Date: 2004-08-17
From: Imp Camp Shelter, NH

To: Day 117: US 2 near Gorham, NH
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

On AT Day 117 I got up at 4:00 a.m., made some cold granola cereal for breakfast with my remaining water and then I packed up and hit the trail around 6:20 a.m. The rain had stopped by morning, but everything was still very wet and with the fog and wind, the conditions were still far from ideal. Following one relatively easy 200-foot bump to reach the junction with Stony Brook trail, the hike from the Imp Shelter and Campsite up to the 4,049-foot summit of Mount Moriah was a repeat of the day before with a series of steep, slick rock faces to negotiate in heavy blowing fog ¢ what fun! All the while I was making this climb I kept hoping that the descent would not also be a repeat of the ¢horrendous¢ (to quote one of the other through hikers) climb down from Carter Mountain ¢ lucky for me it wasn¢t.The descent from Mount Moriah was like the descent from Wildcat Mountain Peak A, steep, but with rocky steps rather than sheer rock faces. True it was wet and slick, but at least if I went slowly I was confident that I could make it without a major injury. In fact the biggest challenge for the day was not the rocky descent, but rather the rain-swollen river and creek crossings. The latter was especially evident during the repeated crossings of the rain-swollen Rattle River and its many tributaries where most of rock steps were now under rapidly moving cold water. Despite these conditions, I didn¢t bother to stop to put on my water sandals since my boots and socks were already soaked from the mud and huge puddles along the trail.By the time I reached the Rattle River Shelter the trail had leveled off considerably and now it was possible to increase my pace up to a more respectable 2 to 2.5-miles per hour. This increase in speed allowed me to complete my 8-mile hike and reach my pick-up spot at the junction of the AT with US 2 near Gorham, NH, two hours early and not surprisingly Hot Chocolate was not there. I quickly tried my cellular phone and much to my surprise I was able ¢ in roam mode ¢ get through. Unfortunately, my wife was neither at our campsite nor on the Mount Washington Auto Road as I thought she had planned. Instead she was in Maine scouting out one of our future campsites and could not return to pick me up for at least three hours. So much for my two-day fantasy about having another decadent lunch at Burger King!With my wife so far away and our trailer parked ¢only¢ one mile down the highway, my choices were simple and I picked up my pack and made the hike. This story would have had a better ending if I had been carrying a key to our trailer, but absent that I was still able to raid a cooler we keep outside for some cold soft drinks. I then made a hot lunch with my camp stove, actually I made the soup and noodle dinner I had not been able to make the night before, and then set up my tent and laid out my sleeping bag and other items to dry in the warm, dry afternoon breezes. I also put my Z-Rest on the grass and promptly went to sleep until my wife returned. All in all a surprisingly pleasant ending to the most challenging hiking segment to date on the AT. Now, I look forward with frankly mixed emotions to the unknown challenges of Maine!