Date: 2005-08-28
From: Crawford Notch

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: fog

Day One in the Presidential Range - another fabulous day on the trail.My day started quite auspiciously, with the guy from the campgrounds who was going to shuttle me back to the trail showing up to with a hot cup of coffee for me!I was at the trail head at 6AM, and did the first two miles of rocky and relatively steep uphill at about 1.5 miles an hour. Then I reached the Webster Cliffs area. For the next two miles, the trail got very interesting indeed. It alternated between steep uphills through wooded areas and shorter stretches that emerged out onto the cliffs. From the cliffs, there were increasingly awesome views - both outward and straight down. The problem was that the trail then followed the cliffs up to the next interim summit before ducking back into the woods for a while. By following the cliffs, I mean that each such excursion out onto the rocks involved a hand over hand rock climb. And each one was a bit more challenging than the one before.Fortunately, I was feeling reasonably strong and confident, which was a good thing because otherwise I really don't think I could have taken on the last couple of climbs. When you arrive at the next section of cliffs, and look up at a 20 foot high rock slab that comprises the trail, you can't see anything but the first few foot and hand holds. So it's a matter of faith, not only that the remaining foot and hand holds will BE there, BUT, that I, PERSONALLY, will be able to make use of them successfully. Sometimes, that's a bit of a stretch. Especially when the crack in the rock that comprises my next foot hold is a significant distance from where my relevant foot currently resides, and it isn't entirely clear to me that I can make it happen. Except that going back is just NOT an option! Going back would require that Ol' Private 2nd Class Walter M (for Mitty) Longhaul LOOK DOWN, and that would not be a good idea.So there I am, no choice but to go for it. Just move the foot in the right direction, a little further, a little further, a little further... AH HAAAA - GOT IT. OK, now for my next trick....Any wonder that I'm lucky to make one mile an hour here in the Whites?So anyway, while my original goal for today was 11 miles - to Lakes of the Clouds Hut - I decided to bail out after just 6.4 miles - to Mizpah Hut. The word was that the next five miles was especially tough, and the weather was closing in, making the rocks wet and reducing visability to hazardous levels. That's the thing about the Whites, and especially the Presidential Range. It is almost all above tree line, which means it is all rocks all the time, totally exposed to the elements, marked only by small piles of rocks called cairnes. Then there's all of the intersecting trails so you need to make sure not only that you are on the trail, but on the RIGHT trail. I reached Mizpah Hut at about 11AM, and was happy to find that they had a bunk available, for which I immediately handed over my Visa card. I then took advantage of the bottomless bowl of soup deal, and settled in for the afternoon.Later, Easty and Goosebump showed up, followed by Hitman, so I had some through-hiker company. I was feeling a bit guilty about doing only a 6.4 mile day, but my knees were grateful and I'm confident that I am hiking smart and safe, so I'm just going to chalk it up to he Whites, and not worry about it. All is well!Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com