Date: 2010-08-16
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

16 August Monday ¢ 14.7 to Crawford NotchThe sound of the windometer howled all night. No wonder this place is called Gale-head! There was a strong rainstorm last night according to SnowFox and Trinkette. I had no problem sleeping through it on the wooden bench inside the hut. I have to do my work hours this morning because I missed all the opportunities last night. I was journaling off in the corner all yesterday evening. We swept the floor, set the tables and straightened the bunk rooms. I can¢t believe people pay $80 to sleep in a bunk room with 9 people; no showers and 4 inch foam mats between them an plywood. We get coffee and omelets with cold oatmeal and sugary bread. I ate a lot. My appetite is shameful now!It¢s completely a white out this morning. It¢s not raining but the dew point/humidity is 100%. I see why this place is referred to as ¢The Whites¢. I¢m glad I came all the way over the ridgeline while it was sunny outside. I leave the hut after contacting Lish about where she sent my next mail drop in Crawford notch. Lish told me that her queen bee had died. Her bee¢s had the forethought to hatch another one out before it was too late. Bees are strange, weird, and slightly creepy little creatures.The hike to Zealand Hut was slippery, muddy and wet. No rain but the branches reached how and soaked me. My legs are covered in mud all the way to my knee. No views at all until I was low in the valley. I noticed the gravity powered water pump first about Zealand Hut. That¢s a very intriguing design. I¢d spend the remainder of the day considering how it works and how efficiently collected water, but also wasted large amounts of water because it lacks a shut off mechanism. The water it collects spills all over the ground when their 500 gallon tank is full. To their defense, the pump is right beside a waterfall and plenty of the wet stuff.Somehow SnowFox beat me to this hut yet again. He watches me from across the table as I eat all of the food I have left over. I¢m resupplying this evening and there¢s no need for more than what Lish sent me. I¢m pretty nervous to see how much she sent. Mostly because of that 5000ft climb tomorrow! I eat some of my dinners for lunch and promptly pass out asleep on the table afterwards. I had one arm under my face and my hand protecting my mouth from the table surface. When I awoke, hours later, my hand contained a puddle of mashed potato smelling drool. I¢d slept for 2 hours while the patrons talked and made noise. I was EXHAUSTED last night and this morning. When I awoke on the table I was so embarrassed that I packed up and left immediately.After 1 mile the trail became quite tolerable and peaceful. Flat on small pea sized rocks. I¢m thankful for this terrain despite the rocks getting in my shoes. I do get a view of the valley and high rock cliffs by the river and waterfall. It appears as though they have a rock slide problem here. I¢m uneasy about walking beneath the avalanche sites. What do you do if you¢re caught in an avalanche of falling boulders and rock?The area after Ethan pond campsite is a giant swamp. The best part about NH is its wet without bugs and mosquitoes! I¢ve gotten good at balancing on rocks in the mud pits. Rarely do I get my shoes muddy. The trail takes a nose dive after entering the old railroad bed. My knees are upset about the pounding I¢ve given them in a mad dash for Crawford notch. When I get to the notch, Rock Dancer is there providing trail magic! Beer, soda, chips and sandwiches! He¢s there courtesy of a family in Florida who donated money to him in the hopes that they could provide some hiker magic all the way from the orange state! They definitely put some sunshine in my day! Thanks guys!Rock Dancer gives me the lowdown on the nearby general store where my package is being held. They only hold mail for their guests. I don¢t want to leave the trail to stay in someone¢s smelly basement so I¢m hoping they¢ll make an exception for me. I want to get my package and go sleep in the WHITES!Rock Dancer offers to take me there and bring me back if I don¢t stay. The store is three miles away. On the way there, I get my first glimpse of the climb for tomorrow. What awaits me is a whole lot of rocky ledges that seem to keep going until they¢re out of sight in the heavens. Looks like fun! I¢m excited but scared to death of Mt. Washington!Great news when I get to the store! I get my package without a word or question from the associate working for the campground. Rock Dancer shows me a nice stealth camp site by the river.When we return to the trailhead, Tree and Jenn walk out of the woods. I wasn¢t expecting them at all! They heard the weather report also and wanted to get an early start on Washington Mountain! So glad to see them¢¦thought I¢d never see Tree again.We hang out with Rock Dancer until it was dark and then walked to our campsite. I wash 14 thick mud from my legs in the river before getting into my tent. Tonight would be my wildest encounter with any creature on the whole AT.As I laid in my tent it sounded as if something was trying to get into my backpack. A few times I could hear something dragging at it. My food bag is in the tent with me. Remember: my food bag is my pillow. The only thing outside my tent is my backpack. I realize that there¢s a dirty Ziploc bag in the side pocket. I remove the trash and put it in my food bag with me. For a little while it¢s silent and right when I¢m almost asleep¢¦What¢s that?...The rustling of my plastic bag liner wakes me again and I turn on my headlamp and have a look. I¢m lying in my tent and it seems like my backpack has gotten further way. What could that be? A ferret? A fox?The answer comes when I lay with my finger on the trigger of the headlamp button and wait for the rattling of my bag. When it came back again I turned on my light. I couldn¢t see anything but my twitching backpack getting further away. The pack stops moving and I feel pretty scared. My heart is in my throat at the point that the creatures face pops out from behind my bag. Its 1 foot away from my face. It¢s dark black marble like eyes glare at me. Its shiny wet nose is flared almost as big as mine. He takes off running and I wonder if I should pinch myself. Is this a dream?What the hell do I do with a raccoon? How do you keep things away from a raccoon that isn¢t afraid of humans? I put my pack inside the tent with me. My whole tent wreaks and smells like the worst body odor I¢ve ever experienced. I lay there hoping the damn creature leaves me alone! I don¢t have anywhere else to hide. Will I have to leave this place if he starts chewing through my tent?I hear him close by my tent again and realize he¢s messing with my water bottle. I put everything inside the tent¢¦even my stinking shoes!The solution to my problem resulted in a problem for Tree and Jenn. Unfortunately, I couldn¢t help but laugh when the raccoon began harassing them too! They were making noise and rustling but the unafraid raccoon chewed through their tent and took their entire bag of bagels!I catch my breath from laughing when it becomes quiet and peaceful again. I hug my smelly backpack like a teddy bear and hope the raccoon will not soon return.