Date: 2018-07-17
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

The rain never came last night, but it was on the way. There was a 50 percent chance at 0700 and the odds continued to grow throughout the morning. I was up before daylight and hiking by 0600. Two other NOBOs, Grumpy and Sterling, came out of the shelter right behind me. The first water source was located 3 miles up the trail. The three of us all converged at the stream before taking on the big climb of the day¢Smart¢s Mountain. The rain came just as we were finishing up. The higher I climbed, the harder it rained. At some point my shirt stopped being drenched with sweat and started being soaked with rain. The initial climb was about 1,200¢ up Lambert¢s Ridge, the arm of Smart¢s Mountain. The final mile along the ridge ducked in and out of an open rocky ledge. Marble and Quartz veins ran through the granite slab. This created seams and crevices that made the footing good. However, I don¢t think I would have wanted to hike down it it the rain. The rain let up a little as I worked my way up the ridge, opening up a glimpse of the fire tower at the summit of Smart¢s Mtn. From there, the grade moderated as the trail hooked around to the base of the final ascent. The final push to the top rose 900¢ over one mile. One SOBO met me at the bottom of the climb using expletives to describe how slick the rocks were above me. Some spots had steep stone steps. One especially steep part has rebar rungs bolted into the granite. In other places, I just had to navigate through and around the slick spots. I didn¢t find it overly difficult. At the summit is a fire tower and an old warden¢s cabin that has been converted to a shelter. The rain started picking up again just as I hit the top. Bypassing the tower, I made a beeline for the cabin. Sterling was already there. Grumpy arrived about 5 minutes later. I stripped off my wet clothes and hung everything to dry (sort of) on the porch. All I was wearing was my rain jacket and a bandanna tucked in my undershorts. It was only 1000 and the day¢s hike was half done. The rain was coming down hard now, as thunder and a couple of flashes of lightning joined in the chorus. I decided that instead of just sitting there in my loin cloth, I should go ahead and have an early lunch. I heated up some water for hot tea to go with my salami, bacon, and habanero cheddar cheese sandwich. After lunch and an attempt to start typing up the journal for the day, the sleep monster hit me. All three of us laid our ground cover (for tent) out on the floor of the cabin. Just as we got comfy, silence. The rain stopped. 10 minutes later we all had our wet clothes back on and were making a dash for the next shelter. It was a long and muddy descent down the mountain. The trail dropped 1,800¢ over the next four miles. There were busted up foot boards over some of the boggiest spots. At one point my foot slipped off the side of a board and I sunk to my knee in mud and silt. Gotta be more careful.The last couple of miles of the hike was to the Hexacuba Shelter, located about half way up Mount Cube. A light rain returned as I trudged up the hill. There were a few huge marble slabs that were quite slick. I stopped to fill up my water bag in a ravine located next to the side trail leading to the shelter. Like yesterday, the side trail continued 1/4 mile (uphill) before coming to the Hecacuba Shelter. As the name suggests, it is a 6-sided shelter. I was eating dinner by 4PM and napping by 5. More rain and more hikers came. Tent sites are limited here, so 10 of us ended up in the shelter. I haven¢t felt this cozy since the Smokies.The rain should end tonight. Behind it is some cooler and drier weather. Hopefully we got enough of the wet stuff to replenish the drying streams. It¢s just getting dark and there is snoring all around me. I think I¢ll try to join in the chorus!Peace & Blessings - NSElevation Data:Ascent - 3,640Descent - 3,090Grade - 10.7Weather:Day - 66 / Rain and ThunderNight - 52 / ClearingOver The Horizon: White Mountain National Forest