Date: 2008-08-04
To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 116.2
Weather: light rain

It's been a while and a good bit has happened...here it is! Pictures are also up and details are coming eventually with the photos...they are already in chronological order.East B Hill Road - Frye Notch Shelter - Day 22 - 256.5 - 261.0 - July 23rdWell, after another late night last night, no one hit the trail out of town until 11:30. The plan was 8 miles today and then see what happens tomorrow. However, the forecast was for showers this afternoon and bad weather tomorrow. By the time I reached the shelter at 4.5 miles, I realized I could go on. But, #1: I was still dry and would get wet and #2: I had a spot at this shelter and by my calculations the shelter 3.5 miles own was full. Not good on a rainy evening. So, I stopped. Today makes 10 of 12 days with rain, but I realized today that although I have made great time thus far, I wasn't having as much fun as I could. This is the trip of a lifetime, and I need to slow down at times and enjoy it more. The realization that I have to stop at Thanksgiving because of the LSATs was causing me to miss some of the finer details of the trail. Finishing by Thanksgiving is not as important as going as far as I can and having the best time possible. Well, we'll see if I can get a window tomorrow and get some miles in while it's not storming...one NOBO, Juice Box, Swing, Chef, Von Frick, Warrgeyaghey (spelled wrong), and Finding Peace in the shelter tonight.Frye Notch - Baldpate Shelter - Day 23 - 261.0 - 264.5 - July 24thWhat a 3.5 miles! My adrenaline going up the Baldpates was the highest so far on the trip. Rain, 50mph wind (+ higher gusts), and vertical rocks made it the hardest bit of hiking yet. I literally got knocked down by the wind today. About an hour after I got to the shelter today, the bottom dropped out with thunder...today has been some of the worst weather to date...11/13 days with rain, but tomorrow is supposed to being the clearing. It sure would be nice to hike double-digit miles again. Same crew as last night in the shelter, except 2 NOBOs instead of one. Hopefully, I'll get to attack the Mahoosuc's tomorrow!Baldpate Shelter - Full Goose Shelter - Day 24 - 264.5 - 276.5 - July 25thExhilarating Day! We finally got a sunny, warm day to hike. There were awesome views all day long up to Old Speck to Mahoosuc Arm to the Notch and up to the shelter. I took more pictures today than any other day so far. The famous Mahoosuc Notch (hardest mile on the AT) was incredible. The pictures will help make sense of feelings I can't put into words. On top of the constant 3500+ ft views, the meadows on the top of the South Peak of Fulling Mill Mtn. were really nice. I really took my time (10 hours) to do today's hike, but it was worthy of every second I took. This 12 mile hike now goes at #3 in my all-time long day hikes (Grand Cannyon - IFP '04 - #2, St. Helens #1). Today was actually very challenging as well, with >4000ft elevation gain on top of the Notch. Well, time to get some rest...I'll be in NEW HAMPSHIRE tomorrow!!!Full Goose Shelter - Trident Col Tentsite - Day 25 - 276.5 - 291.0 - July 26thAfter yesterday's awesome day, today began with 7 miles of continued greatness over the Goose Eye Peaks, the ME/NH state line, and Mt. Success. Oh, yeah, did I mention I'm in NEW HAMPSHIRE now?!?!? Sweet! Anyway, I got to Gentian Pond (~9 miles into the day) around 3:30 and decided to go for Trident Col (even though the shelter there had an amazing view of the upcoming Whites). Anyway, one mile from Gentian Pond, the sky turned to one of seemingly eminent doom. I put the jets on and got into camp at 5:50. It was sunny there. I talked with an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) camp group and enjoyed getting the teens excited about thru-hiking. Juice Box, Wyrm, and Pounce are the only other hikers at the site tonight and are all heading into Gorham tomorrow. LATE ENTRY: The rain here fell from 9:30-11pm and included the loudest thunder and brightest lightning I've ever seen. Unreal! On a forgotten note from earlier, I finally fell (though only knee-deep) into a bog today between the East and South Goose Eye Peaks...it was an "icky" experience.Trident Col Tentsite - Gorham, NH - Day 26 - 291.0 - 297.9 - July 27thUnplanned stop today...it was a fairly benign 7 miles today to U.S. Highway 2. It was a tough decision whether to stop or not. However, I've felt as if the skiing poles I've been using since Andover have slowed me down a bunch and I could go to Wal-Mart in Gorham