Date: 2014-07-19
From: Gorham, NH

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 74.9

The White Mountains are a bit of myth and legend on the trail. People have been talking about them since the beginning of the trail as if they were something that would bring thru-hikers to their knees. I think the experience of them must be different for NOBOs than SOBOs. For those heading north from Georgia this is where the trail gets consistently hard with big climbs that reach over 6000 feet. For those who have already traversed Maine the perspective is very different. With the notable exceptions of the climb up Wildcat and Mt. Madison I found the hiking to be cake. In fact, at times I was not sure we were on the right trail because it was so easy. The Presidential range of the Whites is notorious for the weather being crazy. In fact, Mt. Washington is known for having the worst weather in the world. There are signs everywhere warning you about this. In the visitor's center there is a long list of those who have died trying to hike here. Several different weather patterns converge here so the weather is sometimes quite unpredictable. On a good day you can see for miles and miles. On a bad day you can barely see your hand in front of your face and risk being literally blown off the mountain by gusting winds (the record is 231 miles per hour). I set off at Pinkham Notch near the base of Mt. Madison with Athena, another SOBO from VA. The first night we made it to the camp site only to find all the official tent sites already taken. We had to make do with small notches in the trees that were slanted and uneven. Poor Athena tried using rocks to even out her spot only to have her tent collapse on her in the middle of the night. Needless to say neither of us slept well. In the morning we set out towards Mt. Washington but turned back as the weather became sketchy. We later learned that some of our other hiker buddies who pressed on did so facing small hail so I think we made the right choice. Instead we made it to the Perch shelter, almost a full mile off trail, and napped until 2pm. Thanks to the restorative powers of sleep I awoke a much happier person! The following day though was lovely and we headed out early summitting Mt. Washington by lunch. That night was awesome because we scored a work-for-stay at the Mizpah Hut! This section of trail is maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) who runs a system of huts throughout the Whites. They are large, rustic lodges where people pay large sums (about $130/night) to stay in a bunk house where they are served breakfast and lunch. Great for those on family vacation or at summer camp. Completely unaffordable for thru-hikers. The AMC offers work-for-stay for two AT thru-hikers each night. Work-for-stay means that hikers can sleep on the floor in the dining room and feast on any leftovers after the paying guests and staff have eaten in exchange for completing some sort of service. It works out well for them since any leftover food that cannot be composted has to be packed out by the staff twice a week. Athena and I had to clean the stove. It took us all of 30 minutes to do. I think that is well worth it considering the amount of food that we consumed in exchange. We polished off the remaining salad, rice, green beans, chicken, oatmeal bread (with butter!), and homemade ginger snaps in such short order that the staff then brought out left over stuffed shells from the night before. That got demolished as well. It is a fair statement to say that my hiker's appetite has finally kicked in!After breakfast leftovers we headed out and completed the northern Presidentials. The views were absolutely lovely. Most of this section is above treeline so you can see all around you. I was surprised though that most of the AT skirts the mountains and rarely do you actually summit. Although some of these mountains are quite high (Mt. Washington is 6288 feet) you are not hiking all the way from the base to the top from one mountain to the other as we were in Maine so the hiking went by at a good clip. Athena and I were lucky to have mostly good weather and great luck with stealth sites. If it rained we would head to a shelter but otherwise were in our tents enjoying the woods. Yesterday we completed the ridge from Mt. Garfield over Mt. Lafayette and ending in Franconia Notch. In the morning the clouds kept rolling in and out keeping things cool and masking the peaks and valleys. After morning snack though the sun came out. Franconia Notch is incredibly popular and there were so many people hiking the trail there were often traffic jams. I started to get a bit frustrated having to constantly pull over for day hikers in their stylish yet completely impractical white shirts who don't know about right of way when hiking. I would have loved to spend more time up on the ridge taking in the sights but with that many day hikers we were eager to get down. This morning we tried to no avail to hitch into Lincoln to resupply. This meant we had to road walk for miles on hard, unforgiving pavement to get to town. That was more exhausting than hiking up an actual mountain! We finally got here though and made it to Chet's Place. Chet bought a home here seven years ago specifically to let hikers come stay, which is great since there are not a lot of affordable accommodation options in the area. There is a bunk room set up in the garage plus showers and laundry. Chet's Place is not in any guidebook. It is a word of mouth thing handed down from one hiker to another. He doesn't charge a thing but accepts either donations or work in return. Plus he is really nice and full of great advice. It is so awesome to have someone offer this kind of thing for thru-hikers who are weary and on a budget. Keeps reminding me that there are truly kind people in the world who look out for others in need. I will be hiking out tomorrow restored and refreshed!