Date: 2004-08-04
From: Aunt Fran and Uncle Joe's House

To: Mt. Washington
Miles today: 15.0

The White Mountains are completely awesome! I had thought that I was going to be hiking much slower because it would be so difficult but the truth is that it's impossible not to stop at every overlook and sit for an hour. The views are what slow you down. It's absolutely incredible! I've been pretty lucky because the weather has been cooperating. The first big mountain I hiked was out of the small town of Glencliff, NH - Mt. Mooselauke. I was nervous about the climb because I didn't know how I'd do in the White's. Surprisingly, I didn't think the climb was hard. My adrenaline was really pumping and that's probably why I didn't get tired. At the top was a foggy cloud, so I didn't get to see too much. At this time I was hiking with Sugar Daddy, Chigger, Meerkat, Kaalogi, and Optimus. They are a good group of thru-hikers that I hope to catch up to again soon. The next mountain we had to go over was Kinsman and it was a beautiful day. I was told by many other hikers that I should consider myself lucky to have such a nice day because they are rare in the White's. Again, the climb wasn't difficult. I did keep tweaking my ankle which was a real bummer. After Kinsman Mt, we descended to Kinsman Notch and the town of Lincoln and North Woodstock. I went to the Pig's Ear Brewery with Meerkat and Sugar Daddy. That night we slept under the I-93 bridge where the trail was because it was 11pm when we left the brewery and we didn't want to pay for a hotel room. I decided to take a zero day the next day to let my ankle heal a little and to also wait for my Dad. I was able to get one of the last hotel rooms in town and I hung out all day watching movies and baseball games. The next morning my Dad showed up and we ascended Franconia Ridge. We were only able to make it about 5 miles in because we started late and the trail was fairly strenuous. We stealth camped right off the trail and didn't have any problems. The AMC (Appalachian Mountain (or Money) Club) tries to make it so that you have to camp at their pay campsites or huts. I don't want to pay so I have a list of stealth campsites that are free. The next day we hiked up Mt. Lafyette at 5200' in beautiful weather. At first we had the whole place to ourselves which was completely awesome! We descended off Franconia Ridge and made it to one of the huts. I thought my Dad was going to be too tired to continue on but he impressed me and we made one last climb up to South Twin mountain. We illegally camped up there above the tree line and saw a great sunset and sunrise. I can't wait to see the pictures! Oh, my Dad's trail name is Tacoman, because he's from Tacoma. I think we ended up hiking 10 miles to get to South Twin Mt. The next day we hiked 14 miles to Crawford Notch where his rental car was parked. Last night we stayed with my Aunt Fran and Uncle Joe at their house in Maine. This was the first time I've been to Maine and I'm impressed. Wish I had come here before. They have a nice house right near Long and Sebago Lakes. There's nothing better than having a shower and sleeping in a bed after a hike! So, the plan for today is to summit Mt. Washington. Tacoman is going to help me to slack-pack. He's feeling a little tired and sore and would rather help me to get some miles in. The weather today is supposed to be nice and that's what I'll need for Mt. Washington at 6200'. Enough for now! Good to hear from everyone!