Date: 2004-05-23
From: Liberty Springs Campsite

To: Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 17.4

Log entry: 113Start time: 0600End time: 1430Morning weather: No falling rain at 0500 but it was dripping off the trees and very foggy. It rained all night. When I went to bed at 2000 and whenever I woke up. Solid, steady rain all night.Afternoon weather: Fraconia ridge was foggy and very windy. Rain in the parts below treeline. But much warmer then yesterday, mid 50s or so.Evening weather: Cool and cloudy. Some partial views from the hut. It turns out that I am in mountains. 3 days of fog can be deceiving.Breakfast: Fudge rounds eaten in great hasteLunch: Lots of little things. By far the best was the assortment of dried/dehydrated fruit left for me in my trail magic.Dinner: A veggie and cheese quesadilla from Andy (excellent), scalloped potatoesTrail description: A short, steep .3 of a mile climb up to Fraconia ridge. Once above treeline the walking was easier, still plenty of work. The climbs today were steep but technical so not really thigh-burners. Just overall work. No stream fords today. Some patches of snow and ice, not a hinderance but just worth mentioning.People: Plenty of people, Andy the caretaker at Zealand Falls. (supercool), Ron and Hanz, Taylor Tibbetts and family, Gui and his family from Montreal.Animals: Just moss and lichens above treeline.Money spent: NoneComplaints: This morning was mentally rough due to the daunting task ahead of me and all my gear soaked. But things worked themselves out.Thoughts: Yeah, so it rained all night and my gear which was sheltered from rain but the tent plantform gathered enough water to adequately soak my gear. The trees were all dripping water steadily so the rest of my gear got soaked. That really put a damper on things. Plus I was nervous about my first sustained above treeline stretch.Once I did finally get up and out of the trees on Fraconia ridge the wind didpick up and the clouds got thicker, but no real rain.The walking wasn't all that easy but I could make good progress. The views werenil but I knew that I was in one of the coolest places on Earth, even if it wasin the fog.The wind didn't cut through my raingear but the humidity soon soaked me. Theclimbs over Little Haystack Mtn and Mt Lincoln and Lafayette were not toughclimbs and the clouds were so thick I couldn't see more than about 30 ft aheadof me. I guess that on a clear day you can see exactly where the trail goes andwhat lies ahead of you. Not the case today. Next I dropped down off the ridge and then the steep steep climb up Garfieldthen the steeper descent down Garfield, which was intense. I stopped in atGarfield shelter for a privy stop, which was very successful. It also startedraining super hard which made the rest of the trek off of Garfield even moresketch. The trail was already a cascading stream and the drop-offs werebeautiful waterfalls. A tough stretch of trail with only one trekking pole.I stopped briefly at Galeland Hut to eat a candy bar. The caretaker wasn'taround and neither was anyone else so I didn't hang around.The climb up South Twin was steep and and long. At the summit I passed theTibbetts family who was enroute to Zealand Falls Hut as well.The next peeps I met were Dan and Hanz who were also on their way to the Hut.The rain eventually tapered off but the clouds still hung around. I was grateful to see the Hut and drop my pack. Andy, the caretaker, wasn't around but I assumed there would be vacancy so I began the drying out process. It felt great to change into my longjohns and fleece which were my dry only dry clothing articles.As I was explaining to some dayhiker the basics of thru-hiking Andy thecaretaker arrived and we exchanged our own pleasent conversation. He's a coollittle dude and runs a good hut.To earn my stay I washed the shelves in the kitchen.The remainder of the evening was spent talking with the other folks in the hutand eating their leftovers from dinner.It was also this evening that I may have been witness to one of the mostunselfish and kind acts I have experienced yet on the trail. I left my trekkingpoles outside on the deck and Mr. Tibbetts (Taylor) noticed the broken one. Heconfronted me on the issue as he was unpacking his gear and I was walkingthrough the bunkroom. I told him how I broke it and he turned around and grabbed his trekking poles and extended them to me. "Here, you take these". I was in awe of the generosity displayed. I kindly refused rationalizing that I would get them replaced tomorrow. But I still am amazed and truly grateful. If were not going into town tomorrow I most certainly would have accepted the gift.I only laid awake for a few minutes as sleep came easy but I did think hardabout "Why me?". It seems God has gone out of his way bless me. I know thatnothing is "out of His way" (or is everything "out of His way"? Hmmmm.) AnywaysI also know He is always with me, but today up on Fraconia ridge I felt Himextra close. Also I felt angels around me, I would guess he sent some extra toprotect me, about a legion or so. And with those thoughts I drifted into deepand successful sleep.