Date: 2021-07-12
From: Carter Notch (mile 313.5)

To: Pinkham Notch (mile 319.4)
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

What a pleasant morning. It was a perfect night to tent. It didn't even drizzle as forecasted. I packed up and caught the hut croo right after breakfast. Leftovers would be available soon, but I decided to leave them for others, possibly Beach Day and Prepack, and eat what I'd brought as I sat by the lilypad-strewn pond.I hiked out with Pappy, chatting as we climbed the steep slope out of the notch. On the summit of Wildcat we lingered for quite awhile, gazing over Carter Notch. Tendrils of fog wafted up.While negotiating the Wildcat Ridge we crossed paths with hikers starting the one-day slackpack of this 21-mile section. Alias seemed in high spirits. Not long after Bait and Joseph came through. They had started more than an hour later but were closing the gap fast. I spurred them on a bit, telling them an old man like me did it in ten hours. They were having fun. Wildcat has 5 peaks, and on Wildcat D there's a ski lift. Unfortunately not running today. But skiers get an amazing up-close view of the Presidential range. Mt. Washington was in the clouds but the other peaks were clear.The climb down the Wildcats was not as bad as Adam the caretaker and everyone coming northbound had warned us. There were some bedrock slides and some ledge scrambles but not as bad as we'd had in the Mahoosucs. It did take awhile though to drop 2500 feet. I have no interest in taking my last step, or a hike-ending step, here and planted every foot carefully. It was around 1 when I finally reached the bottom after only five miles. Early on I passed two pairs of northbounders who were very pleased to hear the top was near. I try to be accurate with passing hikers, so if I tell someone they're almost there, they will find the summit right around the corner. An English family was starting the climb as I came down, hiking up to Carter Notch hut. Their two young kids were ahead of the parents, eagerly tackling the rocks with their own little backpacks. The trail meanders by Lost Pond before bringing hikers to Pinkham Notch. I took the opportunity to get my daily swim. I was drying off when I saw a dayhiker I'd passed earlier slowly approaching. I stepped behind a large boulder to make some token effort to hide my modesty while he slowly - agonizingly slowly - picked his way over the rocky trail. Casually I said hi, since he was just a few yards away, lamely explaining that I'd been hot.At Pinkham Notch I used my AMC thruhiker card to get a $2 large bowl of Quinoa chili soup and bread, which was delicious. Beach Day and Prepack appeared and we hung out with Pappy until we felt it was time to return to Gorham. Prepack rolled his ankle badly on the way down and it had already begun to swell. Pappy was continuing his hut-to-hut tour with a stay at the Joe Dodge Lodge here in the Notch. We stuck out our thumbs and got a ride from Dan, who normally shuttles hikers. He wasn't charging us, just going our way, but I gave him some gas money as a thank you. He's been shuttling for decades. Once he shuttled Bill Irwin, the blind man who thruhiked the AT.Mountain Man was still at the Barn recovering from chafing but is hiking out tomorrow regardless. Couples Pippi the Hippi and Lollipop, and Wonder and Bean are zeroing. We've been following them in the logs for weeks. Tech, a young southbounder, is recuperating from possible shin splints with his father-in-law Vertigo Tom. Pappy told me how he'd found Tech depressed that he wouldn't make it to Gorham in time to meet his father-in-law. Pappy gave him the confidence to get all the way to Gorham, hiking with him. Pappy told me he was inspired to help Tech by the way he and I had hiked together. I hadn't realized he felt I'd somehow helped him. He certainly surprised me by how quickly he'd regained his confidence after his early injury. Vertigo Tom had his own unique story. He'd intended to thruhike when his daughter backed out of hiking with Tech. But he spent 25 hours summiting and descending Katahdin, bruising some ribs and other injuries in the process. He decided to end his hike there and then. Katahdin is a formidable starting line. We grabbed pizzas at the Public House Eatery, which seems to be the most popular joint in Gorham. Their brick oven makes the most wonderful pizza pies.