Date: 2001-07-02
From: Imp Shelter, NH

To: Osgood Tentsites, NH
Miles today: 17.9

It got very cold last night. At some point I started synching up my sleeping bag¢s mummy head. Eventually I had it as tight as could be and then I slithered as far into the foot of my bag as I could, put on another shirt and my hat. Then I was comfortable. It was hard to crawl out into the chill but I still managed to be up by 5:30. It was 37 degrees and very windy. One good thing about the cold is I don¢t waste time while doing my morning chores. Eat-Clean-Pack-Hike. Finished in an hour; hiking by 6:35. I had on all my layers.   The temperature dipped to 34 degrees on the Carter Range. The wind I guessed was gusting to 50 or 60 miles an hour (later at the Hut I read a forecast that said 60-75mph). Rime ice was forming on the windward side of the spruce trees. My camera batteries are already low and the cold made it totally dysfunctional, so no pictures. Hiking kept me warm, so I kept moving along- over The Carters, Mount Height and Carter Dome where the temperatures started to rise into the low forties.   On the descent down to Carter Notch the sole on my right boot came unstitched all the way from the toe to my instep. This was a problem a long time coming. These particular soles were put on my boots in Manchester Center Vermont in July 1999. They started separating soon after. Today Righty gave up trying to stay together. I fixed it temporally with a webbing strap and some medical tape. This lasted until I got to Carter Notch Hut (well, the tape didn¢t make it). I went inside and asked the caretaker if she had any duct tape and she found some for me. She then offered some twine and I said, ¢Its worth trying.¢ Then a guy working to fix a door said, ¢I¢ve got some brass screws.¢ He had two lengths and gave me six of the shorter size. I never used the duct tape but the twine wrapped around the midsection of the boot worked great, breaking only once, early on Wildcat Mountain. I retied it but only once, this time just under the instep and over the laces. The brass screws held the toe section together nicely; screwed deep into the rubber it has held so far. I bought some duct tape at Pinkham Notch Camp in case I need another fix tomorrow.      Well, on with walking- On Wildcat I caught a nice view of Carter Dome; the thick white clouds had finally lifted. Along the ridge I watched as the blanket of clouds slowly lifted higher up Mount Washington. At first they were just above the snowfield in Tuckermans Ravine, then above the headwall towards the summit cone. I think it eventually lifted to reveal the summit but by then I¢d descended down to Pinkham. There I took an extended break of snacks, apple juice and some hard candy. I weighed my backpack: it was just 23 pounds with one day of food.   The final 4.8 miles to the Osgood Tent Site seemed to go slowly but I got here by 5:25. The temperature in the notch was in the sixties but now it¢s cooled down to 55 degrees and it¢s blustery. The forecast low for tonight is 35 degrees. I¢m happy to be sleeping in my bivy bag tonight; it will help keep my warm. In camp tonight are south-bounders Strider and Hannibal. Hannibal hiked the Long Trail four or five years ago and we discussed a few things like northbound versus southbound and how beautiful the northern half of Vermont is. Strider had questions about my bivy¢s comfort versus its weight. She is carrying a large tent that was a gift. I guess she¢s thinking of getting rid of it. Well my food is getting cold- its time to eat. Goodnight.