Date: 2011-07-24
From: (107) Hexacuba Shleter

To: (108) Beaver Brook Shelter
Miles today: 22.6

I slept in until 6am today, then I said goodbye to Glad Gal and Clutch and headed out. I don¢t know why but I could not get myself to hike fast. I felt tired all day and more than once even thought about how sick I was of all the endless hiking and that maybe I had had too much of a good thing. Physically I still had a lot left in me, but mentally I was a wreck. Too many mountains, too many 14 hour days¢¦ I had hit a wall. For the past week sun up to sun down my goal had been to close the distance between myself and Wakarusa, and it was grinding me to pieces. Around 2pm I came out onto a road and could not find a white blaze or the trail anywhere on the other side. I looked for several minutes to no avail, and it seemed as though the trail had vanished, though I knew it was just poorly marked. Furious and grumpy, I threw my poles and sat down. Then I looked over at a nearby parking lot and saw none other than Guinness and Pilgrim getting out of their car (They had been using a rental to slack pack different sections of trail, it must be nice to be retired). Happy to see me for the second day in a row, they talked to me and cheered me up, and then pointed me to where the trail started again down the road. I went to it, and found that it was horribly marked (staring right at it I could barely see it), immediately leading straight down a steep bank to a creek. I had to climb down a tree to water level and then rock hop to get across, but was rewarded on the other side when I ran into my old friend Mofo! I had not seen him since Harpers Ferry, and he and I caught up. Mofo was finishing up his day¢s hike and would be riding back with Guinness and Pilgrim, so after our brief conversation I said goodbye, but I knew that I would pass him, Guinness, and Pilgrim again if they kept slack packing.The rest of my day was all one mountain, Mt Moosilauke, which marked the beginning of The Whites (White Mountains National Forest, the most ruthless mountain range on the AT in terms elevation and terrain). It was a goliath of a mountain, with a several mile climb just to reach the summit, and several more over its top. Being in ridiculously good shape, and having dragged my butt for most of the day, I made a point of hiking nonstop to the summit without rest or water. At the top I found myself above the tree line, and because of this I could see for miles and miles in every direction. Looking the way I had come I saw that the mountains were much lower compared to where I was currently standing, but in front of me I could see the rest of the Whites as well as the Presidential Range (including Mt Washington) towering over their surroundings, dark and seemingly vertical. It was a glorious sight to behold. In addition to the panoramic views I also noticed that the air was much colder at the top. The cool temp was the first I¢d felt the whole week because of the heat wave, and it was great! (Little did i know then, but it would stay cold for the rest of my hike).Coming down the other side of Mt Moosilauke was a long and tedious process as the trail was steep and made of boulders. Around 6pm I reached Beaver Brook Shelter after 22.6 miles. I had plenty of energy to continue on, but was sick of hiking and decided to give myself a break and call it a day before it got dark out.At the shelter I met an older guy named Bald Eagle. He was from Chambersburg PA, which is close to where I live, so we hit it off. While talking I mentioned to him that I had gotten off for awhile because of Lyme Disease, and he responded ¢Wait, are you the same Lemur who¢s looking for Wakarusa?¢ I said I was, and Bald Eagle exclaimed ¢Well he¢s right over there in his tent!¢I was ecstatic. To think that I had almost hiked on! In fact, if I hadn¢t been so lazy all day I would have hiked past Beaver Brook Shelter hours ago without even stopping in! It seemed as though fate had brought me to rest in the proximity of those whom I¢d been searching! We called out from the shelter, and Wakarusa came walking in shortly after. I had finally found him.Wakarusa and I caught up until nightfall, and then I got ready for bed (Wakarusa told me all kinds of stories, and I learned that after hiking with his daughter he had teamed up with Bald Eagle in Pennsylvania and that they had been hiking together ever since. Wakarusa was very excited about the Whites, claiming that the real adventure was just getting started!). I was very happy to see my friend again, especially since I had been hitting my wits end while hiking such big days. I do not know what kind of miles I will do now, but I am sure I will take it a little easier.From where I sat that night in the shelter I could see that I was still only half-way down Mt Moosilauke. As a result it was very cold (I could see my breath), as well as very scenic. From where my head rested inside my sleeping bag, I could look out of the shelter over a vast expanse of pine trees and see the Presidential range as well as Mt Washington, waiting for me to come, and dominate them as well¢¦