Date: 2009-07-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 44.0

Dear readers,Hello from Glencliff, NH! Gangsta and I are staying at the Hiker Welcome Hostel and it is wonderful. I wish we had arrived before 5pm. This is our last rest stop before taking on the Whites. Tomorrow we begin our day by summiting Mt. Moosilauke - our first time above treeline. Weather is supposed to be nice, too.We've had a busy couple of days since leaving Hanover. Yesterday, Gangsta and I did a whopping 18 miles. With the intensifying terrain, it was a big day. Luckily, we were able to break it up a bit with a wonderful stop at "Bill's house". He lives on the AT and provides ice cream and water for thru-hikers. Little did we know that he also offers a game of croquet for those with the time! Plunger, Mr. Right, Loon and G and I played a rather un-intense game of croquet with Bill full of laughter, do-overs, and rule fudging. Gangsta and I had 12 more miles to go that day so we opted out of the red wine he offered up afterwards, and said our goodbyes to the rest of the gang who was only going another 6 and were on our way. Ahead of us was a long climb up Smarts Mt. Good thing we did not have wine beforehand. It was brutally long, but the views from the fire tower at the top were worth it. The last 6 miles after that were long and it was getting late. Margaret and Francine helped keep us smiling. That night we stayed at Hexacube shelter- a really nice and very funky shaped shelter! After 18 miles and who knows how many thousands of feet of elevation gain that day I was starving and ate two dinners last night (luckily I had a spare mac n cheese), topped off with Reese's Peanut Butter cups and I was still hungry. Gangsta and I had to laugh at the fact that we still love Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. It's good motivation for the last few miles of hiking when it's on the menu for dinner. You'd think that after eating it at least 3 times a week for 4.5 months I'd be tired of it...Today we did 15 into the Hiker Welcome Hostel. It was a long 15, primarily because of the mud and bugs (what's new?). The mud was awful. It felt like over half the time we were walking on unsteady, half-submerged logs and rocks avoiding it. It makes for a long day. And the bugs. Let me put it this way: Wags has met her match. This trail has finally thrown something at me that my patience cannot tolerate (after working in wilderness therapy, that's saying something). Is is not mosquitoes. It is not deer flies. It is not black flies. It is the horrific combination of all three.Mosquitoes incessantly buzz around my ears. Has there been research on mosquitoes being attracted to our ears? I think this needs to be studied. They hover around them all the time, even when hunkered down deep in a sleeping bag.Black flies fly around my head in a constant orbit for miles. It makes me feel like Pig Pen from the Peanut's. Also, they occasionally fly IN my ear - that really causes me to flip my sh*t.Deer flies tend to simply swarm in front of my face, getting my mouth as a breath as well as my eyes.All of these problems occur simultaneously, most often when I'm trying to cross a mud pit and focus on balancing on narrow branches and small stepping stones so as not to sink into a muddy mess. It made for a challenging day today. I threw many hissyfits. Wish you were there? I was really fun to hike with. At least the weather was BEEEAUTIFUL!Oh! And also, today we saw fresh moose tracks in the wet mud, then minutes later we heard a loud crashing in the woods off to our right. Whatever it was was running away from us and it was very large and ungraceful. We are 99% sure we HEARD our first moose of the trip. No sighting, though.Okay, I think it's time to go make use of that hammock outside. We've got a big week ahead of us and I need all the R and R I can get today! Bring it on Whites...Happy Trails,WagsPS- Apparently, rangers are now riding the cog railway to keep an eye out for law-breaking butt-showing thru-hikers. Apparently we've heard arrests have been made. We are rethinking our plans, although it would make for a great story...PPS- Apparently "15 is the new 20" (mileage-wise)