Date: 2008-07-23
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: fog

First, some news from the home front - Trail Boss is going to be unable to meet me at Katahdin and climb up with me. Her work is going to have her travelling elsewhere during the time period I expect to summit. That's the bummer. The good news is that she is giving us a special birthday present (my birthday is in July; hers is in August). We are booked to go on a one-week cruise on Labor Day weekend. What a great way to celebrate the finish of the hike and lay back and chill for seven days. I can't wait.Of course going on the cruise is conditional upon my finishing the hike first. With the time I've taken off here and there, I missed my July 23rd six-month date since I started this "challenge." So, to play it safe, I'm going to make August 23rd the "drop-dead" date for finishing. That will make it an even seven months.One other bit of "housekeeping" before I begin describing this day. I'm now almost a week behind with these journal entries. They take time to compose and get them to Trail Boss. And then it takes her some time to get them entered. So some of my future entries may be a bit more abbreviated than my recent ramblings. The pictures are quick to take and email, so they shouldn't be a problem. But the journal entries - still one for each day, but we will see about the length.Okay - today. If there is ever a day that I benefited from my prior knowledge from the other hikes, it is today. One of those things is in the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The other is the climb up Wildcat Mountain.Not a quick start from Madison Spring Hut since I had my morning chores (work for stay) and breakfast. I think it was pretty close to 9am before I left. On the plus side, you get to climb Mt. Madison first think in the morning. But after that the trail is pretty darn easy until you get to Pinkham Notch. This entire section is a lot lower than the surrounding peaks. I think I was hiking down around 2,000 or 2,500 feet for most of the day. So good time was made.By the way - just after Mt. Madison is the Ogden Tent Site. I mention it because there is no fee to use it. About 8 miles into the day I arrived at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. In the past I stayed here and enjoyed the place. They have a large number of dorm-style rooms with two bunks per room. I don't remember the cost, but it includes breakfast (they have a pretty nice meal) and they give thru-hikers a discount. Their gift shop sells a surprsingly decent amount of hiking items and also soft drinks and snacks. In the basement is a washer/dryer.I didn't stay here this time (although I wish I could have) because I go there just too early. But everything looked the same as in the past. One other thing, you can catch the AMC shuttle bus here to go to the other notches, Gorham, etc.Now for the other significant event for the day. Immediately after heading north from the visitor center you will climb Wildcat Mountain. Actually there are four, different peaks to go over. But it is the first that you climb that will forever remain in your memory.When I did my south-bound hikes before I got to go DOWN this peak into Pinkham Notch. To say that I went down is an understatement. You have an almost vertical rock to go down in several spots. You will look down and see white blazes and say to yourself "how in hell am I supposed to get down there?"Well, I was dreading going up. At least I could look directly at the rock instead of having to look down. I collapsed my hiking poles and strapped them to my pack. They wouldn't be much help here. So began about an hour climb up. It took that long due to taking a rest/water break every now and then and because I was always looking for an easier climbing option every step of the way. I was definitely not a "purist" on this climb. If there was an easier (or safer) way to go - I took it. Although I laugh about it later, I wondered several times if I shouldn't take off my pack, tie it to a rope, and haul it up behind me.The remaining three Wildcat peaks were just as high. But they didn't have the fear factor of the first. I took plenty of time and they were not that big of a deal.Less than a mile further on the trail I arrived at Carter Notch. Right past is a side trail to Carter Notch Hut. It's a pretty short trail and I didn't mind taking it to the Hut. There is a rocky climb down to the hut, but that was about it for the day.The Carter Notch Hut is the last AMC hut going north. That can only mean that the Whites were almost finished. Tomorrow night I planned on being in Gorham and spending the night at a motel. Really, really looking forward to that.