Date: 2007-08-05
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Campsite
Miles today: 13.2

It was a cool crisp morning with clear blue skies this morning. It was like the weather we have in October in North Carolina. The temperature was in the 50s and the humidity was low. I ate poptarts for breakfast and packed up my gear by 6:30. Gut and Walking Cowboy broke camp before me and Squirrel was still sleeping when I departed.I hiked past the visitor center on my way back to the trail. Breakfast smelled good, but there was a line waiting and I knew I had a long day ahead on the trail. I decided not to eat there. The skies were less hazy today than the rest of the week, so I was looking forward to the views from the top of the mountains.The trail ran past a couple ponds and a stream for the first mile. Then it made a left turn and went straight up Wildcat Mtn. I slowly made my way up the trail. Near the top three north bound hikers passed me like I was standing still. They looked like thru-hikers that probably started in May. They didn't slow down to talk. I have noticed a difference in the thru-hiker population the past few weeks. I would estimate that 90% of the thru-hikers I see now are males in their 20s. This is for both the nobos and sobos. I guess for the nobos it is because they are the fast ones that are passing me and for the sobos they may be the only ones who were willing to endure all the rain at the start.The climb over Wildcat Mtn was difficult. The trail didn't go above tree line but there were some places with overlook views. At the spots with views to the east you could see across the last set of hills in New Hampshire and beyond them into Maine.I passed Gut on the trail. He said he had not seen Walking Cowboy. We guessed he must have stopped for breakfast at the visitor center. There was a steep descent into The Carter Notch Hut. I got there about noon. I asked the guy in the kitchen if they had any soup. He looked at me and told me there wasn't any ready and it would take a while to make some, but there was bread and lemonade. I got the feeling that if I didn't look like a thru-hiker he may have had a different response. I ate some bread and drank some lemonade. I talked with some section hikers there. Then I decided to make some mac & cheese, since the guy wasn't making any attempt to make soup.Some of the other croo came into the kitchen and some more section hikers showed up that were staying at the hut for the night. One man asked me if I was thru-hiking and if I was on trailjournals. I told him I was Diesel and he recognized me and had read some of my entries. At this point all of the croo left the kitchen and went into their private room. This seemed strange to me. I have heard other hikers say the croo at this hut was not friendly to thru-hikers and I would have to agree at this point. I have been very happy with the croos at all of the other huts I have stopped at, but things did not seem the same here. Several female croo went back into the kitchen a little later. An older gentleman asked if there was any soup available. One of the girls said she could heat some up and it would just take a couple minutes. She pulled a container out of the refrigerator and put it on the stove. Five minutes later she brought him a bowl of soup. Oh well, at least I only have to be around this croo for an hour, they have to live with themselves for a lifetime.The trail leaving the hut went up another steep rocky incline up to Carter Dome. There were some good 360 degree views along the ridge as I crossed Mt Height, South Carter Mtn, Middle Carter Mtn, and North Carter Mtn. I passed a sobo hiker and we looked at each other knowing we had seen each other before. She recalled my name, but I couldn't remember hers. It was Silver who I saw at Trimpi and Partnership shelters back in Virginia. We talked for a few minutes. Then the trail went down a steep descent. This was again a difficult trail and I was glad it wasn't raining and the rocks were dry. I slipped once banging my shin into an exposed tree stump pretty hard. I was afraid it would swell up and cause me to limp for a while, but it seems to be OK now. I reached Imp Campsite around 7 PM and registered with the caretaker, Sally. I talked to her for a few minutes about her job and then went down to set up my tent and cook dinner. I never did see Walking Cowboy after he left the campsite this morning and I don't know if he or Gut made it to this campsite tonight.