Date: 2004-08-03
From: Guyot Campsite

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: scattered clouds

The sun rise woke me at 5:20am. After capturing a few photos through the trees, there was nothing for it but to sink back down into my back and catch a few more Zs.After breakfast, I ran into the caretaker between the spring and the shelter. He asked, what was my take on the ranger last night. We had a good long talk. The caretaker doesn't determine the no camping zones so there was no point in the ranger arguing with him. If the ranger wanted to express his opinions he should go back to the office and talk to his superiors. After all, if the ranger isn't going to play by the rules, why should anyone. Besides, the reason it is a no camping zone up there is obvious. The place in question was in the water shed directly above the spring. The whole thing was beyond comprehension. It was obvious the caretaker appreciated my validation of his position for sure. It felt good to put his mind at ease. Hopefully he reports this guy.Camped on South Twin, Trunks and his father came to mind. It was a good thing this ranger wasn't heading that way last night. Something told me he would not have been very understanding. Of course there was also the illegal tent on Guyot that appeared to be on vegetation.By 9:30 it was back to following the white blazes. It was another beautiful day with blue skies and occasional puffy white clouds drifting by. The views at 9:40 this morning from the summit of Guyot to Franconia Ridge and Garfield were completely different from last night yet still stellar. The trail followed familiar foot steps over Mount Zealand and down to the Zeacliff outlook which just demanded a visit and photo. After all it was only 11am.From Zeacliff the trail plummets via a great rock hopping trail to Zealand Falls Hut and the falls of course. Waterloo and Machine were hanging out on the porch at the hut. It was good to see them again. They asked about my illness. Last time I had seen them was on the trail just leaving Bennington and the hospital. Apparently that was not the last time they had seen me, however. They had passed me while I was crashed in my tent in the middle of the trail near the summit of Stratton back on at 7/22/04. They were the ones who alerted the summit stewards of my condition. What a cool community we have on the trail.After a brief stop at the hut it was time to head out through Zealand notch, along the Whitewall Cliffs, just a beautiful hike. At the far end of the Whitewall I took the short jaunt over to get an eye full of Thoreau Falls but first a thought of trail magic crossed my mind. Waterloo and Machine had been concerned about affording to stay in the whites. There was an envelope and some stationary in my pack from the hotel in New York City. The envelope got stuffed with a $20 bill and a note recommending the RMC Crag Camp in the northern Presidentials. With their names on the outside it got stuck to the sign for Thoreau Falls some how. That felt pretty good. Hopefully they will appreciate the gesture. Paying for a thru-hikers stay at a shelter in the whites is not completely out of the ordinary for me but this was the first time this year.The trail from Thoreau Falls to Ethan Pond Shelter is pretty flat but full of bog bridges. There were some volunteer crews working on the trail. They got lots of praise and thanks from me. It's hard dirty work. Today there was an appointment to keep, so there was no stopping at Ethan Pond to check the journal. From here it is a long moderate descent into Crawford Notch at the site of the old Willey Station. It was 2:30pm when my long time good friends, Jim and Faith Rupert, greeted me in the parking lot. They had been there for a while but they said they didn't mind the wait. We got in their car and headed down to Glenn and up route 16 to a little store that makes sandwiches and such. We placed our orders and claimed one of the 2 tables.Outside on the pay phone I tried to call my doctor again. Getting hold of his assistant, she told me he had the test results from the hospital in Bennington but really needed to see me. They had a couple of openings in the next 2 days. We settled on the first one, tomorrow at 11am. Jim and Faith were happy to help out with the shuttle service. They could have dropped me at my home but that just seemed wrong. It would have split the hike into 2 adventures. So, I asked if they would take me in for the night, get me to the doctor in the morning and then drop me back at the trail after that. Fortunately, being semi retired, their schedules are somewhat flexible. We went to their house where both my clothes and myself got good and clean and rested. This had only been an 11.9 mile day but my long term health was in question and that question needed an answer.