Date: 2008-09-02
From: Pinkham Notch - Joe Dodge Lodge

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I had to get up early to organize and sort through all my gear.  Sandbagger was going to be driving through Gorham and drop off things I didn't need. I was going to take his sleeping bag just in case I could not make the fifteen miles into Gorham.  The center was serving breakfast at 6:30. Unlike the huts, it was buffet style and all you could eat. I didn't want breakfast to be over, because that meant Sandbagger and I were parting company. He was headed back to California and his family. It was such an honor to have him come and hike some of the most challenging parts of the AT and the highest mountain in New Hampshire. I owe him many thanks for helping me through some tough days and getting me patched up after my fall.This morning I was heading up Wildcat Ski area to bag five peaks... all named Wildcat A, B, C, D, E. The Band Aid Kid described them as, "the most technical part of the trail for north bounders. There are no switchbacks, just rock steps, slabs and ledges." There were some great views of the mountains we had hiked the last couple of days. It took me three hours to go three miles and 2000 feet up to the gondola. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by riding the gondola which would have taken six minutes, but no sense in cheating at this point. There was no concession stand at the top. Boogie, Bacall and I ate snacks that we carried up the slope. The rest of the three miles took a little over three hours. It crossed over the other four mountains.  There was a spectacular vista from a ledge where you could see the Carter Notch Hut a thousand feet straight down. It was again rock steps, but many less ledges.  Carter hut is one of the older huts.  The original was built to replace a three-sided shelter. It is a stone building that has been remodeled several times. The latest in 1995 when composting toilets and a well were created. It is described as a cozy hut. The bunk houses are two separate buildings. Seth and Healin were the crew. When I checked in, I discovered that I was the only paying guest. It was such a change from all the other huts. They were baking bread and brought out a warm loaf of garlic cheese bread.   Healin was practicing his sushi roll ups and served them as appetizers. By this time there were three thru-hikers...Boarders, White Lightning and ?) working to earn their keep. They cleaned bunk cabins. Hoot and Brahma Bull came in for water and left with some sushi for their girls. Seth and Healin have a nice way with thru-hikers. The six of us had dinner together. They got to experiment with the food and we all enjoyed a nice meal and good conversation in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. I did get to see a helicopter make three deliveries of 2" x 10" boards carried in a sling. This was not a wide open valley....some good flying. My husband, Mando, used to fly helicopters in the Navy and he says that theywere always carrying things around.I did learn a little about some of the ghosts that haunt these huts. This hut has Red Max who in the early days was a caretaker and people greeter. He is a good and helpful ghost. On one night they were celebrating his passing and had set a place at the table. When everyone went to bed, they had left his dishes out. People heard noise in the kitchen thinking it was someone cooking. The next morning Red Max's dishes had been cleaned and cleared.  I will save the other two stories for an another journal. My eyes are drooping. Fly Right,Ravon