Date: 2003-09-02
From: Garfield Ridge Shelter

To: Guyot Campsite
Miles today: 5.5

The morning was crisp, not frosty, but crisp. A pretty good front had blown through the nite I spent at Greenleaf Hut. If it wasn't freezing it was close to it with wind gusts to 50 mph. This morning, however, it was merely crisp. I stayed in my bag (bless Donna for bringing it to me in Woodstock) until Mud Butt, Paper Maker, and Bumpkin left...I'm always the last one. (I have no get up and go in the mornings, but I warm up after I once get started.) The caretaker who collected the tenting fees the previous afternoon was hard at work processing the outhouse waste into ecologically friendly, composted by-products. This is one of, if not THE, primary reasons for the ATC to be charging hikers money at almost every campsite between Katahdin and the New Hampshire state line. So the ATC hires these caretakers to maintain the Trails and to process the outhouse wastes into eco-friendly humus. This involves a LOT of stirring up the poop so bacteria break it down into potting soil as fast as possible. This involves a symphony of shovel bangs and bumps over at the mixing trough. "Thump, thump, thump" again, again, and again. The caretaker had notified us the nite before that he was going to be busy for at least four hours, mixing and mashing. "Thump, thump, thump". Sure enough, "thump, thump, thump" at 10:15 a.m. as I followed the entry trail back to the A.T. It was the last impression I had of Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite..."thump, thump, thump."It was pretty much straight down this morning and before I caught up with Mudd-Butt and crew, I passed another face I had seen before. At the Trapper John Shelter she was carrying the largest pack I had ever seen and acted wild-eyed and strange. Today she seemed lucid and in positive spirits, but the pack was just as big. Whatever her name is, I wish her well, and advise her of the lack of water between here and Liberty Springs. She waves acknowledgement and continues up from rock to rock.I struggle to hang on to bushes and small trees as I work my way down. Soon, I'm passing Mud Butt, who has stopped once again to discuss the Trail with southbound hikers. After a couple of miles of steep downs, I can see Galehead Hut on the other side of an enormous valley. It's as pretty a picture as you could ask for, except it's still at least 2-3 miles away and on the other side of a glacial hanging valley. Rats! About this time I could have used another bunch of $1.00 cinnamon rolls like at Lonesome Lake Hut.Along about this time, I'm passed by T-Bird, who has a guitar in her pack and is about 23-27 yrs. old and a bit on the smallish side. Also, you don't see all that many hikers wearing wrap-around skirts. We said our "howdys" and continued on towards the "all you can eat for $1.00", but when I got to Galehead, there was nothing. Double rats. "We aren't doing that today" I was told. So I head out and up and up, and up! The North Twin Spur of the South Twin Mtn. is almost a mile high. Then you climb down from that, only to climb up South Twin Mtn. All this with no cinnamon rolls. I liked to have died!So, when the side trail to Mt. Guyot Shelter and Campsite showed up, I was all for tenting (for pay of course) at the campsite. It was a nice place and I snapped some pics of the shelter 'cause it was up on the cliffside like an eagle's nest. It had a nice view of the far-away Presidentials, including Mt. Washington. The caretaker was a nice girl who had just been moved in from the Ethan Pond Shelter. She told me that Ethan Pond would be a "Free" site since it had no caretaker. Good to know! I played my harmonica as the sun went down. Slept by myself in the shelter that nite, though there were other section hikers tenting at the site. Fine by me. Only thing was I had had to climb over the crest of Mt. Guyot and then climb down about 700 ft. in order to reach the campsite.