Date: 2006-08-11
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: fog

I am so glad I was indoors last night. While it only rained for a little bit in the early evening, the wind howled all night long. So happy to be warm and dry in the bunkhouse. This morning it is windy and a bit overcast but it appears to be clearing up. I go down to the hut to get my food and pack up and a nobo comes in having just finished climbing over the Wildcats. The Wildcat Mtn peaks have had me worried for days because I heard they were really steep. In fact, I was told to air blaze the last peak and just ride the gondola down the mountain. I ask him about it and he tells me it took him about a mile an hour and that it was steep and that there was ice water dripping off the trees. Okay. Stop fretting and get out there and hike. I get around the pond and realize I need more clothes on. It is really windy! Rain pants on, I start climbing. Yep, it's steep, but not too terrible. Once on top of the peak the rest of the hiking is not so bad. All that fretting for nothing, so far.Soon I see some dayhikers who give me an estimate on how far away I am from the gondola. I stop for a snack a little later and meet a nobo section hiker, Hamburger, from Hamburg, Germany. He and I chat for a good little bit. Turns out he first learned of the AT while working abroad in Marietta, GA. Nice fellow.A little bit later, I need to stop again. Disclaimer: Some of you may consider this next paragraph too much information. If so, skip it. However, this is my journal and thus records my trail experience.Turns out, I am not hiking alone today. Aunt P. has come to visit. In a way, I welcome this because it explains why I was so tired and emotional last week. (I knew there had to be a reason for all the irrational anxieties and tears about the Whites.) But nonetheless, having to drop trou in the woods in 40 degree weather to deal with feminine hygiene issues is a bummer. Fortunately, I am prepared with The Keeper and feminine wipes.Finally, I see the gondola. I am tempted to ride it but decide to arm myself against B3, Blue Blaze Bacteria. I will follow the white blaze even if they do hardly exist on this section of trail. There are all sorts of tourists that rode the gondola up here and they are freezing in their little shorts and t-shirts. The last mile before Pinkham Notch Visitors Center. The one I have been dreading. It's a doozy. It take me about 3 hours to go almost 2 miles. Hiking in ME and NH has been redefined for me. Its not just about walking on a dirt path in the woods over mountains, it requires bouldering skills, rock climbing skills, upper body strength, balance and patience. Krysta, keep taking the EcoAdventure kids to Atlanta Rocks because if they ever want to hike the AT they will need those skills.Not only is this a physically demanding descent, its mentally frustrating because I can hear the traffic on the road where I am heading. To know you are so close, yet so far away. Around Lost Pond, a Forest Ranger approaches me and gives me info about where I can camp legally tonight (there are rules about how close to a road you can camp). I check out the visitors center which has a restroom with a pay shower, a pack room for you to organize your gear, payphone, and drink machines. Upstairs is a gift store, information booth and restaurant. The dinner is too high for me, $17, so I go set up my camp and fix dinner there. I am camped near a former through hiker just out doing the Whites for vacation. His name is Pop Pop and we chat for a bit. I go back to the visitors center to use the facilites and change into warm clothes and then its off to bed early. I might of only done 6 miles today, but it took me from 9:30 to 6:30 and I'm tired.