Date: 2006-08-17
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: US-2 (Gorham, NH)
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: fog

Got up this morning around 6:30 and it was still pretty dark outside. Most of this was due to camping down in the notch with steep slopes all around us. The skies were clear but until mid-day this area surly stays dark. After the big lasagna with Mac and Cheese dinner last night I wasn¢t too hungry. After a trail bar and about a liter of water I decided to take off to Carter Notch Hut to meet up with Donkey and Hot Springs. It was only a hundred yards or so down the trail and they decided to stay there for the night since camping in the notch was limited. The trail to the hut split off of the AT and skirted past a small pond. The hut was nestled just past the pond in the heart of Carters Notch. When standing at the hut you have to look almost directly straight up just to see the sky. What a cool place to build such a unique cabin. I made my way to the door and dropped my pack before entering. Inside I found Donkey and Hot Springs finishing up breakfast and contemplating a game of Yhatzee. I took a look around and spoke to the crew that was there. Since it is a small hut and is out of the main stream of hikers that pass through the Presidentials only two croo staffs this hut at a time. About this time they started doing the morning radio check with base camp. Every morning the base camp calls to all the huts in the White Mountains and does a radio check. During this time a weather report for that day is announced, the number registered guest for the upcoming night is recorded, and any other Appalachian Mountain Club news that has surfaced in the past 24-hours is broadcasted. After all the staff is on call for a week or better at a time here at the huts and rarely do they get to visit civilization to catch up on current events. Donkey and Hot Springs Packed up and after we took a look around the bunkhouse the three of us took off toward Carter Dome. I stopped at the viewpoint just above the hut to take in the shear ruggedness of the landscape. In just four tenths of a mile the trail climbed over 700¢ to reveal an arial view of the hut and pond. After taking a couple of pictures I continued up to Carter Dome and across to Mount Hight where the trees opened up to reveal great views once again. This time though we were on the northern side of the Presidentials and had a clear view of Mount Washington now two days behind us. On the way down Mount Hight I ran into Shasta and H-bomb doing some south bound hiking. With a puzzled look on my face and an even more puzzled look on their face I asked why are you south bounding? Come to find out the girls had taken a wrong turn where the trail wasn¢t marked well and ended up on Zeta Pass. Zeta Pass goes around the peak of Mount Hight and reconnects with the AT on the other side. They had picked back up on the AT and ended up south bounding to the summit. Being troopers and wanting to complete the AT in its entirety they back track all the way to the split to complete the small section that they skipped earlier. I continued toward the IMP campsite over the South, Middle, and North peaks of Carter Mountain. The cabin at IMP was a four-walled log cabin and would be really nice on one of those really cold days after snowshoeing. No heat and only about 10¢ x 12¢ but most of the shelters on the trail are three sided and that forth wall would really come in handy to knock off the wintry wind. I really enjoyed this area and the rest on to US-2. The guidebook has a footbridge marked to crossing the Rattle River but during out crossing it was out of service and a trail crew was completely rebuilding it. Mid afternoon I started hearing the cars on US-2 and shortly after emerged from the green canopy. By this time we had all gotten back together and decided to hitch into Gorham for the night. Donkey and Hot Springs had to return to Hanover, NH to go to Hot Spring¢s grandmother¢s funeral so they got a lift from one side of the road and the rest of us from the other. Earlier in the day Baro had gotten food on his mind and we had not seen him. Hopefully he was ahead of us and waiting in town. Our ride dropped us off at the Royalty Inn and we checked in for the night. I wanted to grab a quick snack and visit the outfitter so Jane and I called Baro and met him over at Burger King just down Main Street. He had gotten a ride into town a just a little bit before we did and had gone straight to Burger King. The part that really sucked though is he jumped in some old boys truck and when he got out in town left his trekking poles in the back of his truck. A hiker is basically useless with out poles after using them for nearly 1,900 miles. As a blessing the guy that gave him a ride noticed the poles and brought them back. We finished up eating and spent some time resupplying around town and washing cloths back at the motel room. Several hours later we all met up at Mr. Pizzas for dinner and called it a night shortly after. Tonight in Gorham; Baro, Jangles, Shasta, H-Bomb, and I