Date: 2004-08-25
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Another berry great day!It was nice and sunny all day. I got one raspberry early on then blueberries almost all day, more than I could possibly eat, especially since I hoped to get to Gorham.The ascent out of the notch was steep but mostly on stone steps. Allegheny, one of the other two thruhikers, caught up with me there and we climbed and talked until I stopped for a break at the top of Carter Dome. The hiking was fairly reasonable after that and the views from the heights were great. The valleys were blanketed in fog like a fluffy river. I got a shot towards Gorham with the town under a billowing blanket with a few pillars of clouds rising from warm spots, maybe paper mill chimneys. Doesn't Speak, the other thruhiker, caught up with me at the descent to Iris Campsite. It had some moderately intense rock-climbing but nothing like yesterday. Still, he slipped once and bent one pole so badly it was unusable and he had to strap the remains to his pack and use just one pole. He got ahead of me lower down and I did not see him again until the turnoff to Iris.It had taken me six hours to go about 7.5 miles. But it was already 1pm and I worried about making the remaining 8 miles to the road before dark. I went to the caretaker's tent hoping to find what the estimated hiking time was, but found neither a caretaker nor information. So I went on to the shelter thinking to do the conservative choice and stop for the night. I was thinking that if I did not get to the road two medium size days were better than a long one and a very short one. The next shelter was less than 2 miles short of the road. At the shelter Allegheny was finishing his lunch. He made it clear he planned to make Gorham. I found myself really wanting to get out of the AMC domain with its fees and restrictions. That galvanized me into action, along with knowing I had kept pace with the men all morning and they were heading for Gorham. I purified a liter and a half of water in my Platypus, put on my pack and tore the wrapper off a Bear Valley bar for lunch. I did not even stop long enough to eat, instead nibbling it as I hiked.It is amazing what a difference less steep trail made. I had fretted at the low miles of the last few days but now the miles piled up as I covered the last of the heights and started the descent to the road. The lower I got the flatter and smoother the trail was and soon I was loping along furiously.I got to Rattle River Shelter by 5, early enough there was no question of stopping. Now the Trail was practically smooth dirt road. A Mouse unchained, I found myself trotting and jogging along at an idiotic rate for a backpacker. Just as I heard the first truck go by I saw Allegheny up ahead and we got to the road together.I was ecstatic! I had made the whole 15 miles and had finished the Whites! Whoohoo, Mouse has her groove back!!!Just before the road we had met a 2002 thruhiker trailnamed Mahoosuc who suggested a good motel to stay at. After days of crowded bunkrooms that sounded better than a hostel. A group who had just finished a section hike from the north offered us a ride to Gorham. They even drove us to the grocery for supplies before dropping us at the motel.My room was the oddest motel room I had been in. It had one door to a shady second floor balcony with chairs and nice view and a second interior door that led to a bathroom down the hall past a stairway leading BEHIND the motel desk. It must have originally been living quarters for the motelkeeper. The key did not work on the inside door so I promptly found myself locked out in the hall and had to go downstairs, around the desk out the front door and back up to the balcony to let myself in again. Then we had to track down the TV remote. But it was a cute room with a very comfy bed so I did not mind.