Date: 2017-08-25
To: Stealth Tentsite at mile 408.6
Miles today: 19.2

8/25/17 Day 88 - 19.2 milesNorth Woodstock (The Notch Hostel) to NH Rt 25A(Mile 408.6)Woke up with a bit of a sore throat for the 3rd day now. Had to be packed and ready to go for the 7:30 shuttle. I would've liked to stay for a zero just to celebrate the end of the Whites even though I still have Moosilauke (but what's one more mountain). The hostel was all booked for the night so it wasn't an option anyway. We were all at the van ready to go and when we reached the trailhead Destiny was missing? I rode in the front seat and didn't notice he never got in- He ran inside real quick and missed the shuttle! I said so long to the 2 others on the shuttle- Rick who was sectioning north and River who was heading south but in no hurry. I started up Moosilauke at an easy pace in no rush - it's a 3000' climb in 3.4 miles- the last big one for a while!! The sore throat was bothering me a bit so I didn't want to push it. It was pretty foggy this morning so I wasn't too hopeful for any views at the top and I was correct. Foggy, windy, and cold - I even had to put on my hat and gloves for this one. The temp was 46 in the valley before I left and I'm sure it was in the 30's with the wind chill up here. Took a picture of the sign and kept moving. As I was heading down, I met Stick in the Woods. He was heading north and had a newer ZPacks bag. He had the same tent as me and as we're talking, here comes Destiny right past me like I wasn't moving. He got a 30 minute later start than me but had caught up pretty quick. I told him I was slow going today and maybe we'll catch up later. The plan is to be in Hanover on Sunday.  Besides the sore throat I hadn't had much of a breakfast either so I stopped and had a double lunch. Took some Advil and moved on with hope that I would start to feel better. The trail leveled off nicely after Moosilauke and I was starting to feel better and making the miles when I reached Jeffers Brook Shelter. Destiny was there with a couple NOBOs and I was thinking it was a good time for a nap. One of the NOBOs mentioned the omelette guy and I didn't think we were reaching him till tomorrow but he was only about 9 miles up the trail. I took my nap because I was told he finishes up around 3:00 and there was no chance I was making it. It turns out he stays till around 5:00. By the time I found this out it was 3:40 and I was 3.5 miles away. It was possible I could make it in time so I started cruising. I figured the worst case scenario is that he's gone but I'd still have 3.5 miles further for the day. As the NOBOs passed me, they'd say hurry up- he's still there!! So I'd go faster. Eventually I saw the tent in the woods and it was surrounded by hikers!! I made it!!!The Omelette Guy is Carl and he's been setting up a tent on the trail for the past couple years and he makes omelettes for all the thru-hikers. Ham, peppers, onions, and cheese. As many eggs as you'd like. The record this year is Mufassa who ate a 30 egg omelette just last week- I never met him but I heard he had to take a 0 the next day because he wasn't feeling so well. Along with the omelettes, he has drinks, coffee, and bananas. It was the strangest thing to see right on the trail. Thanks again Carl!! After the omelette, I had an easy 1.9 to the stealth site where I'm typing this up. 7:30 and ready for bed. The plan is for 22 tomorrow and an easy 11 into town on Sunday.