Date: 2015-08-22
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Stealth Camp Near Zeta Pass
Miles today: 8.4

Despite the fact that I went to sleep far later than on the trail, I woke up around my normal time. The shuttle was to take us back to Pinkham Notch at 7:30, so Cruise Control and I hit the local breakfast place at 6:05. I had fluffy apple pancakes, bacon and tea and packed out half of the pancakes and bacon for lunch.The weather looked better than the last couple of days so I was hoping to get some views today. At the visitors center in Pinkham Notch we ran into Two Bad Dogs and also Pace Car, which is always fun. Lots of people are in Gorham because it intersects the trail in two locations. Pace Car was going to cover the entire 21.5 miles in one day, slack packing.The big climb of this last section of the Whites is Wildcat Mountain. It has 5 peaks, labeled A through E and the trail somehow skips B but covers all the others. The first one you hit when you go northbound is E and it is a very steep climb up from the notch. We even stowed our poles for a while because we had to rock climb, but overall the climb up to E was beautiful, with great views across the valley to the Presidentials. And because it was clear and sunny, we could actually see them!We had an early lunch at the very first viewpoint and the finished the climb up to E and D. At D there is a gondola that goes back down to a restaurant at the notch. I had been thinking there should have been a gondola at Webster Cliffs to go down to the AMC center that is right there, only 1500 feet below. Cruise Control and I had been hiking together over E and D but she stopped to chat with some people about thru hiking and I ventured on. Our tentative plan was to try to go 13.1 miles to the only camp site, but I was doubtful I'd be able to get there. There wasn't a view from peak C so I missed it and I was pleasantly surprised to hear from some day hikers that I was mere yards away from the peak of A. It had a view of Carter Notch , the hut there, and Carter Dome across the notch, all of which the AT passes. It looked awfully far down to the hut and awfully far back up to Carter Dome and I decided there was no way I'd make it to our planned camp site!The climb down was steep but somehow easier than they have been recently. We ran into Rock Hopper and Zip, two section hikers from North Carolina who we had seen at Pinkham Notch. Rock Hopper reads the journal, which he found through Yoda's blog.I drank some lemonade and finished the last bit of pancake and bacon sitting outside the hut. Carter Notch hut is the smallest of the huts I think, and the only one that hasn't been remodeled. It is in a very dramatic location though, with Wildcat looming on one side and Carter Dome on the other.Eventually we all heaved ourselves to our feet again to get through yet another very steep climb up Carter Dome. We knew about some possible stealth sites past the Dome, near Zeta pass, and that was the revised destination for all four of us. Once past the dome and up on Mt. Height (funny name) we had great 360 degree views and also a line of sight to Washington, Madison, Jefferson and Adams, all of which we had passed in the last couple of days. Seeing them in relation to where we were now made it clear the AT takes a very circuitous path! When we all got to Zeta pass, Zip went down one of the trails and reported back that there was a site that could accommodate all of us. There had been No Camping signs at the pass, but there were none here, so we decided to risk it. We are too close to the trail, but we'll be gone early.Mileage wise it doesn't look like a very productive day, but it actually was. We got two of the big climbs out of the way and tomorrow's terrain is supposed to be easier. Of course this is still the Whites so we'll see, but I am hopeful. Once we get back to Gorham, I'll probably take a zero day on Monday. I need to plan the next section, which will get me into Maine (!) and figure out my resupply. Plus I just want to take a breather before tackling the Mahoosic Notch a couple of days later. Trail Intel says the terrain remains very challenging for another hundred miles or so after the Whites. We had a nice relaxed evening here in camp with Rock Hopper and Zip, talking trail. It is now not quite 8 pm and it is definitely getting dark. Fall is definitely coming!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?