Date: 2016-08-29
From: Gorham NH

To: Joe Dodge Lodge Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Bobbie, the owner of Libby House B&B and cousin of Paul, the owner of The Barn, had had a heart attack and was transferred from the local hospital to a hospital two hours away. Today, Monday, the doctors were planning to do a heart cath and put in a stent if needed. The Barn and B&B was closed to new guests last night. Today, Paul wanted everyone to leave by 10 am, so he could be at the hospital with Bobbie. At 7:30 am, Paul drove Red Squirrel and I to Pinkham Notch. We arrived a little after 8. Check in at Joe Dodge Lodge was not until 3 pm. I asked if I could store my pack somewhere until check in. I stored my pack downstairs in a storage room. Red Squirrel realized we had all day to spend at Pinkham Notch. She mentioned she might take a shuttle back to Gorham. Or maybe she would read a book. The lady at the front desk suggested the Joe Dodge library. Red Squirrel thought she would read a book at the Visitors Center. Red Squirrel and I walked toward the Visitors Center and stopped at the kiosk with a map. Two women asked if we would like to go on a volunteer led hike. I said yes and Red Squirrel left.I had a nice leisurely hike led by Jim, along with Pam and Claire. We hiked south to the Direttissima Trail. We saw the Wildcats. They were very steep even from a distance. Later, Red Squirrel said she thought it was good we skipped the Wildcat Mountains. Coming down that steep might have blown out her knees. We turned left toward a parking lot on NH 16, away from the Glen Boulder Field. From the parking lot with one of the nicest privies, we walked through a tunnel under NH 16 to Glen Ellis Falls, a beautiful waterfall in the cleft of the rock. Then we walked along the road back to Pinkham Notch. It was VERY windy. It took us three hours to hike 3 miles in the nicest terrain I had seen in days. We had lunch at the Visitors Center. The beef chili was wonderful. Nate at the Visitor Center said they closed the road to Mt Washington because of 90 mph winds. Then I took a nap as Jim, Claire and Pam hiked to an overlook. Joe Dodge Lodge is a lovely place with electricity, flush toilets, hot showers and varnished wood everywhere. It had Wifi but not cell service. Thru hikers are allowed one local phone call from the phone in the Visitors Center. Red Squirrel and I were in a two person room with bunk beds. It was very clean. The community bathrooms and showers were down the hall. We had a nice dinner there. When I came back to the room, there was an envelope with my name on it. I thought it strange to get mail here since very few people knew I was here and none seemed inclined to send me mail. I opened the letter. It was from AMC. The hut where we were planning to stay in 2 days, Lake of the Clouds, had bed bugs and was closed. We would need to make other arrangements at the check in desk. I was overwhelmed. I walked outside to Red Squirrel and handed her the letter. She sprang into action. We immediately walked to the check in desk. She asked what other arrangements could be made. We were planning to hike up Mt Madison the next day and the following day go to Lake of the Clouds. The check in person called for Nate the trail guide to come to us from the Visitor Center. He started giving options. We were unsure where the places Nate mentioned were. I pulled out my map of the White Mountains I had purchased in Gorham. Nate and Red Squirrel came up with a plan. Tomorrow we would hike up Mt Madison and stay at Madison Hut. Nate thought it would take us 4 hours. The next day we would hike to Mt Washington and take the shuttle down to Pinkham Notch, where we would stay. The last shuttle left at 3:30 pm. If we were not going to make the shuttle, we could spend the night below treeline in a stealth campsite on the Jewell Trail. We were NOT to take the Six Husbands or Sphinx Trails. They were too steep and too dangerous to come down. The next day, we would catch the shuttle back to Mt Washington and hike to Mizpah Hut. With this plan, we would hike up Mt Madison with only one day of food. We left the extra food at the check in. The check in person changed our reservations appropriately. Another crisis averted.