Date: 2010-08-19
From: USFS vista over Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham
Miles today: 15.3

19 Thursday August ¢ 15.3 to GorhamCouldn¢t enough because I was tossing and turning. Sleeping with my mouth shut was impossible since I¢ve contracted a cold. My head was in a puddle of drool and snot was all over my beard. The hairs are caked together like dreadlocks. My mouth feels full of cotton when I rinse off the crust from the sides of my lips. The stars were amazing again each time I got out to pee last night. New Hampshire skies remind me of the difference between analog antennas and high definition. It looks deeper here and vast and incomprehensible. I set my alarm but it took me awhile to get out of my nice comfy cocoon. My body feels crappy today. My nose is running and there¢s pressure in my sinus.The hike down from my perch was enough to wake me up. Thought I¢d stop at the hut for coffee but it was already drained. I got nothing but floating coffee grounds at the bottom of my cup. Wizard watched me like I was crazy as I slurped the empty cup. Tree and Jenn are camped down by the trail intersection leading to the hut.The hut is surrounded in the front by two ponds. It¢s muddy getting around to the entrance. Rehab, Wizard, SOBO and a 72 year old female flip-flop thru-hiker were keeping watch over the food inside the hut. The old lady started in June last year and made it to PA. She started in PA this year and has almost made Maine! I talk to this amazing 72 year old as I keep watch over my shoulder to see if the Croo is going to make anymore coffee. One of the AMC patrons commented to another that I ¢looked¢ like a genuine thru-hiker. That¢s probably because I look like crap. I must look even worse with this head cold eating away at my facial expressions. I¢m rough looking to say the least but I take it as a compliment. Hitchhiking has become increasingly difficult with the progression of my beards development.Carter Dome was as hard as I¢d imagine. It¢s just as hard as it looks if you¢re wondering. I¢m enjoying my lightened pack this morning. My food bag is feeling a lot smaller. My nose is still running and I fire lots of snot rockets. I¢m pretty gassed up also on all the peanut butter I¢ve engulfed lately. Determining your location in the Carter Mountain range proved to be difficult. Whether I¢m just starting or almost to Gorham is a tricky question right now. I fall a couple more times but all¢s well with the skeletal system. The number of times I¢ve fallen in NH has reached double digits. The trail is relentless after the summit. Little roller coaster hills straight up and straight down weren¢t what I was expecting at all. Demoralized to see I had 6 miles to go before Imp campsite. The funk in my nostrils has me feeling lousy. Felt I could faint a couple times climbing North Carter.I passed ¢Clear Blue Skies¢ as she headed south. She¢s flip-flopping. She recommended staying at the White Birches Inn when I get to Gorham. The way I feel makes me inclined to go there and take tomorrow off! There¢s a spring running on the left side of the trail, about 10ft into the woods where I wished I¢d obtained my water. The hike down to Imp is about 800ft and it¢s steep. I got the opportunity to help out a SOBO later by telling him to avoid Imp and get water a little further up the trail.Head spinning with feelings of low energy or sugar. I¢ve drank lots of water but it¢s been hot. I stink horribly. My shorts are crispy and they crinkle in the bag when I scratch the back of my legs. Mud comes all the way to my knees. Hard day compounded by the little head cold. A shower and town food will make it better I think.Expected to encounter a hell of a decent from the top of Moriah mountain but it wasn¢t unpleasant at all. The 4000ft drop in one mile was not to be found. I feel gun shy on the profile maps now because down hill in the Whites can be just as hard. The tiny profile maps line doesn¢t show you if there¢s a cliff to scramble up either. This place isn¢t hard at all and I¢m so thankful. A nerve feels like its sliding over my patella similar to a stretched out rubber. Past over ridge lines, streams, and rolling hills with little strain. Starting to feel better after digesting those snacks I ate during my last break in the action.Stumbled into the last shelter in the Whites known as Rattle River! Now I understand a former thru-hikers comment about the Whites in a magazine I once read. The thru-hiker discusses how the Whites had beaten him up. At the time I didn¢t understand how someone could endure everything leading up to NH and still feel like that. Now that I¢ve been bludgeoned by this vicious place, I understand what the former thru-hiker meant. I¢m awfully tired and my legs are worn out. There¢s only 1.9 miles of it left though!My plan for an evening in Gorham: Advil PM¢s and then bed! Maybe get a replacement spoon by ordering a McFlurry at the last McDonalds on the trail. I end the night by doing neither.Nice calm 1.9 miles down a freaking road. My feet are so thankful! The old jeep trail is unbelievable after walking over the wreckage I¢ve been traversing. Falling apart inside as I wait impatiently on the side of the road to get a ride into town. It¢s really hot and I¢m dehydrated. I blow snot rockets between potential hitches into Gorham. Blazing hot pavement is cooking the rottenness of my clothing into my flesh. I took my last swallow of water and forced out the biggest smile I could.Three men pick me up after a little wait by the roadside. They just came back to town after visiting Katahdin. Whaat? Katahdin is that close!!! I instantly feel better, not because of the proximity of Katahdin, but from the cookies they start feeding me. I told them I¢d almost gotten a ride from someone in a Lexus but they didn¢t believe me. The guys have been keeping up with Cowgirl¢s trail journal and they¢re trying to leave her a note and some Cliff bars. They give me some Cliff bars and I sink my parched lips into one of their ripe apples! So thirsty!! They dropped me off at the White Birches Inn. They took my trail name so they could look up my journal page also.Lowrod is the only hiker there tonight at the Inn. I¢ve missed the last shuttle to town but I don¢t care. Hot showers are 0.25 for 5 minutes and that¢s all I can think about. I was so hot that I tried the cold water first. Ha, it works! I got a really long shower even though it was icy and burned my skin. They provided us with cotton shirts and shorts for laundry. I love how you can go from being the most uncomfortable you¢ve ever been to being completely relaxed and so far away from misery. This trail is so extreme that I can be a peace one second and out of control the next. I wallow in the chaos and order it provides! My spirit¢s back up again! Growl!Lowrod wanted me to pre-rinse my socks because they stood up on their own. I was offended at first but then I realized it was a really good idea. It seems every time I do laundry my clothes smell worse than when they went in. Lowrod, think it¢s because we¢re not getting the nasty socks rinsed out first. My laundry runs while I go to town courteous of ¢Golden Waldo¢ to the local grocery store.When ¢Golden Waldo¢ and I walk into the store I run into Tree and Jenn yet again! Pony is there also. I¢d met him earlier somewhere along the way. All I need from the store is three days of lunch and I¢m set. I got 6 ramen noodles out of the hiker box at the White Birches Inn so I¢ve got enough dinners. The plan is to stay really light through the Mahooscus!Returned to the hostel with a deli sandwich and orange juice but I didn¢t get any Advil PM¢s. The icy chlorinated swimming pool water made my head cold feel better. Took some ibuprofen instead and passed out before dark. Sleeping accommodations tonight are the best in a while. A giant cot with a bunk bed cushions! Noisy outside the window nearby but I put in my ear plugzzzzzzzzz¢¦