Date: 2011-07-05
From: Mt. Lafayette, NH

To: Frost Trail to Galehead Hut, NH
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Start Mt Lafayette, NH, mile 1815.0Stop Frost Trail to Galehead Hut, NH, mile 1821.3Hiked 6.3 miles NorthboundSleep Bed in Galehead HutCell minimalOld Goat's notes:C6 has an excellent explanation of the hike today. The only thing I'll add is Mount Garfield is very steep on both sides and a very tough climb. We hiked in the stream coming down from the top, this added additional stress because you can slip and fall very easily on wet rocks. The Croo member told us that the hut will not be full to capacity tonight. That just means fewer people to make noise tonight. I don't know if this is a factor or not but this hut Galehead Hut is the most remote hut in The Whites. The hut is very nice it was rebuilt in 1999-2000 so it is modern in many ways. Remember when I said it is the most remote hut, well it is, but the facilities inside are handicapped compliant. I don't know when the first handicap person, with a wheelchair will get up here but the place is ready. Any handicap person who can get here should be capable to do anything. Don't get me wrong the ADA law is a good thing back home but a little ridiculous out in the boonies. I hope the trail tomorrow is a lot easier than today. We have big miles to do and a short time to get there. Check 6's notes:What a grueling day. The Greenleaf Hut (where we stayed last night) is 1.1 mile from the top of Mt Lafayette, and 1,000 feet lower! So this morning started with the grueling 1.1 back up to the top of Mt Lafayette. And we can't count that 1.1 mile either way because it's not part of the AT. We started from the hut at 8am and just got to this hut at 4pm. A very hard and very slow day. But we made it and we have dinner, beds, and breakfast. Yay! These huts are nice. Not like nice hotels, of course...bunk beds in small rooms, shared non-flush toilets, no amenities, but a closed building to get away from the bugs and cold (well, no heat, but the sun does a nice job during the day). The hut last night was very noisy with a full house. Most of the people were a group of 8 families with kids who were there for the night. The huts have easy (short) trails to get to them, so it's pretty common to see families with kids here, but not usually such a large group of families at one time. The group said they did this last year for the first time, but at one of the other huts. It's nice that this hut is quiet right now. Last night and this morning was too noisy for my taste, but I'm happy to see families do this with their kids, so it was tolerable for overnight. Tree Beard and Storm Song worked for stay there last night. We've so enjoyed meeting those guys and bumping into them over and over. For those who may not be familiar with work for stay, thru-hikers can ask hut masters if they can do some labor to be able to stay for the night at no charge. If the hut master approves, they get to eat left over food and sleep on the dining room floor after having done some labor. Tree Beard and Storm Song were waiting outside during dinner when the hut master announced that a thru-hiker will be talking about thru-hiking at 8:15pm. When we went outside after dinner Tree Beard and Storm Song said the announcement was the first they heard about it. We all got a good laugh about that. Tree Beard did a great job talking about his hike while Storm Song cleaned the stove and oven. A couple times yesterday we crossed paths with a woman who was just "playing" on the mountain. We're gasping for breath and working hard for each step and she was just running around the mountain on her day off enjoying herself. She was at the hut when we got there yesterday so we had some time to chat with her. Turns out she's on the lock search and rescue team and loves the mountain. She told us about some of the rescues. One in particular was amazing. She was out winter hiking and came saw some footprints that weren't right for the conditions (sneakers). She found the man and saved his life. The story is far too long to go into here, but it's an amazing story. Especially since she was just out hiking for the pleasure of it but had everything she needed to save the man's life. A long time later the search and rescue team received a generous donation and a letter from the man (he never identified himself). He explained he had gone up the mountain to commit suicide, but when Pam cared enough to keep him alive (not knowing he was there to commit suicide), he went home and got into therapy. Wow. It's interesting to see that people use these huts as stopping points for day hikes but don't stay here. There were some people here when we got here who have left to go back down the mountain. Cool. It's wonderful to be relaxing in the warm sunshine on the hut porch as we await supper. The day was hard, but satisfying. There were some very challenging rock scrambles, but I felt I did pretty well, so I feel good about the day. Sent from my iPhone