Date: 2004-09-11
From: Gatehead Hut 

To: Crawford Notch 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Me & Franconia Ridge in the BackgroundStart: Galehead Hut @ 0926Finish: Crawford Notch @ 1748 Miles: 14.7Weather: Outstanding!Breakfast: Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Blueberry Muffins.Lunch: Trailmix Dinner: Cheddar Broccoli Soup w/ Ham & Croutons, 2 Starcrunch.Trail Conditions: Steep climb up South Twin Mountain, steep descent to Zealand Falls, Flat and downhill all the way to Crawford Notch.Animals: Birds.People: Ranger Jan, Blues Brothers, Gatehead Hut croo, tons of weekend hikers.I suppose I prefer things in the extreme out here on the trail. It makes the day so much more memorable. Yesterday was extremely sucky, I will never forget the experience. Today was the best day on the trail so far this entire trip. I¢m not God so I don¢t know how the weather works, but over night it went from extremely bad to amazingly good. A day I will not forget.The stars last night were definitively a good sign, but none of us in our right mind even expected what we saw in the morning. The air was completely dry, hardly a cloud in the sky and the sun was slowly rising over South Twin Peak illuminating the expansive valley in the fore of the hut. View from Galehead HutFrom the hut we could see everything we walked over yesterday, and considering the steep valleys it was no wonder we were battered by winds along Franconia Ridge. After the hut guests finished eating and left for the day we ate breakfast with the croo and began our chores for the work-for-stay. We had to sweep the floors and scrub down the women¢s bathroom first with soap and water and then a mild bleach solution. Between the four of us we were done in an hour and on our way.My pack was soaked from the previous days rain, however, quickly dried in the bright sun. The day began with a steep, but beautiful climb up South Twin Peak. Several hundred yards from the top I turned around and from the trail you could see the entire Franconia Range. Atop the mountain there was a 360-degree view of the entire Whites. The weather report from Mt. Washington advised that visibility was 120 miles. The four of us rested atop the summit for nearly an hour and took pictures and soaked up the amazing views. View enroute to Mt. Guyot The day was so wonderful and I was in no rush to walk quickly. I rested often and checked out all the viewpoints. Atop Zealand Mountain I took a side trail to the summit, expecting views, but instead ran into a group of people raising an American flag. Today was the third anniversary of September 11 and people were raising flags on all of New Hampshire¢s 48 peaks above 4,000 feet high. A very noble tribute. I had forgotten what day it was and was somewhat surprised to remember the significance of this date. Considering that I have friends that have now served in Iraqi I feel that much more fortunate to be on such an adventure. View from Mt. GuyotAs I walked today I thought a lot about my ordeal and yesterday¢s weather. My entire time on the trail I have never felt so sore or physically fatigued, and I know it is due to the battering I took. At the time I was on the ridge I was not really scared or overcome with fear. I was too busy concentrating on getting one foot put in front of the other and not being blown off the ridge to grasp the total severity of the dilemma. There was one point where I stopped to rest and felt panicked when I assessed the position I was in. I quickly changed my thoughts and forced myself to focus on moving through the storm. I guess today the gravity of the situation sunk in, and I am truly fortunate to have come out unharmed. I attribute this to God¢s providence (I was praying consistently) and some tactical thinking on my part. I learned today that the winds were a steady 60 miles per hour with recorded gusts up to 86 miles per hour.I got to Zealand Falls Hut and it had taken me 5 hours to hike 7 miles. That was so awesomely lazy. The Hut was abuzz with activity as like 30 people were scampering around with their packs and trying to arrange their day hikes from the Hut. The Huts are really very gimmicky and a rip-off (I¢ll have more to come on this in tomorrows journal). Whitewall MountainAfter nearly having an anxiety attack from all the chatty yuppies around me, I returned to safety in the woods. The last half of the day was pitifully easy. It was as flat as Pennsylvania and I made good time, covering roughly 8 miles in under 4 hours.The four of us regrouped in the parking lot at Crawford Notch and decided to stealth camp for the night. I had really wanted to camp on Webster Cliffs but that entailed a 2,300 foot climb over 2 miles and I was simply too tired to really even move. We found a campsite along Crawford Brook, in Crawford Notch and stealth camped for the night.The night looks to be clear so I am simply cowboy camping with only my sleeping pad on the ground and me in my bag. The best way to camp¢¦.except when it¢s raining, but fortunately there is none of that in the forecast for tonight.One Year Reflection