Date: 2008-08-20
From: Stealth site .1 past Imp Shelter, NH

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: fog

Wow, this wind folks, just did not stop pounding away at all, still going strong this morning. I discovered something that helped me be comfortable and warm last nite. First, I slept zipped up in my bag, but even if all me is warm, if just my face or nose is exposed to the cold, I'll get cold chills down my whole body, but you shouldn't put your face in your down bag because your breath is full of moisture, soooo I put my knit cap down over my eyes and partially on my nose, but then slid my head inside of my micro-puff (synthetic) vest and tucked it around my neck. This helped tremendously. When I woke, it was 40 degrees in my hammock, but I was comfortable all nite temp-wise. I do hate sleeping zipped up in my mummy bag, because it's hard to bend your legs ad I feel a bit bound by it, but it's the best way to stay warm. Again, I was being rocked gently all nite by the wind moving the trees I was hanging from.I did all of my morning chores and waited till last thing to change out of my warm clothes. It worked great because by then, I had moved around enough to start buiding body heat up.We were all ready to go y 7:54 a.m. The sun was out finally, but that wind never stopped. We had to bushwack to find our way back to the trail, and we all 3 went slightly different ways, but A.M. and I were on the trail and still didn't se V8. We finally saw tat she had become a hostage of some tree branches that had her literally stuck, and she had to get out of her pack (which still hung o the branches) to get out of there. A.M. took a picture, and it started our morning off with a chuckle.We only had 1 climb, up Mt. Moriah today, of about 1.25 miles. The air was crisp and cool, sun out, and V8 said this was the perfect New England hiking day. It was in the low 50's now, and I would prefer it to be in the mid-60's or low 70's to be perfect, so I hiked with my rain gear on at first to stay warm.The climb up Mt. Moriah was sort of tiered, with an occasional rocky bald with a fantastic view of the mountains. I could still pick out Mt. Washington with its summit in clouds and little sunlight reflections from the cars driving up the auto road. Hard to believe I hiked from that mountain top to this one.It was still prety gusty, but ot quite as bad as yesterday, ad the trail seemed to be a different trail almost. Much friendlier today..We got to the summit and headed down. It was almost 10:00 a.m. and my stomach was already grumbling from hunger. We were in treeline and came around a curve to find a great little small campsite on the side, so we decided to stop for a snack, and A.M. had a wonderful special snack for us all. She made hot coffe and even had creamer and sugar for all of us! I don't carry a cup, so V8 had an extra, and we all enjoyed a hot yummy cup of coffee and snacks while sitting on the side of Mt. Moriahand realizing today...we were hiking into Gorham and today, I would officially be finished with the Whites (although I'm not 100% sure where they officially end, but in my mind, Gorham is it). It was a really great moment, sharing some beautiful wilderness with my new friends.We started getting cool again, so headed down. So here's the deal, pretty much fro Imp Campsite all the way in to Gorham, the trail takes on a totally different persona, as in much nicer and easier to hike. There were spots of climbs and a few boulders, but overall, you are actually hiking and making horizontal progress instead of spending hours butt scooting and climbing straight up or down. Today was one of the most enjoyable days of hiking I've had in a long time.It was a short down and then a little over .5 mile of beautiful boardwalks through this emerald green mossy forest that made me think of the place the hobbits live in Lord of the Rings. Really nice and a much appreciated break on the knees.Then it was about 5 miles down, but it was a lot of stone work, steps, nd nice trail that was easy to negotiate. We got down to the "normal" forest (the kind you se everywhere) and started hiking over small streams, which doesn't hapen much in high elevations. Then, about 3 miles out, the trail parallels the beautiful Rattle River, and it is full of waterfalls and large flat rocks that make you wan to stop and sunbathe all day long. Crystal clear ice cold river water....We were shooting for Rattle River Shelter for lunch, but we came to this incredible place where there were 2 waterfalls, emptying into a pebbly pool, and I suggested we stop here because we were all starving anyways.We stopped, and I soaked my aching feet for the first time I think since Vermont. I had, thoughout the day, slowly removed clothing as the temps warmed with lower elevation, less wind, and that glorious sun I love so much.I found a perfect rock and changed into my crocs, while A.M. and V8 got their lunches out. Oh man did the foot soak feel fantabulous! I walked around the water for a bit, took some pics, and then sat down to eat. Another perfect moment out here with the sunlight lighting p the depths of the pools of water and the sound of the rushing falls. Almost