Date: 2015-07-05
From: Galehead Hut

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

Started a bit later today than yesterday- one of the bonuses of being a guest rather than WFS. The croo woke everyone up with some kind of morning song at 6.30, and then breakfast was at 7. Breakfast was porridge with a variety of toppings, 3 small pancakes, scrambled eggs and tea. I left the hut about 8 and followed the line of hikers heading up the South Twin Mountain. It was an extremely rocky upward climb. I overtook most of the other hikers and was alone for a long time. The weather was cloudy but extremely humid. Of course there was no view when I got to the top, and then 30 minutes later the sun came out and the fog had cleared. By then I was back into the trees. After that morning climb, the rest of the day was much more gentle and mostly downhill. There were a few miles where I thought I was on the wrong trail. I had to borrow a day hikers map. There were no white blazes for literally miles, and I didn't see anyone else, so I had no idea if I was in the right place or not.Eventually I saw a quietly reassuring white blaze on a tree. BigBen turned up shortly after and overtook me. The trail was a bit rocky but not terrible. However, I caught my shoe on a root and tripped, ripping a big hole in the material. I made my way down to Zealand Hut by 11.20 and sewed up the giant hole in my shoe. I had tried duct tape but that didn't work at all. I also had a cup of tea and lunch there, before setting off again. The section after Zealand all the way to Crawford Notch is pretty good. There are large parts where the trail slopes gently down and there are no rocks or roots, and it's just so wonderfully clear. It was like walking around a park, it was so nice. That had to stop eventually, but even then the trail had a lot of board walks. Seeing how we haven't had rain for a couple days, the board walks were dry and great to move quickly on. However, I still managed to trip again and this time got covered in dirt. I actually also lost my sunglasses, but fortunately BigBen picked them up for me. The drop down to Crawford was extremely steep but at least not rocky. At the carpark, there was a red cooler with some trail magic - cans of coke and iced tea. The coke gave me a bit of a caffeine boost, and it was only past 2 in the afternoon. However, when I saw what loomed ahead, I had no desire to keep hiking. A massive climb up to 4000ft. There was also no guarantee that the Mizpah Hut would have any WFS spaces left. I decided to go to the AMC Highland center. I had to walk and hitchhike for about 15 minutes before someone gave me a ride. This is a long time to be holding a thumb out and walking in the sun. When I got to the Highland center, I dallied about for a moment. I didn't know what to do really, but I kept looking out the window and seeing a giant mountain in the distance. I decided to stay in the bunkhouse for the night. Thru hikers get AMC discount, but it is still an expensive bunk. It does include a breakfast buffet though. There is also a price option that includes dinner, which I didn't do. BigBen turned up later, after he and another hiker had to walk about 3 miles to get a hitch. There are some advantages to being a girl out here. BigBen has just left now to have his barbecue buffet, whilst I have eaten my angel hair spaghetti that I got in Hanover. It's pretty miserable, and it doesn't make me feel full at all. I'm extremely aware of all the sweets and chocolate that are for sale in the store here. Tomorrow I'm hoping I can go over Mount Washington. It's going to be a big day, but I hope I can do it. The weather in two days is supposed to be bad, and the last very place I would want to be is on Mount Washington when the weather is bad. So, tomorrow it is.