Date: 2018-08-27
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Chet's House
Miles today: 9.3

This morning I woke up in a hostel bed. Mostly everyone else was already out of the bunks. I had slept in again. It was ok because I was planning on a low mile day over Mt Moosilauke. I got up and packed my stuff then headed to the common room. Many hikers were slack packing over the mountain today from the hostel. The price was pretty steep at $15 per person. I was going to carry my whole pack over that mountain anyways. It looked daunting on the elevation profile but I've probably climbed Mt Everest about 13 times now over the course of 5 months. The hostel was definitely making bank with its location to that mountain though. I ate some poptarts that Ben had sent me and a slice of pizza a hiker left in the fridge. I headed out on the climb up Mt Moosilauke.The initial start was pretty gradual and it wasn't that bad. There were fields and a few road walks. I got about 2 miles up then ran into Maga filtering water at a stream. We hiked on together. The climb got steeper and more rocky. We then ran into Ham, Rolly, Fungi, Twigs, and Natty Daddy. Natty Daddy was carrying a Natural Light Beer from Georgia to Maine.  Natural Light had started following his pictures on Instagram and had sent him some Natty Swag.  Maga and I pushed on from there. I had to stop and eat something since my stomach was growling.  Maga pushed on to the top. It was another hour of climbing when I reached a flat section and the trail opened up. I was about a mile from the summit. As I walked closer to the summit I could see that the treeline stopped and opened up to a field of grasses and rocks.  Cairns marked the path on the top. I stumbled across lose rocks but eventually made it to the summit. The clouds were covering the mountain but there were a few breaks that led to amazing views of the valley below. Maga was at the summit by the Moosilauke sign that I had seen so much through Instagram posts. Double Stack came up the other side since he was slack packing. The clouds opened up and I could see the other side of the whites. The range was massive as it went on into the distance. I was getting really hungry and made Mac N Cheese on the mountain. It really hit the spot. Natty Daddy and Natty Light pulled out a Natural Light flag and got a picture next to the Moosilauke sign. There were a group of college kids there that got excited when they saw the sign. Probably because that's what they drank on a regular basis. We continued to hang out on the mountain for an hour then headed back down the other side.  The climb down was supposed to be worse then the side we went up.  It wasn't so bad at first. We stopped at the shelter to grab water then head back down. A whole group from Tuffs college was there. They were interested in us and thru hiking. They asked the typical questions about how long we were on trail and how had it gone so far. Maga and I left and then headed down Mt Moosilauke. The trail disappeared and was replaced by boulders, steep slanted rocks, thick roots, steep stairs, and mud. We had to go down really slow to keep from tripping and killing ourselves. The terrain could have been on the next American Ninja Warrior. At one point I almost tripped on my trekking pole which would have flung me down a steep rock into trees. Another part of the trail looked like it was hit with a boulder. There wasn't much to stand on except a few rocks. Luckily there was a rope to hang on to. It took us about 2 hours to go 1.5 miles. We were warned about low mile days in the whites. At the road crossing we got a hitch into Lincoln. The driver had picked up several hikers before and knew about Chet's place in town. Chet allowed hikers to stay at his place for free or if you had some money to donate.  When we arrived at Chet's a man came hobbling down the stairs and sat in a wheelchair. He asked us a series of questions like where did you come from and what mountain you would be climbing next. We answered the kinsman mountains. He said that was wrong.  We didn't know and he said thru hikers would know which mountain they would be hiking over next. He was just messing with us. He let us into his place and showed us around. There was a common room with bunks, laundry, and a shower. He had a whole bunch of hiker supplies and food as well. Maga and I got settled in then went to the Price chopper to resupply. I got enough food for 3 days and then headed to McDonald's. Maga showed off his Chinese speaking skills when he asked the woman at the counter where she was from in China. We ate off the dollar menu since it was the most calories per buck. Back at Chet's there was his story in a binder on the table. Chet was an avid hiker and was a big part of the hiker community. He was an outdoors man and loved the mountains. One day he was tinkering with his camp stove when it exploded in his face. The stove had burned 40 percent of his body and he had inhaled some of the white gas which burned his lungs. He was hospitalized for months and the doctors put him in a chemically induced coma since the pain was so bad. Through all the medications he had lost his ability to walk. By opening his house to hikers he can live through them. I hope he can get back on the trail someday. I put the book down then headed to bed.  Tonight I'm thinking how Chet can get back on the trail.