Date: 2006-08-18
From: North Woodstock, NH

To: Garfield Ridge Camp Site
Miles today: 10.3

Bama was up and ready to go early; it was be-u-ti-ful this morning. She bought two Egg McMuffins, one for breakfast and one to have at lunch. The shuttle service picked Bama up at 7:30 at the Carriage Motel and shuttled her to the Interstate drop off.She had to walk a little ways on the Interstate to get the embankment where she would have to scramble down to the trail which goes under the Interstate. As she was walking on I-93, a guy pulled over and asked her if she needed a ride. She explained that she was getting back on the AT in just a little bit and ¢No, but thanks.¢ Turns out he is a section hiker, named Whisper, and they chatted a minute.She passed the Franconia Notch Bike Path on the Pemigawasset River (sounds interesting as we love biking Rails-to-Trails) and was soon back to the same trail conditions as the past several days - Up, down, rocks, roots, boulders and hand-to-hand scrambling. She passed by the trail to Liberty Mountain and would soon be back above tree line, but the day couldn¢t have been any better.After a 2,800 vertical foot elevation gain, she had topped Little Haystack Mountain, and then almost another 1,000 foot gain to the top of Mt. Lincoln, and then another 300 feet to the top of Mt. Lafayette when Bama stopped for lunch. Time to refuel. Bama had noticed that she had lost about 15 pounds when she was staying with the Trail Angel family in Connecticut. She was really trying to concentrate on getting off the trail more often, eating more protein and high calorie meals and doing fewer miles in the Whites because of the outrageous exertion. The Whites are full of 4,000 and 5,000 ft. peaks and the trail goes up and down them, not around them - and the rock scrambling and bouldering ¢ lest we forget that. This ain¢t no leafy, woodsy walk on a pounded-flat Great Smoky Mountain tourist trail. After the North peak of Mt. Lafayette, there was one more biggie to climb, Mt. Garfield. On her way down Mt. Lafayette, she met a SOBO coming up and they talked a while. His name was Whisper and she commented on the odds of meeting two hikers in one day named Whisper. He asked her name and she said, ¢Bama.¢ ¢Bama?!¢ he said. ¢My girl friend and I have been reading your journal and I was hoping to meet you.¢ Bama learned that his girlfriend¢s mother works at Protective Life in Birmingham where several of our Vulcan Trail Association friends work. Also that he¢s from Raleigh, NC (Bama¢s and my home state) and was looking for Cohiba and Otter too, whom Bama had just seen about a week ago. Small world . . .All of the mountain peaks today in less than 11 miles! Note the presidential names of some of these mountains ¢ which is why this NH stretch is called the ¢Presidentials.¢ She arrived at the Garfield Ridge Campsite where there is an AMC caretaker and you have to pay an $8 fee for three-sided, typical AT Adirondack shelter. Snickers was there and Bama also met Grizzly Bear, another thru-hiker. It was just the three of them.While trying to find a decent cell phone signal, she saw this huge boulder with a ladder up it near the front of the shelter. What¢s a little more climbing? On top was this really neat park bench which was placed as a memorial. The view was breathtaking ¢ and it had a terrific cell phone signal! She said this had been a cool, wonderful day for hiking in spite of the hardships. Bama was in good spirits.Bill