Date: 2017-05-25
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glencliff NH
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: mist

The Hexacuba shelter has a penta-privy, with 5 sides. Hard climb up steep slope from shelter. It's rotting. Satanic verse inside suggested it's a good place for Satan's "throne."Pictures climbing Mt Cube Trail. Smarts Mountain to south, with clouds coming in. Several pictures from the summit to the south and west. Short video showing wind speed and cloud movement. Descending Mount Cube, I came across stone and stairs very similar to those I climbed up on Smart's Mountain. Made me pause to double check the map and make sure I had gone the right direction. Around 10:30, I got to the base of Cube Mountain and got water at a brook. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at HWY 25 and met hiker Helper Guinness. He is a friend of Jag Happy. Jag and his other friend, Redirect are maybe a half day behind me and Guinness was hiking south to meet them as they come north. Jag had evidently indicated he wanted to take a day off now because of the bad weather coming in. Guinness will pick the two of them up and they will drive to a hotel somewhere. Guinness and I also talked about hiking in the White Mountains. He has done several pieces of it over the years. He talked about how long to expect various pieces to take and recommended shelters and huts to stay at. We took a picture together and I sent it to him so that he can forward it to Jag and Redirect. Then we bid each other farewell and safe hiking and went opposite directions.Around 11:30 I came to gravel Cape Moonshine Road, and just beyond found that someone had set up a Welcome to the Whites sign and a trail magic stand under a tarp. I signed the log book. The food and water was all gone, but I took some toilet paper. It's the little things!Shortly after 1 o'clock I came to Lake Tarleton Road. I noticed the sky was starting to darken and it was beginning to drizzle. At the road crossing there was also a power line crossing the road.  As I went under it, I could hear it crackling and the air smelled of ozone. I don't know if that was from the power line or from the rain cloud. Shortly after I crossed the road, I stopped for a quick lunch break. I did not want to stay too long given the rain, and I had four and a half miles to go before my intended stop. So I ate a tuna salad tortilla and then got back on the trail. Coming down, I took a picture of dark clouds. Very windy. BTW, yesterday I heard from High Miler that he got off the trail in Lincoln, NH, after Moosilauke. Too much snow there and onward, he said. Also had an employee quit w/o notice and was needed back home. Will come back to AT in the fall. At 2 pm on top of Mist Mountain, confirmed arrangements to stay at Hikers Welcome Hostel. Arrived there just before 4 pm. Preacher was there, but he had not arrived in time to get his package from the post office. We talked. Power went out in the whole town. Probably a tree blown over on a power line. The lady across the street stopped in and helped Preacher contact the postmaster who let him come get his package after hours (she lives next to the post office). We talked some more. The owner showed up about dark. He got frozen pizza and ice cream sandwiches from the freezer.Jag Happy, Redirect, and Guinness showed up about 10 p.m. The owner put them up in a separate building where they had better bunks but no power.