6:30. But I was tired. The climbs and slides of the day before were taking their toll. The path from the hut immediately dropped steeply then climbed for .8 of a mile. That may not sound long, but it took me an hour. Slippery slabs and tricky footing slowed my pace. I often had to set my poles down, pull myself up, then bend over and pick up my poles, my pack lurching nearly over my head. And that was only the first mile. Actually, the rest of the hike down to Zealand was nice. The path was rocky, but I didn't have many difficult climbs over boulders. We stopped at Zealand Cliffs for lunch and the views were spectacular. I could see the AT way below as it cut into the side of the mountain on a former railroad bed. We reached Zealand Hut by 3 and were feeling pretty tired. My ankles hurt from all the rock hopping, and so we hoped to do a work for stay. But it was not meant to be and we were turned away. Knowing that the next 5 miles were pretty flat, I suggested that we try to make it to the car parked 7.5 miles away. We took off and the first 2.5 miles clicked by in under an hour. We were encouraged. But the trail became rougher, and all the tough miles over the past three days caught up with me. Rammy was ahead of me and out of sight. I dropped my pack in the middle of the trail and plopped myself down for a break. I was becoming overtired, and I feared my ankles could not handle the steep descent at the end. Soon, two shirtless guys came hiking up from the opposite direction. I must've looked pretty bad because they helped me up without saying much except, "Your hiking partner is just up ahead." I wondered if Rammy looked as bad as I did. As I stumbled along, I soon heard voices off to the left. I hoped that the voices were coming from Ethan Pond which meant I would soon hit the final descent. I continued for what seemed like an eternity, listening to voices and raucous laughter. The shelter must be packed I thought. Of course. Today is Saturday. Finally, I reached the turn for the shelter and I spotted Rammy's pack but no Rammy. I plopped myself down again, feeling like I might not be able to get up. Soon, Rammy came bouncing back from the shelter. "I spoke to the caretaker, and the shelter is empty. We might have the whole thing to ourselves. I think we should stop here." No arguments from me. I complacently followed Rammy along the trail to the shelter. Of course it was high on a hill. Each step was painful, but I made it up to the shelter and then just collapsed on the wood platform. "You go pay the caretaker and I'll get water." "I think the shelter needs sweeping before we lay our stuff down," I muttered. "I'll sweep." "No! I will," demanded Rammy as he grabbed the dilapidated broom from the corner. "Let me," I cried. Rammy shot back,"I'm good at sweeping. You saw what a good job I did at the hut!" It was nearly 6:00. We'd hiked 12 tough miles. And we were arguing over who would sweep the shelter. We were overtired. Finally, the shelter was swept and I paid the caretaker with Rammy's money and we began setting our spaces up. We took our dinner to the cooking area and began to make dinner preparations. I had my stove set up, my food out, but something was missing. I forgot to bring my water from the shelter. The effort to walk to the shelter seemed like too much so I sat there or a while hoping I could muster the energy to stand. Then a nice camper named Christian offered his water. No, I couldn't. He insisted. So I poured his clear and wonderful water into my pot and cooked dinner (which was tasteless but filling). The group of four who had joined us were weekend hikers from Boston and were having a great time. A chocolate chip apple cake was baking in an interesting setup and whiskey was passed around and offered to Rammy and me. They turned out to be a lot of fun and soon, I forgot my pain and became human again. As darkness settled in, I climbed into my sleeping bag and began tocompose my journals. But I couldn't finish. Sleep came quickly and then it was morning.