Date: 2007-09-11
From: AMC - Madison Spring Hut

To: Pinkham Notch, NH 16
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light intensity shower rain

In the morning, I started the day with a quick climb up Mt. Madison. The hike up wasn't bad, but the fog was as thick as ever. The extremely steep climb down was much, much tougher. I had to pay attention to where I placed my feet at every step or risk a long and dangerous fall. The rocks were extremely slick. And I could only see one cairen (piles of rocks marking the trail) ahead of me at a time, the rest being obscured by the fog. There were lots of other side trails crossing the AT, so I had to make sure I was staying on the correct path. There were no points of reference - only fields of rocks. This is where I took an additional spill, scraping up my left ankle pretty good and landing hard on the palm of my left hand - bruising it at the exact same place I bruised it a few days ago. Ouch. Working my way down the trail, I had another incident. Finally below treeline, but with the descent as steep as ever, I needed to relieve myself. There were no flat spots in sight, so I balanced myself and did my business. Until my foot slipped and I stumbled around to get my footing, while peeing on myself. The challenges us thru-hikers face that are never talked about... Cleaning myself up as best I could, I did what any other thru-hiker would do - continued on.It was a slow, slow, slow, slow climb down. It took 3 hours to hike just 3 miles. Eventually, the trail reached the bottom of the valley and became flat and easy - just in time for a cold, steady rain to start. Well, no rain, no Maine. In the early afternoon, I finally came to Pinkham Notch and the headquarters for the Appalachian Money Club. Inside, warm and almost dry (that would take awhile), I saw Stroker, and unexpectedly ran into Doc from Team Ninja. According to Doc, Ninja was only a day or two ahead (he had to get off the trail for a few days - I don't remember why.) They decided to slow down after chipping in to get Dogman an airline ticket home and back so he could attend a wedding at the end of the month. That was why they were originally hoping to summit on 9/25-9/27. Good to know.With the rain continuing, Stroker and I decided to hitch the 11 miles into Gorham, NH. Standing in the pouring rain for nearly 1/2 hour, a tractor trailer truck (without the trailer) finally stopped to give us a ride. Dropping my gear at a hostel, grabbing a quick shower, it was then time for food. We each polished off a large pizza and several beers for diner. Parting ways for the evening, I was walking back to the hostel when I ran into Joker!Joker had taken several zero days due to an injury. It appears he has an infection in his leg. The doctor he saw wants him to stay off the leg for another week, but in typical thru-hiker fashion, that's not going to happen. He'll be hiking out tomorrow. I also learned that the rest of Team Ninja were out and about in the surrounding towns, and that Moss was getting back on the trail to finish up with them. They're now looking to finish up sometime during the first week of October. Maybe I'll continue on with them for this final leg. Maybe not. I'm really not sure yet. One more think I'll play by ear. I need to say a special thank you to everyone who's been sending me packages along the trail. Special thanks go to Mom & Dad, and the Morton's (Dave, Gretchen, Ingred and Grace) who sent packages to Gorham. For the first time, I didn't need to stop by a store to supplement my mail drop. I have a full 5 day supply (and then some, donated to other thru-hikers.) The treats you send really are appreciated, and perk up any day. Oh, I am now also hiking with a hot wheels car, something to keep me occupied during this final stretch. Many thanks...