Date: 2005-08-27
From: Zealand Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: broken clouds

I was up at 5:30AM, awakened by the crew cook beginning his morning chores in the kitchen just behind the table in the dining room where I was sleeping. By 6:30AM I was all packed up and ready to go. I thought about staying for breakfast, but then it appeared that there were no other guests planning to leave before breakfast, as some had talked about doing last night. This meant I would have had to wait and eat with the crew about 8AM. Not wanting to wait that long, I shouldered my pack and set off down the trail.To my great surprise, after only a few hundred yards of New Hampshire's usual steep, rocky downhill trail, it suddenly not only leveled out - as the map elevation guide indicated it would - but the trail became positively dream-like! (hey, it's all relative...)It was flat and level, comprised mostly of a grainy sand and small pebbles, and was almost like a sidewalk.This can't last, thought I. It's a trick, a cruel joke. New Hampshire doesn't have real trails - just steep ups and downs with rocks. Really big rocks. Lots of them. Perhaps it's a halucination!You can imagine my joy as it continued that way for almost three miles! For another two miles after that it was still flat, with some rocky sections, but with lots of board walking through marshy areas.As a result, I made incredible time, doing the five miles from the hut to Ethan Pond campsite in exactly 2 hours - a mind-boggling 2.5 miles an hour. In New Hampshire!That left about another 3 miles into Crawford Notch, which I did in an hour and a half, arriving at the road crossing about 10:45AM. I was then able to Yoggie a ride from two hikers who had just finished their section hike. By 11AM I had arrived at the campgrounds where I was staying that night.I secured a bunk in the hostel cabin for $12, and so far, the only occupant. Like clock work, I went about getting my town chores done, updated emails, etc. Then, just as promised, the UPS truck arrived up with my new hiking poles!Another miracle! Later, I got the full story of the poles from my wife, including her having to drive to Maryland to find the right ones, just making it in time to UPS, who got it on the first plane ok, but the second one was weather delayed, so the truck left Hanover, NH this morning without them. Fortunately, when the delayed flight finally arrived, UPS assigned another truck to ensure their on-time delivery to yours truly, who was, of course, completely oblivious to all of these little details, entranced as I was by the glories of hiking for nearly 8 miles on actual hikable trails. Score another major point for "She-who-knows-me-best..."Two interesting developments on the trail this morning. The first was my second moose siting! This time it was a cow rather than a bull, and I heard it moving off to the right of the trail. I stopped immediately and, as quickly and quietly as I could, got out my camera. I've now seen a number of bears, and one previous moose, but the real challenge is to get a photo of them before they disappear. I still have nothing from all the bears, but I really wanted a moose photo.Within a minute, the moose crossed the trail in front of me (click). She stopped in the woods and looked in my direction - only about 20 yards separating us. I raised my camera and got a couple more shots. Then we just stood there staring at each other, neither of us moving for several minutes. I just felt so ... alive.Finally I moved ahead on the trial a few yards to try to get a better shot, which I did, and then as she moved away, I saw a second female moose join her. Reluctantly, I moved on as well - back to the old hiking game.That was when the second thing happened. Nothing terribly earth-shattering, but very real and meaningful, nonetheless. It just suddenly struck me that I had the answer to the question I had raised before leaving home - what really did I want to do with the rest of my life - post hike. The answer came back in just two words: "give back". That's it. Forty more years - and that's all I have in the way of direction, but I think it's not a bad start. I'll never be able to give back enough to my wife and family, but I'll try. And then I'll figure out how best to use my God-given talents and energy to make things better somewhere in the world - probably also pretty close to home. Lots of things are close at hand already - from Scouts, to the rescue squad to the Shennandoah Mountain Rescue Group, etc. As Tomas Moore wrote, "The difficulty in life is the choice." Or words to that effect. I'll figure it out. Meanwhile, I'm going to have an early dinner and go to bed. Tomorrow I start into the Presidential range, heading toward the grandaddy of them all - Mt. Washington. Thanks to my wife, I'll have new poles to help me get over the tough spots. Still, wish me luck....Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com