today and replace my old ones. Additionally, I could use the rest before starting the Whites tomorrow and resupplying the emergency food I ate because of bad weather a few days ago. The kicker was it was only $5 more to stay at White Birches Hostel (run by Janet & Bob...coincidentally) than to pay for the AMC Shelter I was planning on going to. After 5000 calories and a Walmart stop, I'm ready to attack the Whites...I'm very excited! I'm actually by myself at the hostel, which is in the loft of a giant campground below Mt. Moriah. It's been nice watching some TV (Food Network & ESPN) and relaxing this afternoon...back to the trail tomorrow!Gorham, NH - 0.2 mi past Carter Notch Hut - Day 27 - 297.9 - 313.3 - July 28thI'm running out of adjectives for this area. Today's hike was a preview of the next week. The views all day were phenomenal! Today's elevation gain was 6000' and tomorrow's is 5000'. Mt. Washington is now so close that I can see the towers at the top. Today was difficult, but nice weather and dry shoes with new insoles helped a ton. The caretakers at the hut were cold as I had been warned, so I'm tenting with 5 other people a little way up the trail. I'm excited about the package at the Visitors Center...then the 3500' climb to Mt. Madison. Today's highest peak was Carter Dome at 4832'. Tomorrow I'll be over a mile high and then Wednesday I'll be on Mt. Washington (6288'). The forecast looks good for now...I hope they're correct. This is a very highly used area, so there are tons of people around right now...it looks like it's going to be a fun week in the Whites! To the beginning of the Presidential Range tomorrow!!!0.2 mi past Carter Notch Hut - Madison Spring Hut - Day 28 - 313.3 - 326.8ish - July 29thWhere to begin...Wildcats this morning were nice, with views of the presies...trip down to Vis. Center was the hardest down so far. After that, I resupplied with the mail drop @ the Visitors Center and then accidentally went up the wrong trail to Madison. The sign was confusing and by the time I realized it was wrong, I wasn't going back. It did include a crazy 1000' rock CLIMB up to the hut./..probably the most dangerous thing I've done so far (especially with the wind and rain at the time). I ran into a '66 UGA grad living in Winder on the trail...Go Dawgs (#1 for now!!!) There are 3 hikers working for stay tonight in the hut. [About the huts: they are run by the AMC and are located at high altitudes in the Whites...it's ~ $90/night to stay in them and include B, D, and a bunk...this one has 4 man bunks and is at 4800' - thru-hikers do 1-2 hours of work and sleep on the tables and get fed the extras from both meals for free] This is my first hut experience and it is actually very fun (up here thru-hikers have celebrity status with the general public). My work is to help clean-up after B'Fast tomorrow...certainly doable for B/D and a place to stay [with <40 degree lows with 30+mph winds, huts are the only option for thru-hikers in this stretch] Tomorrow I'm going back to pick-up Madison because the trail I mistakenly took didn't hit the summit. Then it's a day above tree line, hitting Mt. Washington in the middle of the day...it's supposed to be nice...I sure hope so!Madison Spring Hut - Lakes of the Clouds Hut - Day 29 - 326.8ish - 333.8 - July 30thToday's adjective: Majestic! If you have a good day of weather, the 7 miles of today's hike will be the best of the whole AT. It was a picture perfect day today: little wind, periodic blue sky, and warm temps. Unbelievable. Going from presie to presie was fascinating with views for miles. Today will probably end up being a top-10 weather day this season on Mt. Washington. My original plans were to go further today, but I couldn't go on after getting to Lakes of the Clouds hut because it was so nice. Besides, how often do you get to be in a hut over 5000ft in the air? As far as SOBOs here go, Footnote (writer from Oak Ridge, NC) from last night joins me again, and Megan and Jo pounded it out yesterday and caught up (Emory girls). 