Date: 2009-08-26
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Eliza Brook Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

Beautiful morning this morning .... bright sunshine right from the start. Up and on the trail at 7:30. The descent off of Moosilauke Mountain from the Beaver Brook Shelter is known to be tough and slow. It was awesome!! Total rock climb down with everything .... rock steps, wood steps, root steps, rock slabs, rebar steps, rebar handrails, etc.There was a cascading brook with several pools and falls along side the trail all the way down. Spectacular trail. It was slow going, but that was cool, because it was so scenic, and I had all day!! I took a couple of breaks along the way down at cool spots. It took me 100 minutes to go 1.4 miles ..... figuring in the breaks, I was going about 1 mph! The entire trail was slow going today. Lots of "rocky maneuvering" today plus a good climb up Mt Wolf (1700') which is easy to overlook given the mountains surrounding it ..... but a 1700' climb still takes some effort!After that, it was a short relaxing downhill to Eliza Brook Shelter. Short hike in distance, but tough, slow miles.My plan today was to simply enjoy the hike. Just mosey along and enjoy the scenery. The weather forecast for today was for PM showers and I really wanted to get to the shelter before the rain. I got to the shelter just after 2 pm .... and the rain started about 30 minutes later. Woo-hoo .... 2 straight days with dry feet -- heck, dry everything!!! About 20 UNH students are here in the shelter area. It's nice having them around .... a lot of energy. Good entertainment!OK. I'll share more of my theory about the White Mountains. Here are the givens: The terrain will be tough .... no doubt about it. The books all emphasize to reduce your daily mileage expectations. I did my pre-hike research and read other's journeys through the Whites. My theory is that everyone finds them tough because they try to do too many miles, or get through them quickly (i.e maintain the pace they are used to hiking).My proposition was to slow down a lot and enjoy the White Mountains, one step at a time. It will take as long as it takes .... but no pain! I'll start planning based on 1 - 1.5 mph vs 2 - 2.5 mph. I also didn't plan any section known to be difficult at the end of a day. We'll see how it goes.Thanks in advance to all those people who have journaled in the past. It really helped me develop what I think will be an enjoyable hike through the Whites. I know I'm just starting out through the Whites, but I can see that my plan is going to work!! I'm very excited to be starting this section! Today the hike was easy because the distance was short, so I was able to take the descent off of Moosilauke slow and easy. Thus, it wasn't hard. It would have been tough trying to get down it quickly. It was tough going, but simply gorgeous ... you don't want to hurry through that section.I hope I continue to have days like this (patience will be tested). The toughest part is stopping at 3 pm. Plenty of daylight left for hiking. But if you add the next segment to the hike, the day becomes brutal. For instance, if I would have hiked to here, Eliza Brook Shelter, yesterday, I would have been miserable and worn out. And I would not have enjoyed the Moosilauke descent as much.Bottom line: We have been waiting for the Whites since we left Pennsylvania. Why hurry through them? Another great day on the A.T.. I hope the rain clears for the tomorrow morning ascent of Mt Kinsman. I guess there is some good bouldering up and down South Kinsman Peak!! Terminology Change: Gaps are now called "notches" in this area. Shelters are still called shelters. But there are places to stay at called "Huts" up here .... think ski lodge, fully enclosed, with space to bunk 30 - 90 guests, with kitchen and dining area.