Date: 2015-08-25
From: Zero Day in Gorham, NH

To: Gentian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.8

Aaaah, we're out of the Whites and immediately the trail became easier. For a while during the first few miles it actually was really easy, and we started talking about going to the next shelter past our planned destination. Then common sense prevailed. Yoda and I had breakfast down the street where I ordered the fluffy apple pancakes again with the express purpose of carrying out my leftovers. Paul dropped Yoda and another hiker named Time a mile from the trail head (Yoda had already done that section on the day she realized her ankle wasn't ready yet, I don't know about Time) and Cruise Control and me at the trail head. The first mile was a road walk, but soon enough we went back into the woods and started climbing.The climb was up Mount Hayes and a very well behaved climb it was. 1800 feet of elevation gain but over 3.5 miles so it really wasn't bad. The weather was overcast and misty, and really very nice to hike in. We made excellent progress at our pre-Whites normal of 2 mph and this is when we started talking about possibly going further than planned.Then the trail knocked some sense into us. . It was as if the trail maintainers were worried we'd be bored with all this well behaved trail, so there were some rock slabs with hard ups and downs thrown in. This of course slowed us down quite a bit, and also caused Fall Number 8. No harm done, so it wasn't much of an issue, but it did put me on notice not to let my guard down.Sadly the weather started to deteriorate as well, with rumbling not too far away and increasing rain to the point where all three of us put on rain jackets. The rumbling thankfully never came to anything and eventually the rain stopped as well. Of course all rocks and roots were now nice and slippery! We passed not one, not two, but three 1900 mile markers. The last one wins 'most original material', we think it was moose poop...I have noticed that some areas already look like fall has arrived, with yellow grasses and berries and such. We came through a few of those areas again today, next to a pond. Two Bad Dogs told us they saw a mama and baby moose when they stopped for lunch at one of the ponds, and a Sobo told me when he passed he saw them or another pair, plus 5 or 6 beavers here at Gentian Pond this morning.Because of the harder terrain after the first few miles, logistics to set us up to hike the Mahoosuc Notch on fresh legs Thursday and the realization that it would probably be wise not to subject Yoda's ankle to 17 miles on the first day back, we stuck to the original plan of staying here at Gentian pond, and we were all pretty ready to stop when we got here. Still, it's a far cry from the bone deep fatigue I'd feel after a day in the Whites!I'm set up on a platform, which is always a bit challenging when you don't have a free-standing tent. I made it work in the end, but it's probably the worst set up of the hike, and I hope it doesn't fall over or collapse on me in the middle of the night!Cruise Control hung her hammock in the same area and Yoda is a bit further away, but we all cooked dinner and ate on the tent platform. One thing those platforms are good for is providing a stable and level cooking surface. I tried to eat as many snacks as I could (in addition to dinner) because my food bag is once again ridiculously full. And I'd prefer it to be significantly emptier and lighter when I go through Mahoosuc notch. Since we have another not-long day planned tomorrow (see: perfect position to hike the notch on fresh legs), I am going to sleep in tomorrow and have a leisurely cup of tea at the pond, hopefully with a moose sighting. We shall see!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?