Date: 2011-07-11
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: clear sky

I was kind of sore after yesterday¢s miles so I was a little slow going. I ate my breakfast, and met the caretaker who made sure she got my $8.00, but that was fine, especially since I had the shelter all to myself. I headed out the 2 miles down to Lonesome Lake Hut to check it out. As I walked through the door I was asked if I was a thru-hiker and if I wanted quiche I had the remains of a pan of spinach + cheese quiche, some delicious homemade bread, a cup of tea, and some lemonade. When I was finished I filled my water bottles, said my thanks, and gave them a tip and left. It was a good first hut encounter for my thru-hike. I made the descent to the notch, and then started the long steep rock climb to the top of the ridge. It took some time but I made the ridge around 12:00 and started the long walk. All the way from the shelter to the end of the ridge I met a lot of section hikers or day hikers and we talked quite a bit. Many seemed more interested than usual, so I chatted for a long time and generally enjoyed myself up on the ridge. The day was sunny, but the mountains had a lot of haze, so the views weren¢t ideal, but nice none the less. I talked to one southbounder today that had done a work for stay at Greenleaf Hut, he said he was the only one there because it is 1.1 miles down a steep trail and not many thru-hikers bother going down there. That got me thinking about work for stays and I thought I might try it by making the trek down. However, when I got to the trail junction the thought of the 1.1 miles uphill in the morning just to get back to where I am made me change my mind. I realized however that the Galehead Hut was only 2 miles or so past where I planned to stay today. With that in mind I headed off the ridge and toward Garfield. It was another steep knee busting descent, and it took quite a while to get to the Garfield Campsites. When I arrived I decided to go for the Galehead Hut for work for stay. I met a Southbounder on the way that said I would be too late, that I should be there by 4:00. It was already 5:30 and I was starting to question my decision. I wasn¢t sure what I¢d do if they turned me away. I guessed I would have to stealth camp somewhere. As it turned out I got there around 6:30 just as they were serving dinner and they said yes, as there was only one other hiker there. I waited outside while the guests ate so my stench wouldn¢t ruin their appetite. The hikers eat later with the ¢Croo¢. We finally ate about 8:00, the left overs. We had chicken, rice, salad, green beans, fresh bread and tomato soup, all of it very good. Afterward our chore was to scrub the dish baskets with a green scrubby pad and a toothbrush. We worked for about 1 34 hours at a task that was really impossible. To get them really clean we would have needed a pressure washer to get all the little holes, but we did the best we could. At 10:00 it was lights out and we set up our bags on the floor between the tables. The hut is really nice and the Croo very friendly. The task we were given was kind of silly, but it was warm and bug free inside and it is looking like rain.AlanJuly 25, 2011 - Alan is in Maine somewhere beyond Stratton, he should summit Katahdin the first week of August - Mary