Date: 2009-08-14
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

The three southbound girls planned on leaving at 5 am because they thought they needed that much time to make it to Lakes of the Clouds. (We all thought they were crazy!) They ended up leaving a bit later, so I ended up giving them some of my extra food. The weight of my pack was ridiculous for the terrain I was moving across! The rest of us moved outside to wait for everyone to have their breakfast. I did get to watch the morning skit, which was quite amusing. The boys dressed up as birds and squawked, flapped, pecked, and perched down the aisle and among the patrons, trying their best to earn good tips.    I met one of my journal readers outside after we had eaten our breakfast and swept up the hut. He recognized me and said that he had been enjoying my journal! Nice! Then, I headed up Mount Madison. It was a steep climb and I moved slowly. On the summit, I came across a group. One of the men said that I looked good- that my cheeks were still flush. He said that a lot of the thru-hikers that he had seen looked frail and gaunt.    Today, we had beautiful views and could see the trail stretching out in front of us as well as the ridge which we would have to descend. We had more boulders to traverse and the going was slow. I was really glad that I did not attempt this last night! It turned out to be the slowest section of the trail for me thus far. L-train passed me and pointed out some of the landmarks. Then, she took off to try and catch her friends. The day grew hotter and hotter and I got more and more tired as I made my way down the mountain. Descending is so much harder than climbing for me. It takes a lot of energy to concentrate and brace yourself on every single step. I have found that the moment I lose focus, I take a potentially dangerous misstep. I had to be very patient and my knees had to do a lot of work.   I finally made it to Pinkham Notch and got there before they closed the snack bar! I was so tired that I decided to spend the night there. The woman at the lodge thought they were full for the night, but she was wrong and I ended up getting a 4 person bunkroom all to myself! Perfect! I had a grilled chicken sandwich, lemonade, and brownie, and picked up my maildrop. Then, I signed the register at the desk. Getting to Pinkham Notch was another big moment for me, as this had been my basecamp for all of my hikes in the White Mountains. I knew the man who worked at the store and had heard him talk about how much he loves to turn hikers into backpackers, and backpackers into long distance hikers, so that is what I based my entry on. Two years ago, I had talked to my very first thru-hiker in the dining room here, when I visited as a day hiker. The following year, I returned to the same spot as a backpacker, and here I was now, having walked all the way from Georgia! It all happened so quickly!      Afterwards, I went back to my room to take a little nap before dinner! I hoped they had a nature presentation after dinner, but the girl said she was deciding between three videos and let me pick one. I then felt obligated to stay and watch... It took quite some time to get the VCR going and the video wasn¢t all that captivating. I went back to my room to sort through my things, label my pictures, and go to bed.