Date: 2016-08-03
From: Smarts mountain. Fire Wardens Cabin. 

To: NH 25
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I really slept well last night, 10 hours!! My body needed the rest. Jersey Girl and I left the cabin about the same time, 7:30am, but before hitting the trail, I climbed the fire tower again. The sun was behind the overcast sky but the view was pretty with the clouds below the distant mountains making for an eerie scene. Jersey girl is from somewhere near Atlantic City, NJ. When I passed her she told me that her husband may be doing trail magic on a road 10 miles into the day's hike. She asked me to let him know that she may not make it that far today. I agreed to convey the message, I bid her goodbye, and headed down Smarts Mtn. There were rocks and roots but they were spaced perfectly enough to be able to avoid them with most of my steps. Then came Cube Mtn. That was a steep climb with big flat slanted rocks near the top. There was no moving fast at times like this. There were some good views though. I could see Smarts Mtn and the fire tower on top of it. It's so cool to see where I came from. The descent was slow initially with many big slick rocks and boy was it steep! As I got further into the hike, the trail got better with fewer rocks and roots. My plan was to hike 20 miles to a hostel but if the trail was difficult and slowed me down, I would camp somewhere. Once the trail got easier, after Cube Mtn, I was determined to make it to the hostel for a bunk and shower. I held off eating lunch because I was almost to the spot that Ron, Jersey Girls husband, should have been doing trail magic...sure enough he was there. I stayed a while talking to him and resting. I saw Corn Cob and Cheetah who I had met weeks ago and I met Earnhart as I was leaving today. The remainder of my venture today was not too difficult so I was able to make good time. I was feeling really good mentally and physically. The break and visit from Yvonne was great and the 10 hours of sleep and rest last night was a big help in making me feel so good. There was a makeshift sign in the trail that read 'Welcome to the Whites'. Whites National Forest is a very rugged part of the Appalachian Trail but also the most scenic. Hikers call this mountain range the Whites and they have been talking about the Whites since I started the trail. It made me worried but also anxious to get here. They said if you have been doing 18/22 miles a day you will do 8/13 miles a day in the Whites! What makes it so difficult is the steepness of the trails. They go straight up and down instead of switchbacks on pretty level ground. They are characterized by having lots of rocks and boulders where in many areas you will have to put your poles away and use your hands to make your way up or down the mountain. The height of the mountains and the unpredictable weather are some of the many things that factor into my plans for the day. I keep a close watch on the weather to be sure I don't meet heavy rain when I reach the top. It is important to make my pack as light as possible or slack pack which I will plan to do as much as possible. I had a couple more good views before I finished the day's hike. It was a long day so I was happy to see the road where the hostel was. I hiked 0.3 miles to Hikers Welcome Hostel where I saw many familiar faces including Aurora, Conundrum, ET, and Firefox, Yukon and Beefcake. It was 5:30 pm which means that I covered 20 miles in 10 hours today. That is not bad for me. At the hostel they were starting to shuttle hikers to a deli. I caught the second trip and got 2 cheeseburgers and tea. When I got back I sat out with other hikers eating talking and laughing. After my shower I felt great! The hostel is a home with a common room attached where hikers congregate and it has an upstairs with bunks. They also built a new barn like structure next door with bunks inside, 9 beds downstairs and 15 upstairs, where I stayed. It was very comfy. I got into bed about 9:30pm and I am sure I was sleeping before 10.