2 NOBOs here - 1 from Charleston, SC and one from Bainbridge (that makes 2 people I now know from Bainbridge). We had a good time tonight and were joined by 4 men hiking for the week that had this dice game called Blisters which was fun...I also made many friends on top of Mt. Washington (since it is reachable by can and train it is a mini-circus). "Normal" people are enthralled by thru-hikers and I even got a contact in PA near the trail if I need anything there. The weather is supposed to be awful tomorrow all day, so I'm not sure how far I'm going to get...we'll see. The terrain here is astronomically difficult, and my sore left shin is certainly not getting any better. I don't ever know why it started hurting 5 days ago, but hopefully it feels better soon...until tomorrow...Lakes Hut - Mizpah Spring Hut - Day 30 - 333.8 - 338.6 - July 31stDidn't get out today until nearly 11am today because of bad thunder and lightning this morning. However, the first 2 miles today were under nice partly sunny conditions. However, the last 2.8 were in another thunderstorm (over Mt. Franklin ironically enough). I'm taking it real slow through the Whites because of how awesome and hard they are. Tonight, I'm joined by the Blisters crew from last night, Megan & Jo, Stretch, Ozzie, and No Car (oh, and 4 NOBOs). The croo here are all awesome, and I enjoyed the show. My work tonight was to give the evening talk to the guests in the hut on thru-hiking the AT. It was a fun job to do and the guests really enjoyed it. My equipment got wet, but it was still an enjoyable (and short) day. LATE ENTRY: 2:30am - no sleep - something I've consumed has made me sick and I have been in the bathroom all night...I doubt there is anything left inside of me now.Mizpah - Ethan Pond Shelter - Day 31 - 338.6 - 347.9 - August 1stAfter last night, I felt like death this morning. I was feeling awful and got virtually no sleep and couldn't eat breakfast this morning. The hike today was enjoyable under very nice conditions. I would really have thought highly of it if I hadn't felt so bad. Everyone else today (except Megan & Jo) were going to Zealand Falls Hut today. By the time (2:45) that I got to Ethan Pond it had just started raining, and I was exhausted from last night. I decided to rest an hour and make a decision. The trek from Ethan Pond to Zealand was less than 3 hours, so I had plenty of time. However, as the hour progressed, heavy rain began and persisted for a while. I've also gotten over the huts and really want to get back to normal trail living. Here tonight are 2 NOBOs, 2 SOBOs and Spencer and Jenny (the couple from the Andover debacle). I'm looking forward to getting up early tomorrow rester and ready to go up Mt. Guyot, Zeacliff, and S. Twin Mtn!Ethan Pond - Galehead Hut - Day 32 - 347.9 - 359.7 - August 2ndStill felt bad this morning, but got out around 7:30 and started feeling better around the top of Zeacliff. The views again today were awesome all day while I was out. The Whites sure are hard, but sure are also beautiful! I really wanted to get to Garfield Ridge today, but as I pulled into Galehead, thunderstorms approached and persisted the rest of the night (another 3+ inches of rain). I had read in the registers along the trail that the croo here were not thru-hiker friendly, but after some initial apprehension, they turned out to be really nice and even let me do my work tonight so that I can get an early start tomorrow. I'm going to try to get down Franconia Ridge to a free hostel in Lincoln, but we'll see how the terrain/weather ends up being tomorrow. Here tonight are Spencer & Jenny, Footnote, and 5 NOBOs.Galehead Hut - Lincoln, NH (I-93 crossing) - Day 33 - 359.7 - 372.7 - August 3rdCouldn't get off to the early start today because of thunderstorms. Got going at 8am, though, and I've never seeing the trail so flooded, streams turned into rivers and rock climbs turned into waterfalls. The climb up Garfield was nearly impossible. After that, it rained in spurts the rest of the day. Of course, it rained the hardest on top of the tree line on Mt. Lincoln & Lafayette. I hiked the last 5 miles today with an older pair of brothers (one is a prof. @ GA State). They were kind enough to give me a 8 miles ride into town. After half of a pizza and some other food, I am ready for some rest tomorrow. I haven't taken a zero since Andover, and the Whites have tired me out. I'm staying at a house owned by a former hiker, Chet, who was injured in an accident with a defective MSR camping stove and was burned and is now mostly in a wheelchair. His story is definitively on of overcoming odds to survive, and the place is awesome. There are over 20 hikers here tonight (did someone say free place to stay???). Among them are Spencer & Jenny, Stretch, No Car, and Ozzie. Looking forward to the day off.Lincoln, NH - Zero Day - Day 34 - August 4thSpencer, Jenny, Ozzie, Stretch, and myself are all taking a zero today and slackpacking the next section tomorrow. I'm enjoying splurging on lots of bad food and am planning on going to see Batman tomorrow. I'm about to post pictures ...hopefully it works!