hard to believe just yesteday, we were about being blown off the top of a mountain.V8 had cracked me up, I forgot to mention this yesterday, but she's got this great phrase, The Amazing Elastic Mile. This refers to how that last 1 mile of the day always seems to stretch on forever, and it's SO TRUE! I love that phrase, it's absolutely perfect, ESPECIALLY for yesterday.We decided the luncbreak was over and headed on, but by this time, the trail was LITERALLY FLAT!! Ok people, I don't remember the last time I hiked on awesome dirt, totally flat trail that mosies alongside a beautiful river, where I could expend almost 0% of my mental energy hiking and just be able to get lost in my head. Oh what a great great gift, and almost like the trail was trying to redeem itself by presenting itself in the most OPPOSITE way than it had been since Glencliff, NH. All I know is it's quite deceiving for sobo's to see a sign with "White Mountain National Forest" on it and then hike into this dreamland.I had it hit me...soon, as in within a few miles, I would be able to say I faced yet another fear and overcame it, with the help of new friends, and then partially on my own, with perfct days on Mt. Moosilauke, Mt. Washington and the remaining Presidentials, nite hiking, having the (what I consider to be good fortune) of being able to feel that surge of panic when you think you're lost at nite and then being able to logically work my way through those emotions and finding the safety of knowing I was prepared even if I was lost, to deal with it, which is incredibly empowering when you're standing on a bald rock face under an almost full moon with the silouhette of these giant mountains surrounding you and you are totally alone with the black woods all around you. I was ok, and I knew I would be.I realized that in a few miles, when I got to Gorham, I'd be a mere 16.5 miles from my last state, that maybe, just maybe the end could be within my grasp, which I both want and never want. I just smiled and allowed myself to appreciate and experience what is one of my greatest hiking accomplishments...facing the beautifully powerful and rugged White Mountains.There were so many fantastic camping places too, so we al started joking about just stopping and not going into town...NOT!I came to the sign that tells you not to camp within 1\4 mile of roads, parking areas, shelters, etc., and knew we were just minutes from the road crossing. I could hear the traffic loudly, and I decided to call Karen and giver er a heads up we'd be there in about 15 min., so she could pick us up.I had hiked ahead of the ladies a bit, but they caught up when I was on the phone, so we all hiked together and saw that parking area. Oh what a feeling to have the Whites behind me. At 3:07 p.m., I was @ US 2, the highway leading to Gorham, NH.We celebrated, and someone left some Canada Dry cans of soda behind a rock, so we enjoyed some. All I could do was walk around saying, "I can't believe it, I can't believe it...I just hiked the White Mountains."Karen showed up and then those 5 guys got dropped off from having gone into town for pizza and then were heading back out. I got their pic, but they go by SASH (Six Atlanta Section Hikers), they lost one person from their group apparently.We loaded up and headed back to the Towne and Country Inn. I took a LOOONG hot shower, and then the ladies called. Originally we thought we'd order pizza, but then Karen suggested we go to the restaurant here and celebrate, and we decided that was a great idea.Alright, so I didn't realize (and often don't) just how ravenous I was, but tonight's dinner is the blue ribbon winner for making an oinker out of myself.I needed and wanted protein, so I wanted the Surf and Turf, but the filet mignon was described as "petit" which I could not agree to, so I modified the order a bit. Here's what I ate, and was only pleasantly full afterwards:12 oz Sirloin steak, 3 jumbo stuffed shrimp, garden salad, 3 pieces of bread, small side of zucchini, baked potato, about 1\4 of Auntie Mame's steak (another few ounces), a glass of wine, double scoop icecream brownie hot fudge sundae served in a banana boat with whipped cream, and half of Karen's tapioca pudding washed down with a cup of coffee!Um..I don't even know what to say about this. I don't believe I have EVER eaten this much in my entire life, in one meal. And just before dessert was brought out, Karen leaned over and rubbed my belly to see how much it was stickig out, and our server walks up and goes, "Oh..how far along are you?" LOL!! We all started laughing and I had to explain I was hiking and was eating for more like 3 people. Oh my...I never knew I had it in me.It was a great meal, great conversation, Karen told hilarious stories, we all laughed and just had a wonderful time celebrating our hiking milestone.....and then we all retired, and I passed out. Actually, Karen and I enjoyed some quiet time and had a really wonderful talk. The evening could not have been more perfect. Tomorrow is the normal laundry, pack explosion, figure out where to get my hiking pole fixed, eat some more, and decide what's next with the ladies. What a day...what a day....~Certain