Date: 2007-06-09
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel, Glenncliff, NH

To: The Whites
Miles today: 100.6

The Whites!Finally. Alas. They kicked our ass!Slept in and lounged the rainy morning away gettin outta the hostel since we knew we wouldn't make the second shelter. We only had to go 8 miles UP Mt Moosilaukee. Shouldn't be too hard.Sitting around the backyard we pointed to What we thought was Mt Moosilaukee-it looked big and fierce. Packrat quickly corrected us that we were looking at some small mountain nearby and that the haze was blocking Mt Moosilaukee-and it was MUCH bigger!It was a tough very steep VERY LONG climb up from the hostel. A good preview of what was to come. Wet slippery rocks, essentially climbin up a steep riverbed. Brutal. Finally made it to the top and to the shelter. The next day the wicked steep descent was just as wet as it had rained heavy again the night before. So steep they drilled rebar into the rocks to make steps and ladders in some places.Finally got down and started crankin ...well more like stumblin step by step....further into....the Whites!They've kicked our butt now for 6 1/2 days. Only one day without rain-the Presidentials! Great views! Sunburned too.The ascents and descents are so much longer and steeper than what we've become accustomed to hiking. Usually there is a steep climb but we crank it out and make up the time later on better terrain. Not so in the Whites.It's been very challenging. We've stayed in the Huts every nite accept town 2 stops at motels.Hiked with a past PCT Thru-Hiker Thin Mint, out doing a huge section from Harpers Ferry to near the end of the Whites til he's outta time. Very cool and fun to hang with. Also met Ounce the last nite, finishin up his AT hike here in the Whites.The huts are fully enclosed cabins that are common areas (dining hall, kitchen, etc) and bunk rooms. AMC owns them and charges $96/nite per person but includes dinna! and breakfast! Thru-hikers get a bargain deal-Work for Stay! That means we eat dinna after the guests with the "croo" then do a few chores and sleep in the dining room on the tables after hours, then eat another awesome breakfast (with the croo AFTER the paying guests)- all for FREE! It's for me!!Stayed at Lonesome Lake Hut, then Galehead Hut, then Lake of the Clouds Hut. All awesome. Croos were very cool to hang with and fed us well. Chores were a joke! The last nite we gave a talk to the guests on thru-hikers for our chore!During the day we head out after breakfast (late starts ~9am) and hike roughly 15 miles to end at another hut. On the way we pass by another hut and stop in for more free food, awesome soups and any leftover breakfast or desserts, coffee, tea, lemonade,etc. Croos are great to us!When it isn't raining the views are incredible. I guess they're worth the punishing climbs. But when it rains all day or all afternoon and you're soaked to the bone when you finally make the hut, it's hard to enjoy it.Day 1 wet slippery rocks from rain the nite beforeDay 2 lite rain all dayDay 3 rain in afternoonDay 4 NO RAIN- The Presidentials (Mt Washington, etc)Day 5 drizzle all day; stayed at motel across from the Mt Washington Inn at       Crawford Notch. Saw a HUGE Black bear at Fabyans restaurant! The manager AND his wife are triple crowners-that means they not only hiked the AT, but ALSO the PCT AND the CDT! He was the 34th person to Triple Crown! His wife is the 11th female ever to Triple Crown! And we met them both and chatted for a while! Pretty damn cool! Pretty damn humbling! We're barely finishing the AT!While we were chattin he nonchalantly mentions, oh, is that your dog outside? He's barking at a black bear, and just continued talking like it was nothing!We ran outside, and Hugo was tied to a tree with a huge black bear ravaging the dumpster no more than 20 yards away-barking away! Many visitors were snappin pictures. Eventually the bear just walked away. Pretty cool. Funny thing is the previous motel wouldn't let us stay cuz he wouldn't allow pet or even let us tie Hugo outside cuz of critters. We laughed thinking, critters,in town, yeah right. come on we've been tying him outside every nite ON the trail. Yikes! Guess he was right.Went back to our motel and hit the HOT TUB AND THE POOL! pretty cool.Day 1 8 miles up Mt Moosilaukee to Shelterday 2 15 miles down Moosilaukee, and eventually to Lonesome Lake Hutday 3 15 miles eventually ending at Galehead Hut-very cool croo!day 4 15 miles ending at motel in Crawford Notch areaday 5 11 miles to Lake of the Clouds Hut from Crawford Notch; late start outta town since we wanted to stay at the Lake-the castle-the biggest hut-near Mt Washington too. Sleeps 95 guests!day 6 15 miles up over Mt Washington and other Presidentials! Sunny!Ending at Pinkham Notch and catching a ride from Ounce to Gorham motel.day 7 22 miles Pinkham Notch to Gorham NH-finished the Whites today. more drizzle all day! back at the same motel in Gorham for tonite. Tomorrow we'll cross into Maine!NOT looking forward to the return of the black flies and skeeters-they already returned today for the last 2 miles! Boooooh!!!Hugo got the day off to rest today. Pretty hot yesterday in the 70's and big climbs kicked his butt too.Broke my damn trekking pole today. Snapped right near the tip. it's carbon fiber (superlight) so it snapped/cracked instead of bending like the 3 aluminum/titanium ones I've seen bend (Guthook, Groovasaurus, Coughdrop). Kinda screwed now since nobody sells Komperdell poles (REI version but same thing). dunno what I'll do to solve this saga. It's Saturday nite, tomorrow is Sunday. At least I have one good pole for a tent pole if I need it.Sorry for the rambling. Just no internet access now. Will try to email some photos and then upload a few pics to journal somehow.Anyway pretty tired but glad the Whites are behind us.Got a ride into Gorham from a guy who was literally on the cell phone with his daughter (AT thru hiker last year) when he told her he was pullin over to pick us up. She said if it's FedEx tell him I said hi. Apparently she's been readin my journal online. How weird is that?! (we do hear folks from time to time who read our journals and seem to know us but dont actually know us. kinda cool)Anyway time to shower and eat dinna!Gotta run.Cant wait to be THRU HIKIN!!Anyway we finished the Whites todayFedEx