Date: 2010-08-13
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Imp Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: fog

"Nothing That A Nine Year Old Couldn't Do" Stambler asked the shuttle driver about the difficulty of the stretch of trail over Wildcat Mountain to Imp Shelter. His reply was that he had hiked it some years ago with his daughter: "nothing that a nine year old couldn't do". I felt reassured.Stambler Climbs WildcatThe climb out of Pinkham Notch was a long hard pull, but the time went fast as Stambler and I exchanged our stories. Out here, trust and bonding between hikers is nearly instant, but we usually don't tell each other our "story" until more miles have passed. I first met Stambler when she got disoriented after a nap and was walking southbound near Windsor Furnace Shelter in Pennsylvania. My first impression was that she was a tad scatterbrained and probably wasn't long for the trail, even though she had made it this far. Subsequently, she was playing mother for two characters named Pacer and Kentucky, and had hiked with them as a trio from New Jersey to Manchester Center, Vermont, where Kentucky injured his knee and had to get off the trail for a few days. Stambler set out on the trail alone at that point. I had been paralleling Stambler since Mitzpah Hut and had developed a new level of respect for her as I witnessed her self-reliance and determination. You may get a number of superficial answers, or a simple "dunno" when asking a thru-hiker why they are out here. The reality is that we all have issues of one kind or another that simply cannot be addressed or resolved by a beer or two, and it requires that the friendship between us reach a certain level before we will share the real reason. This is what I call our story. So, Stambler and I spent the better part of the morning listening and sharing. At the second peak of Wildcat Mountain, we encountered the top of the gondola that was shuttling tourists to the top of the mountain. I ran down to the gondola building in search of vending machines: there were none. As I went back to the trail, Stambler was encircled by an interested crowd of tourists. As I approached, I said: "Stambler, are you telling folks that you hiked here from Georgia again? I'm sorry people, she was just released from the hospital..." Thru-hikers seem to be more of a novelty as we get this far north, and it takes a while longer to explain what we are doing.After entertaining the masses, we continued over peaks D, C, B, and A of Wildcat, then headed down Carter Notch to the AMC hut. A member of the kitcheb croo gave us homemade pita bread and soup. We needed fortification for the climb up Carter Dome.The theme for the remainder of the hike was "nothing that a nine year old couldn't do". The trail was pretty, but the going rough and challenging. The descent down North Carter Mountain was nothing short of dangerous. In spite of dry rocks, I took a tumble down a near vertical rock face where the tiny hand and foot holds were polished smooth. I landed on my left hand and right buttock, sustaining painful, but thankfully, minor contusions.We rolled into Imp Shelter at dark after twelve hours of hiking at a pace that rarely went above a mile an hour. But, it was "nothing that a nine year old could not do." Learn from the mistakes of others. You can¢t live long enough to make them all yourself.-Eleanor Roosevelt