Date: 2005-07-22
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Northern Peaks Motor Inn - Gorham, NH
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

Miles hiked today : 7.8I woke up this morning at 5:50 a.m. and found myself being watched by guests of the hut. I got dressed, packed up, and helped to set the tables for breakfast. While breakfast was being served, I and the other work for stay hikers waited in the bunkroom. I finished reading a book I'd been carrying since Salisbury, CT and then helped to sweep the dining room before eating breakfast myself. Breakfast consisted of pancakes and juice, after which I helped sweep the bunkroom and folded blankets. Michael and I hiked out at 8:45 a.m., disappointed that we were getting such a late start with 13.7 miles ahead of us, especially with a difficult climb ahead.The first 0.5 mile was a brief climb up to the summit of Mount Madison and was a tricky rock hop balancing act all the way to the top. After summiting Madison, I descended 2,813 feet over 2.5 miles to Osgood Campsite, arriving at 11:15 a.m. I stopped for a 15 minute break to eat a snack and drink water, then continued on.I was feeling sluggish and really wished I'd gotten a better night of rest. At 12:10 p.m., I slipped on a wet rock and slammed my left shin into the same rock, ending up with 2 small lacerations. Cha-ching, fall #31. I stopped for 5 minutes to clean and bandage my leg, then hiked on.Michael wasn't feeling so hot either, so we decided to make our best effort to catch Opa and Sean to see whether they wanted to hitch into Gorham for the evening. At 12:30 p.m., we caught up to Opa, who definitely wanted to go into town, as he was having pain in his right knee whenever he stepped upwards. Pushing on, I reached Mount Washington Auto Road at 12:50 p.m. and found Sean taking a lunch break. Yes! Michael and I quickly expressed our interest in hitching into Gorham from Pinkham Notch. Sean was up for Gorham, so we stopped for a break and waited for Opa to arrive. Opa showed up before long and we received trail magic in the form of junk food from a family passing through. At 1:45 p.m., I set out to cover the 1.9 miles to Pinkham Notch and arrived at 2:25 p.m.Michael and I stood at the roadside to hitch into Gorham and within a few minutes, we were picked up by Sally, the caretaker of the Carter Notch Hut. Coincidentally, Carter Notch Hut was our original destination for the day and I would have met Sally later this evening, had I hiked on. Instead, Sally took Michael and I into Gorham, dropping us off at a restaurant, where we waited for Opa and Sean to arrive. During our wait, it began to rain, which made me glad that I wasn't hiking up to the ridges of Wildcat Mountain.Opa and Sean arrived at 3:35 p.m. and while they ate, Michael and I tried to locate a cheap lodging option. It looked like the least expensive option was going to be around $80, which wouldn't be too bad split 4 ways. As we walked down the street, listening to ominous thunder, we saw a sign for the Northern Peaks Motor Inn advertising free internet access and a nightly rate of $38 and up. We crossed the road and, around 4:30 p.m., we were booked into a room with 2 double beds for $64.80. The room was actually about $8 more expensive than that rate, though the clerk discounted the price because the air conditioner power switch was broken and could only be turned on by pluggng it in and vice versa.I immediately showered, which was wonderful, as I hadn't showered in 7 days when I arrived in Glencliff. Afterwards, I updated my trail journal and processed e-mail until 7:00 p.m., at which time I walked with Michael to the local donut franchise. They only had a few donuts left and when I asked whether they were going to make more, I was told that they didn't actually make donuts in the store. As such, we went to a restaurant for a quick bite to eat before returning to our room.Opa was channel surfing while watching television and I saw that "12 Monkeys" was just starting. I'd been thinking about this particular film a few days ago while hiking and strongly advocated that we watch it. After the movie, I crawled beneath the covers to get a much needed night of rest. Tomorrow I've got a 13.1 mile hike over the Wildcat Peaks and the Carter Mountains. It looks like a challenging day of hiking awaits me.Bedtime at 11:30 p.m.