Date: 2005-07-14
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Miles hiked today : 12.512.0 AT miles + 0.5 mile of side trailI woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning feeling fairly well rested. I packed up, ate breakfast, and hiked out with Opa at 6:50 a.m. We had opted for the easy hike today, which meant I had only 12.0 AT miles to cover.The morning began with a small descent followed by a huge 2,340 foot climb up Smarts Mountain. The climb itself wasn't so bad, but the high level of humidity had the sweat rolling down my face. At 8:30 a.m., Opa needed to defog his glasses, so I took a 15 minute rest and water break. Continuing on, I reached the intersection with the Smarts Mountain Ranger Trail at 10:00 a.m. after having climbed up several sheer rock faces. The rock faces were at angles ranging from roughly 30 to 45 degrees and, thankfully, weren't very slippery, even though they were wet.At 10:20 a.m., 0.5 mile after the Smarts Mountain Ranger Trail, I reached the Smarts Mountain Shelter, a.k.a. Firewarden's Cabin. I climbed the fire tower on site and was treated to a far reaching view. Although the farthest peaks were still shrouded in the morning haze, I believe I was able to see Mount Moosilauke, which is the first peak, on the AT, above treeline for NOBOs. From the fire tower, Mount Moosilauke is 24.7 miles away, which means I'll probably be crossing it on Sunday. To reach Moosilauke's summit, one must climb more than 3,000 feet and I've been told, by a SOBO, to expect to climb the equivalent of Moosilauke twice a day as I pass through the White Mountains. It sounds like I've got my work cut out for me.Opa and I decided to take a long break at the shelter since we only had 5.3 more miles to hike. I ate lunch and then descended down a steep side trail to get water. While walking down the trail, I used a very tall 6" diameter birch tree to brace myself, but was surprised when the tree snapped off near the base. It was leaning against another tree, across the trail, so I pushed it out of the way, only to watch it snap into 3 pieces when hit the ground. I was glad that it hadn't fallen on me as I walked by and saw that the inside was rotten. As such, I carefully passed by the other birch trees, unsure whether any of them might fall without warning. I gathered water for Opa and I, then returned to the shelter to read and nap.When I awoke from my nap, I noticed that the clouds were quickly rolling in. I suggested to Opa that we move on, packed up, and headed out at 1:20 p.m. I descended 1,795 feet down Smarts Mountain and could hear intermittent thunder rumbling in the distance. I finished the descent at 2:45 p.m. when I arrived at South Jacob's Brook and took a 10 minute rest and water break. At the end of my break, light rain began to fall, though it never amounted to much. The climb up to Hexacuba Shelter had me heavily sweating again due to the humidity and I arrived at 3:50 p.m.The shelter itself is fairly unique, as it is a hexagonal shaped dome with a center support. Two of the sides are open and it could easily sleep 20 people, if they slept radially. Upon arriving, I began treating 2 liters of water, then pitched my tent in the shelter, using two large rocks as anchors. If it rains tonight, I don't want to pack up a wet tent and I don't want to brave the mosquitos without a tent.Once my water treatment was finished, I cooked dinner, but wasn't quite full after I had finished the contents of my cookpot. I would have cooked another packet of noodles, except I only have one packet left. In fact, my food bag is probably the lightest it has ever been, which has made carrying my pack easier. Hopefully it doesn't bcome painful to carry again when I pick up my maildrop in Glencliff. I remedied my hunger situation by polishing off a bag of tamari cashews and then Opa gave me a burrito made with seasoned TVP, yum!Though I didn't need to use the privy, some of the entries in the register indicated that it was rather interesting. Many of the privies at the DOC maintained shelters have been very unique, so after dinner, I went to check out the privy. It was in the shape of a pentagon and the door bore the words "Penta Privy" and was marked with a pentagram with 2 points facing upward. Back at the shelter, I mentioned the orientation of the pentagram to Opa and Tomcat. For the uninformed, a pentagram with 2 points facing upwards is associated with Satanism, while a pentagram with a single point facing upward is associated with Wicca and similar faiths. Tomcat speculated that the people who built the privy probably didn't know the significance of the orientation, though Opa and I laughingly said together, "Maybe they did!"The only thing left to do this evening was to journal and read. Today is my 4 month anniversary on the trail and I expect to finish on my 5 month anniversary and I only need to average about 13 miles per day to finish on that date. Tomorrow morning, I'm hiking 8.0 miles to Dancing Bones Eco-Village, which is an alternative community that extends an open invitation to hikers. They offer showers, tenting, lodging in their community building, and there is the possibility of a meal invitation. If the eco-village is interesting, I'll probably stay the night, otherwise I'll try to make it into Glencliff to stay at the hostel.Bedtime at 9:00 a.m.