Date: 2013-08-28
From: Zero day in Gorham

To: Zeta Pass
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Susan dropped me off fairly early at Pinckham Notch. After a couple of miles of level ground along a creek, the Trail goes quite steeply up the Wildcat Mtns. From the South, Wildcat E is the first one. There's a good bit of rock climbing, but this is one place in the Whites that seemed easier going North than South. Then there's some fairly level trail & down & up again to Wildcat D, where there is the top of a ski lift, so there are always people hanging around up there. WIldcat A is the tallest [4422 feet], but there are downs & ups between each [B is almost imperceptible].As I came up the first slope, I saw Genie, BP, Double Iron, & another hiker camping at the first ridge. I saw them later in the day at Carter hut. Between C & D peaks, I met Patchouli & Obie slack packing South. They had thought they could do the 21 miles from Rt. 2 to Rt. 16 in one day; however they got stuck staying the night at Carter Hut. This section is more difficult than it appears! I spoke with a couple of section hikers at the top of Wildcat A [good views of Carter Hut & its lakes way down below] & then started down. The Trail down didn't seem too difficult, but somehow I got my left foot snagged on a rock in a way that suddenly twisted it forward, & I fell on my right knee. That bled quite a bit, but the real damage was to the ankle. I had to take it easy the rest of the day. When I got to the hut, where I could get my leg cleaned up, there was only one croo member there. Patchouli had told me they had lots of extra food which they were giving away because they had had so few guests last night, so I asked about that. He said he'd heat up some lasagna for me. Meanwhile, I could munch on leftover brownies & bread. The bread wasn't in very good shape, but the brownies were edible. Since the only way to heat things up is in the oven, it took a while. I should have had a clue, when he suggested we could play a game of chess while we waited! I declined, so he played his guitar while I ate brownies. About the time I got done eating the lasagna, the others I had seen earlier started arriving. Apparently, there were NO reservations for paying guests for tonight. That meant thru-hkers could probably stay for free.   The others decided to do that. Since I wanted to get some more miles in, I made a $5.00 donation & left. I've written previously about pack momentum ¢ how it's important not to lift your head too early when getting up over rocks because it shifts the center of gravity backwards. To that I have to add a caveat: watch your head!. Going up some of the steep rocks of Carter Dome, I surged ahead to have the momentum going up & over . . . & rammed my head into a branch sticking out over the trail. So I've decided it's important also to glance ahead enough to avoid obstacles like that, even while maintaining momentum. I was also experimenting with ways to land on my sprained ankle so it wouldn't hurt each step of the way. The morning had been nice & sunny. As I got to Carter Notch, it began to rain, & there were bits of rain several times during the afternoon, & later on I heard thunder in the distance but saw no lightning till after 8 pm. By then, I had concluded that I just couldn't make it any farther than Zeta Pass. I figured there would be a camping spot there.There are 2 paths to Zeta [I didn't look up Zeta in that book on place names]: one goes over Mt. Hight [4652 ft.]; the other by-passes it.   The signs don't indicate which is the AT ¢ you have to look at a guide book or map to be sure that the Trail goes over it. Of course, cynics would say that the AT always goes over EVERY available obstacle! I forget who Mr. Hight was, but originally his name had been attached to the Mtn. now called Carter Dome; some later geographers demoted him to a lesser peak nearby. As it was getting dark, I found only one likely tent-site in Zeta Pass, so I set up there . . . without my usual attention to where water was likely to flow. I was in my sleeping bag when the really heavy rain started. I suddenly became aware that my groundcloth had water under it, & water was starting to come up on top too. The head end of my tarp-tent was apparently blocking the drainage flow to a creek-bed nearby. By lifting the groundcloth carefully, I was able to let that small pond empty out. Then I folded part of my air mattress under me & slept with myself folded so that neither end would get wet.Well, we 'll see how things look in the morning.