Date: 2009-08-27
From: Jeffers Brook Shelter, NH

To: Eliza Brook Shelter, NH
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today we didn't feel like thru-hikers. The Whites have sort of a foreign feel to them, they are amazingly beautiful..like another planet.We woke up at 6:00am, snug in our winter bags, the temperature was cold for sure- we love being warm and cozy in our sleeping bags. We bundled up a little bit for the big climb this morning, but not too much. We were on the trail by 7:30am. We kept a steady pace up Moosilauke fully expecting it to take us 3-4 hours to summit. We only took one break for a snack, the rest of the time we chomped away slowly at the climb- taking half steps and breathing easy. We actually summitted under 2.5 hrs, it went by pretty smoothly. Granted, we were SO excited about the landscape. Above treeline the winds blew what I would guess to be 30-35mph- very cold wind. The sun was out and it was such a wonderful day for hiking.The hike down Moosilauke (the north side) was not quiet as easy, but just as beautiful. Just as we got back into treeline we saw someone very familiar that was slackpacking south, it was Alan! We hadn't seen him since NC. He used to hike with Seneca but we found out that Seneca had to leave the trail. Just behind Alan was George and Logan! Damascus was the last place we saw them. It was great to catch up with George and Logan again. We hiked with them for a while in the Smokies and NC, we've been wondering how they are doing... now we know!The descent got really crazy after the 1st mile. The rest of the way down was the steepest descent we've encountered yet on the A.T. There was rebar is several places to help hikers get down. For over a mile the descent skirted the side of a cascading waterfall. Because the rock faces are often wet due to the waterfall, trail maintainers have wedged/chiseled pieces of wood into the rock for firm footing. It was neat to experience but we sure were glad to have it over with by the time we reached the bottom. It took us over 3 hours to get to the bottom, and the descent was 1 mile shorter than the ascent.After a quick snack break at the bottom we said goodbye to Blackbird, Crazy Lady and Patches. During our climb down we linked up with them and periodically hiked together. They were getting a hitch into North Woodstock, NH, for a resupply. We plan to do a resupply there too, but later up the trail tomorrow. Berry and I tackled Wolfe Mtn next- a shorter climb but very steep. Both of us were listening to music/talks (she has the mp3 and I have a little radio) and keeping a steady pace. Before we knew it the time was 4pm and we were slowly starting to fatigue. The day hadn't been bad..I think we were so motivated by the sights that we had a lot of energy. That's another reason why I say today we didn't feel like thru-hikers- because we kept wanting to hike, instead of just walking to get to some point to have it over with for the day. It was nice! Anyway, once our bodies caught up to us we noticed that water was sparse in the area and the next source wouldn't be until the next shelter. That was a long way away... at least for us at the pace we had slowed down to.We hoped to find a source that perhaps wasn't listed in our book- it never happened. We ended up hiking all the way to the shelter, we barely made it by dark and the temps were getting low. On the way we ran into Lucky Joe who was heading south on a slack. Boy! We sure were glad to see him. He informed us that Moe was at a hostel 9 miles north recovering from giardia and staph infection- wow! Tomorrow we hope to find her and pay her a visit if she is still feeling bad. We set up everything in the dark and ate our ramen quickly. It's amazing how fast we can do everything now- like clock work, without even thinking, we have a system for everything. I couldn't help but chuckle about our first night on the trail, how scattered we were and how long it took us to do everything. Glad that's not tonight! A wonderful first full day in the Whites!