Date: 2005-07-16
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: light rain

Miles hiked today : 8.57.9 AT miles + 0.2 mile of side trail + 0.4 wrong way mileI woke up this morning at 5:35 a.m. and was quite tired, as I'd gone to bed rather late last night. The fans in the hostel made the room rather chilly and I'd been too lazy to get my sleeping bag out, so I used my bug net as a blanket. I gathered my maildrop and groceries and headed downstairs to pack my foodbag, then returned upstairs to pack my gear.After packing, I went downstairs and began watching "Clerks." Happily, I was able to watch the entire movie before Opa and I headed out to the trail at 9:10 a.m. My pack was heavy, but felt fine as I roadwalked to the trail. The first obstacle of the day was a ford, though it didn't look that deep. Conveniently, there was a downed tree laying across the brook, though it was necessary to climb up and over the soil filled root structure, which was a bit tricky. After passing over the root structure, I carefully balanced as I walked across the trunk sideways and made it to the far bank without incident. As Opa was crossing, I snapped a picture, which caused us both to laugh very hard. This wasn't such a great thing, as Opa was still in danger of falling in, though he also reached the far bank without incident and we hiked on.Beginning the long climb up to Mount Moosilauke, I bypassed the side trail to Jeffers Brook Shelter and at USFS 19, I took a wrong turn. The AT in the White Mountain National Forest is referred to by the local trail names and there is a considerable lack of white blazes. As such, my wrong turn was due to my thinking that the trail would follow an uphill course, though it turned out this was not the case. After walking for 0.2 mile, I figured that I was going the wrong way and returned to the last point where I knew I was on the AT. As I approached the turnoff, I saw a white blaze in the opposite direction that I'd previously traveled. If I would have looked more closely, I wouldn't have hiked the wrong way.Continuing up the AT, there was another confusing junction, though I didn't go the wrong way this time. After a short section of trail on paved Sanitarium Road, I began the steeper part of the climb up Moosilauke and was experiencing some slight pain in my right knee due to the weight of my pack and the constant tall rock steps. At 10:30 a.m., my pack weight was beginning to hurt the small of my back, though I toughed it out and kept hiking until 11:10 a.m. I'd gained 2,000 feet since leaving Glencliff and thought it was a great time for a lunch break. I drank a liter of orange juice and ate a huge deli sandwich from the grocery in Warren, which must have weighed at least a pound, if not more. After a 20 minute break, I put my pack on and noted that it felt much better, having lost at least 3 pounds of weight.Pushing up the hill, at 12:25 p.m., I reached the side trail to the south peak of Mount Moosilauke, but continued up the AT. The trail leveled out and was lined on other side with dwarf fir trees, which was visually pleasing and reminded me of home. There was a sign stating that we were entering an fragile alpine zone and cautioned us to stay on the path to prevent damage to the environment. Minutes later, I was shocked when I witnessed a female adult day hiker rip a large handful of lichen out of the ground along the trail. When I caught up to her, I asked her whether she knew that the lichen grew at an extremely slow rate of 1 cm per year and was answered by the sheepish look on her face. I continued by telling her that this was an alpine zone where plant life grows very slowly and suggested that she keep that in mind in the future. I'm fairly certain she got the message.At 12:30 p.m., the trees were gone and I found myself above treeline for the first time on the AT. The morning clouds were still present, so there weren't any views to speak of. Regardless, I was extremely pleased when I reached the Mount Moosilauke summit sign at 12:50 p.m. and was surprised at the large number of people sitting around. It turns out that there is a lodge nearby with a 3.6 mile connecting trail that guests use to summit Moosilauke. Chances are that that trail is much easier than the AT approach. I sat on the summit, talked with some day hikers, answered the standard questions about my hike, and was rewarded with 2 nectarines, which I packed away for later.The afternoon sun started to peek out, which was raising the temperature, and I needed to rid myself of excess water, which I was hesitant to do in front of a bunch of tourists. As such, I hiked on at 1:15 p.m. and waited until the summit was out of view to take care of business. I continued on and, after a brief descent, a brief climb, and a very steep descent, I arrived at Beaver Brook Shelter at 2:35 p.m.I was glad to be at the shelter after a difficult climb. My right knee had stopped hurting after I hit treeline on the way up, so I was able to fully enjoy the summit of Moosilauke. At the shelter, I snacked a bit and immensely enjoyed a nectarine, though I gave the other to Opa. After snacking, I journaled and read before cooking dinner.Shortly after dinner, at 7:30 p.m., a massive rainstorm began and pounded the ground. Thankfully, I was in the shelter, though I couldn't help but wonder what the trail was going to be like tomorrow. After an hour or so, the rain dissipated and the sky actually cleared up a bit, allowing a partial view of the mountains in the distance. Tomorrow looks to be a challenging day with some huge climbs and descents. I'm not sure how far I'll hike, as I'm playing the Whites by ear.Bedtime at 9:00 p.m.