Date: 2003-10-08
To: Double Remote
Miles today: 0.0

Last weekend I was able to get into the White Mountains again, with the intention of ¢bagging¢ two more of the six remaining off-AT 4000¢ peaks there. My goal was to summit two of the more remote peaks, Mt Isolation and Owl¢s Head. While not really remote, each of them is far from the nearest trailhead. I also wanted to get in more experience camping from a backpack, since there are many things I still need to learn. For instance, I don¢t have confidence in finding a suitable tentsite, and have yet to cook a hot meal while backpacking (I make a very good Gorp, and at the end of the day it always seems easier to just eat a few handfuls of that before going to sleep, and in the morning I am always anxious to get on the trail, so a couple more handfuls of Gorp make do.))-: . My plan was to walk up Isolation on Saturday, with just a day pack (14+ mile round trip); drive around to the Owl¢s Head trailhead and walk in with full pack to a National Forest campground (about 3 miles); summit Owl¢s Head with a day pack the next day from the campground (12 mile round trip), and finally walk out with a full pack Sunday afternoon. My worry was the predicted rain. The trail to Mt Isolation involves 5 stream crossings, which can be very difficult in high water, and I had already been stopped by high water in two previous attempts at Owl¢s Head. Going up Isolation, the rain held off. There was only a light mist, more refreshing than bothersome. The creek crossings were challenging (and I slipped on each of the first three, earning a scrape or a jammed knuckle each time), but certainly not impassable. I summitted Isolation just about on schedule, but couldn¢t see nearby Mt Washington, because visibility was only about 100 feet. Coming down, the rain increased, and I noticed I was beginning to feel tired. Furthermore, shortly after I started down I ran out of water! This was a real surprise since I had a 2 liter Camelback on, and have done much longer hikes in hotter weather and not come close to emptying it. I have to conclude that when I filled it that morning I had not really ¢filled¢ it. (One more thing that I will need to put on my mental checklist.) I was happy that the creek crossings on the way down were without incident, but I was really cramping up by the time I reached the trailhead. Since I keep food and water (and a change of clothing) in my car, the tiredness and cramping had disappeared by the time I reached the Owl¢s Head trailhead. But I found out that the campsite I was planning to use was closed, and it was already getting dark. I chase to look for a tentsite near the trailhead, and was fortunate to find a clear, level area, and because the rain had stopped earlier, it was also dry. I still did not cook a hot meal, but contented myself with Gorp and trail bars for dinner and breakfast, as I have in the past. A hot meal is definitely on my agenda for my next ¢night out¢. I had heard that the water was still high, so the next morning I took a well-known alternative bushwhack route to Owl¢s Head. That route still had (smaller) creek crossings, but as the morning wore on I got more skilled at reading the rocks, even if I did take some spills, with their scrapes and bruises. More important, I lost my resistance to getting my feet wet, since I realized it limited my options, and my feet were probably going to get wet anyway. Near Owl¢s Head I talked with several people about creek crossings. I was amazed that one person had waded across barefoot, and another had just walked across, boots and all. The rain started again as I neared the summit, making the 1000¢ descent over a rock slide challenging. By the time I got to the first creek crossing I had avoided in the morning, I was completely soaked. So I determined to make the crossings even if I did get wet. I made the first crossing without water going over my boots, but the second was wider and deeper. So I ended up wading across, with water up to my knees. My boots squished for the next half-hour or so, but by the time I reached the trailhead they were no wetter than they would have been from a good rain. And I emerged from the woods happy that I had learned something about water and about myself. I was also concerned that I had been so tired on the first day, so I have juiced up my training program a bit. More about that in a later journal entry. ----------------------------------------------------- I just learned a couple of days ago that The Gathering, a celebration of hiking by the ALDHA (Appalachian Long-Distance Hikers¢ Association), will take place this weekend in Hanover, NH, less than two hours from home. There are a lot of great activities on the program! But the most interesting to me is a session tomorrow afternoon with the chance to meet the 2003 thru-hikers in attendance. Jan LiteShoe promises to be there. I have followed her on this website, both on the Long Trail last year and the AT this year. I expect to be able to meet others I have met on these pages as well. So I am definitely going tomorrow, and wish I had the time now to attend the whole thing. Expect to hear about The Gathering in my next journal entry.