Date: 2019-08-30
From: US 2, Gorham, NH

To: Imp Shelter (NH)
Miles today: 8.0

I slept a little better last night. However, at one point, one of my earplugs fell out, and I couldn¢t find it. I would lay with one ear down and the other with an earplug in. When I needed to change sides, I would have to switch which ear the earplug was in. I finally gave up about 4:30 and got up to take a shower. We took our time getting out of the hostel this morning. We had 8 miles to hike and even though we are crossing a +4000¢ peak, the way nobos were talking, it wouldn¢t be that difficult. Also, while we were taking our zero yesterday, Sidewinder did a 21-mile slack pack. That puts him at least 2 days ahead of us. We said goodbye to the one hiker we¢ve done the most hiking with. He¢s going to try to pick up his pace and catch Dr. Scholl. Maybe we¢ll see him again south of Damascus. We hiked .1 mile down the highway and then entered the White Mountain National Forest. 2 miles in we get to our first shelter. Just before the shelter, there¢s an orientation group of Brown students. At the shelter is a group of Bates students. They head sobo while I make use of the privy. The privy is a disaster. Don¢t worry, I¢m not going to give you details. There¢s a couple of hikers that passed us while we were stopped at the shelter that we quickly catch up to at a stream crossing. There¢s not much water, but the stream bed is full of large rocks that are difficult to walk on. I duck under a fallen tree and gain the lead. I¢m almost to the other side when I step on a rock and down I go! It doesn¢t hurt at all, but definitely counts as a fall. It takes me a little work to get back up as I¢m carrying a lot of weight in food. As soon as I start hiking, SC steps on the exact same rock and also falls. The other 2 hikers learn from this and decide to take a different route.A little later, we pass the Bates students and I ask if I can share some trail karma information. They agree and I begin by saying, ¢It was probably the Brown students, not you guys,¢ before sharing what I saw in the privy. Anyway, it seemed to go well. They are heading to the same shelter as us, so hopefully we won¢t have a repeat of the issues we had with the Harvard students. SC and I plan to meet up on top of our climb for today, Mt. Moriah. I¢m almost to the top, and I try to rush to get to SC. It looks like it¢s about to rain, and SC doesn¢t have a pack cover. In my haste, I do something new: I fall going uphill! I trip and bang my right knee on a rock. That is fall #14. Just after I hurt my knee, I meet up with 3 day hikers coming down. ¢We have a message for you,¢ the first one tells me. Apparently SC had decided to go on to the shelter. Going down from Moriah is uneventful. There are a few places where I start to slip and am able to catch myself. Is the tread wearing out on these shoes already? I only have 200 miles on them.When I get to the shelter, SC is on the phone. I filter water, set up my sleep system, and make dinner. She gets off the phone when dinner is ready.I feel good about today because I left late and still made it to the shelter and didn¢t have to use my headlamp. I also passed 12 sobo hikers. Granted, they are all section hikers, but still.