Date: 2008-07-24
From: Carter Notch Hut

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: fog

Today probably counts as the last day of going through the Whites. If not officially, I felt like it. Yet there are still high mountains to go over even if they are not named after any presidents.The hike up to Carter Dome was pretty steep. About 1,600 feet in elevation gain. I was a bit surprised that the view on top wasn't that good. Especially since the weather was partly sunny today.Carter Dome is almost 5,000 feet in elevation and I ran across a large number of local day hikers. I think this mountain is on the "4,000 foot" mountain list that people try to climb. Regardless, both the AT and the trails that crossed the AT had plenty of people on them.Next to climb was Mt. Hight. Although not as tall as Carter Dome, it has an excellent view at top. Very nice view of Mt. Washington. The top of the mountain consisted primarily of large bouldars and rocky ground. I ran into a hiker at Mt. Hight who said that Carter Dome and Mt. Hight were both named after two hunters who once hunted in the area.There is a descent down into Zeta Pass and then a climb over the various Carter Mountains. There are three of them - South, Middle, and North. All are around 4500 feet in elevation. After having hiked about half of the day I arrived at the Imp Campsite. There is a big descent getting to this campsite and a lot of rocks to go over. Again, I was grateful that the rocks weren't wet today. There is a good source of water at the campsite and I needed it. I had failed to fill my water bottle earlier and the trip over the Carter's used up the water I had remaining.Then crossed the Carter-Moriah Trail. Mt. Moriah is near but the trail does not go over it. This area has a large number of "bog logs" to assist in crossing the ground. Some of these logs get you over the water and others go over rocky ground. I think the logs primarily exist to help protect the ground from all of the hikers who pass through.The last mountain of the day, Middle Moriah Mountain, was crossed. Then a descent and a walk over two footbridges. At long last a shelter (Rattle River Shelter) that does not requre any payment to use it.Less than two miles further to Highway 2. From here it is less than 4 miles into Gorham. I had a really difficult time getting a hitch at first. I thought I was going to have to hike all the way into town and started off. But a car stopped before I had hiked 10 minutes and asked if I wanted a ride. The driver was a little lady who must have been close to 80 years old. For a second I wondered if it would be dangerous to ride with her, but then said to heck with it and got in. I made it safely to Gorham.I've always considered Gorham to be a neat town because they have a lot of interesting options there. You can stay at a hostel; motels; or bed and breakfasts. There are fast-food places and really nice steak houses. A very nice library. I think the only thing that is not right in town is a large grocery store. You either have to go out of town a bit or buy at a conveniece store. In my case I had a mail drop at the post office.So my first stop was to check in at the "Barn" - a hostel that is often frequented by thru-hikers. It is indeed in a two-story barn and you sleep in one of the beds on the second floor. There is a giant door on the front that can be opened in good weather. I got a shower and washed my clothes.It is about a 15 minute walk to the post office and other places. I got my mail drop and then stopped my McDonalds for as much junk food as I could swallow and not throw up. There were a good number of thru-hikers in town and I recognized several that had passed through the Whites.I had enough time to go over to the library and make a few journal entries. But they were closing soon. I'm thinking about taking a zero day (it has been a while) tomorrow and relax in town. Maybe even try a different place to stay for the second night. I'd definitely like to try one of the restaurants I haven't been to before.On my trip back to the Barn I stopped by a nearby convenience store and got some things for dinner. I'm pretty sure I will stay in town tomorrow and will try a couple of restaurants for lunch and dinner then.Back at the barn there was a couple in the kitchen making dinner. They offered me a big bowl of home-made stew, which I accepted. In return, I did a quick walk back to the convenience store and contributed a 12-pack of Miller Lite. After dinner we put out the beer on a table and a number of folks watched a movie on the television they have. A great ending to the day.