Date: 2007-08-06
From: Imp Campsite

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: fog

I woke up to another cool morning in New Hampshire. I was warm and comfortable in my 20 degree sleeping bag, so I just stayed in my tent for a while. Eventually my desire to eat over took my desire to be warm and I walked up to the bear box to get my food bag. I returned to my tent and climbed back in my sleeping bag while I ate my poptarts. I could here the hikers up at the shelter moving around and leaving. I eventually packed up my gear and hiked out at 8:30. Everyone else was already gone.The temperature was in the low 50s and the winds were blowing about 20 mph. The sky was blue when I got up, but quickly became completely overcast. I had to hike up Middle Moriah Mtn and then down to the town of Gorham, NH. I caught up to Gut near the top of the mountain. He had arrived at Imp Campsite at 9 PM and stayed in the shelter. We could see the dark clouds completely covering Mt Washington and the rest of the mountains and it was moving our way. It started to rain so we put on our pack covers. I hiked for a little while and after I got to the top of the mountain I put on my poncho. It was still cold and the rain had increased. The descent off Middle Moriah Mtn was not as steep as most of the others in the Whites, but there were a few tricky areas on the wet rocks. I made it down without falling.The trail was pretty flat for the last couple of miles to hwy US2. I reached the highway about 1:00. The rain had stopped. The town of Gorham is about 3.5 miles west of the trail crossing. I considered hitch hiking. The rain had stopped and I decided to just walk to town. I figured it would be obvious that I was a hiker trying to get to town, so if anyone was going to stop they would do so without me sticking out my thumb. I walked for about a mile before an older couple stopped and offered me a ride. They said they have always picked up hikers along this road for about the past 40 years. They said they had met a lot of hikers from North Carolina and Virginia this year.They dropped me off at the Colonial Fort Inn. The Hiker's Paradise Hostel is here, but I opted for a private room for $48. I needed to do some scheduling and organizing and wanted my own space for a night.I went to the post office to pick up some boxes. I stopped at the Rite Aid Pharmacy on the way there. I went back to the pharmacy desk area to weigh myself and check my blood pressure. Blood pressure was 107/67 with a pulse rate of 77. My weight has dropped further to 145 lbs. now. Good thing there is only 298 more miles to hike. I went to the post office expecting 3 boxes, but they only had 2 of them. The box I sent from Glencliff with the items I didn't want to carry in the Whites had not arrived. I may never see that stuff again. The only important thing in there was my water filter pump. I got a new filter cartridge in my food box, but now I don't have the pump. I will have to look for one at the local outfitter.On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at Burger King for a double Whopper w/ cheese combo. It tasted like cardboard. I was so disappointed, but I still ate it all. Then I stopped at a convenience store and got a pint of strawberry ice cream, a bag of chips, and a liter Coke.Later I went to get some nail clippers to replace the ones in the missing box and a pocket knife to replace the one I lost around Glencliff. I also picked up some additional food including some protein bars w/ 32 grams of protein each. I will be heading back to the trail for 6 days tomorrow. The high temperature here today was 59 degrees F! I watched the weather channel and saw all the 90+ temperatures across most of the country. It is suppose to be sunny and 82 degrees here tomorrow.I saw Walking Cowboy at the hotel, but haven't seen Gut. I also saw Wolverine, Spence, and Ninja. They had driven back here from Andover, which is a few days from here by trail. I had not seen Spence and Ninja since Kent, CT and don't remember the last time I saw Wolverine (Logan).I went to KFC for dinner. 6 chicken strips, biscuit, mac & cheese, cole slaw, and a small popcorn chicken. I still don't have internet service to upload my journals. I haven't been able to access the internet since Franconia Notch.