Date: 2006-09-16
To: New Hampshire News - Part 2
Miles today: 150.0

by Righty Hello Everybody. More news from New Hampshire. I have just finished with the "whites" and now I understand what everyone meant when they said they were TOUGH. In fact, all on NH was hard. The 2-3 days of hiking before and after "the whites" was probably harder than "the whites". After we (Skywalker, Jericho and I) left Glencliff, we had rain, and fog, and drizzle and more rain for four days while we were hiking the Franconia ridge. It was very difficult for me because of "the scrambles" which is a term which means you have to climb up and over BIG boulders. The down hills were torture on my already bad knees. Add steep and wet to the downhills and I felt like an accident waiting to happen. Add to that the fact that we could see nothing, made it even more miserable. The guys were great. They put me between them and tried to be around if they could tell I would have a problem with a certain section. They spent a lot of time hauling my sorry ass up and over. We, like everyone else, went from being able to hike 12-18 miles a day to just barely being able to do 6-10. It literally took over an hour to do a mile---and these were hard miles. At some point I started having even more problems with my knee. I started having sharp, severe pains in my right knee very similar to what it was like BEFORE I had the surgery. I guessed that my "repair" job was starting to fall apart. The result to this was that I had to slow down and watch where I stepped even more. I knew the guys were getting tired of having to assist me and waiting for me to catch up. After all, we are all supposed to be "hiking our own hike" and they were having to hike mine. My daughter from SC was planning to come and visit me in NH and the timing was when I'd be in Crawford Notch which would be on Thurs or Fri. On Wednesday night, I talked to the guys to let them know that I needed to take a zero day to spend with her when she came and I felt pretty sure that they did not want to take a day off and would want to go on without me. It was so difficult to say goodbye to them. It's hard to explain the bond that develops between fellow hikers, but I felt like I was loosing my best friend. I was an emotional wreck but was looking forward to seeing Shana. The next morning I hiked on to Zealand Hut and when I got there in the early afternoon, I was told there was a message for me and that Shana wasn't going to be able to make it. I was so dissappointed that I just sat down and cried. This was really a low point for me and I wasn't sure if I should or could go on. I tried to think of what my options were; but was so upset it was hard to think anything through. I knew I needed to get OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS and pull myself together so I hiked down to Crawford Notch the next day. When I got to the Lodge, I found there were no bunk rooms available for that night and I really couldn't afford to pay for a regular room. While I was again trying to decide what to do, a person came up to me and asked if I was "Righty". Tara, who was a AMC volunteer, had met Lefty at a Hut and again in Pinkham Notch and recognized me from her description. She immediately told me she had a message for me and that Shana couldn't make it. Even though I'd already gotten this message, I started crying again. Once I pulled my self together we had a good talk and I got caught up on what Lefty and Buoy were doing. The desk clerk, Maeve, overheard our conversation and realizing I was a thru-hiker told me to hang in there and she'd work someting out. She worked some miracles and got me a room with a PHONE. Once I was able to get clean, fed and make calls to my family, I started to feel better and put some plans in action. I figured I had three options. First, to stop hiking, anotherwords QUIT. That didn't settle to well with me. Second, try to hook up with another hiker to finish. I knew I didn't want to hike alone. I had left a message at the last Hut for a friend I had hiked with before and knew was a day behind me. Third, was to skip a section and join Lefty and Buoy where they were and finish with them. I discussed all three options with both Shana and Lefty and we all agreed that Option Two was the best choice so that I wouldn't miss anything if John was willing to hike with me. The next day, John hiked into Crawford Notch and we discussed the hiking union and decided it could work. Since this is his second thru-hike, he has a little different approach than some others. He hikes at his own pace and takes the time to enjoy himself. I agreed to "do it his way". He said he'd checked out the weather forcast and there was good weather for the next four days and we were going back up and do the Presidential range. He didn't want me to miss the most spectacular section of the trail just because I'd had a bad few days. He was right. The "Presidents" were spectacular. We had absolutely perfect weather. Blue skies, white puffy clouds, cool but not cold and no wind. I did take some phots which will get posted after I get home. We hiked from Hut to Hut and stayed as guests by "pay for stay" rather than "work for stay" as must thru hikers do. More about that in my daily journal.Yesterday we were in Gorham and Lefty left me a message to call her ASAP. I did and found that she was in a hostel called :the Cabin" in Andover, ME and wanted us to come there and finish the hike with her and Bouy. John and I discussed it and decided it was a good plan. Lefty and Bouy were actually able to come and get us this morning so we are now here at this great hostel with them and will take off in the morning to hike the rest of the trail.