Date: 2015-08-04
From: White Mtns Hostel (actually Crawford Notch)

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: scattered clouds

This is not a great way to cover miles, but I have trouble resisting "Work-for-Stay", even tho the food is cold & not always so great (wanting to leave early, I skipped the breakfast) & there's a lot of just sitting around in the evening. But I got to Zealand Hut after 4:00, the camping prospects on top of Zealand Mtn didn't seem good, & rain was forecast for early morning.This morning, Cindi kindly dropped me off at Crawford Notch on her way to the airport [hope she made it in time].Leaving the parking lot, I met Take-it-Easy & Smiley (both from Germany). Then it was uphill for a while. I've done his section in each direction in previous years; so I remember how steep it seemed in the dark when I was going SOBO. On the other hand, when I was going NOBO, I was walking down at nightfall to meet Susan. Today it was very humid in the woods; I was certainly hoping it's cooler higher up. Well, I don't get higher up very fast when I go the wrong way! I just wasted 112 hours going the wrong way & recovering the distance. I stopped to rest & somehow got turned around. I wondered why the Trail was going down so much when I expected it to be going up or level. But that wasn't enough to tip me off. I saw a trail crew hauling a log thru the woods & concluded that it was different crew than I had seen before (& the steps they were building were different steps?). The trail sign at the bottom did seem out of place ¢ I didn't know what to do with that. Only when I saw the railroad did I recognize I was going wrong ¢ I KNOW there aren't 2 railroads in this area! Coming back, I saw many things that looked familiar: a certain log jutting into the Trail, the arrangement of rocks at a stream crossing, a couple of sections of boardwalk, a big boulder beside the Trail, a large stone recently moved from its place. None of that had alerted me! It shows how much our orientation determines what we see. All that was disappointing because I had hoped to make good time thru this section. My knee was bothering me some too; so I decided to ask for work- for-stay at Zealand Hut.   It's a small hut & was filled with guests, warm when I arrived but cooled off quickly. Plenty of food, but also lots of sitting around. No really good campsites up the hill from here; so I guess it's worth it if I can get out early enough in the morning. I'd like to cover much of the next ridge tomorrow, once I get up the first Mtn. That's if the weather cooperates: today there was a bit of afternoon thunderstorm, but it didn't last long or get anything very wet. I was able to do my "work" in the evening: washing pots, including one cookie sheet with many layers baked on. At least, I got it looking better than it had in a while, & slaving over a hot sink was just the thing for me when I was feeling cold. The other guys got to clean out the freezer!Other NOBOs I met today [I think I haven't met a SOBO for weeks!] were DG, Capt K, 4 oz., Minotaur, Silence, Finch, Jackrabbit & Slider, (all trying to beat the rain down to the Notch), Tatto, & TNT; at Zealand Hut: Goosebumps, Cheddar, Tank, Mirage.