Date: 2003-08-10
From: Camped 1/2 mile North of Zealand Falls Hut

To: Crawford Notch (Johnson Hotel)
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

An interesting night¢¦ It rained like the sky was trying to drown us, and it was succeeding. Our tents nearly floated away, I think Wench¢s was riding the waves for a while. She knew there was a problem when she noticed her Thermarest mattress was floating, IN the tent¢¦ We had set our tents up in a dirt clearing downhill from the trail, so when the water flowed, we swam¢¦ I woke up at about 3AM, to the sound of a stream nearby¢¦ As I stretched my aching back, I realized that there wasn¢t a stream nearby when I went to sleep¢¦ Hmmm¢¦. I got up to pee and check the situation out, and I saw two fast running streams of water running on either side of my tent. The big stream missed me by a few feet, the smaller stream was going under the very tip of my tent (but I was dry inside so far, so I went back inside my tent after looking towards Wenches tent and seeing no lights on). Condensation was all over the inside of my tent, and rain had splashed in some, so my sleeping bag was damp (but I was still warm, so I went back to sleep after taking some Advil). I woke up again at 5:30 and saw Wench walking around checking things out. I asked her how the water was, and she said everything in her tent was wet!! I asked if she wanted to get an early start, and she said ¢might as well, I can¢t go back to sleep, everything is wet¢. So we packed up our squishy, soggy gear (my tent was wet inside and out, and coated with mud on the bottom and up the sides. My white ground sheet was brown from mud washed up by the small stream, so I rinsed my gear off in one of the streams, wrung it out and packed it away. The trail was flat and smooth for a while, it looks like it used to be a rail line of some sort. It led above and below some awesome rock slides, by a pond, next to a huge mountain. An awesome view, even if it wasn¢t an awesome clear day. This morning, in 7.2 miles, we walked in water 3-4 miles of it. Lots of stream and creek crossings, some fast and up to our knees, but mostly it was flooded trail over our boots (like walking down a stream). We walked with an extra pound or two in each boot, but still did 7.2 miles by 10:20. Cool¢¦ We met a couple of southbounders about 3 miles from Crawford Notch, ¢Tangent¢, and ¢Semi Sweet¢. They said that a past Thruhiker ¢Rock Dancer¢, was sitting at the parking lot helping hikers, and they wanted us to pass a message along to him (that they were back on the trail, and not getting off). We arrived at the parking lot and Rock Dancer wasn¢t there, but a cooler and a chair were¢¦. While we were pondering this, he drove in. We sat and talked for a while, he is an ALDHA member, been to ¢Gatherings¢, he is on the AT-L (Appalachian Trail) mailing list we are on, so we sort of know each other (he looked familiar, I think I¢ve seen him before. He said he would help us resupply and find a hotel so we could dry out our gear (and he was true to his word). He took us to a god resupply store, and to a couple hotels to check prices. So here we are, at the Johnson Motel, our gear is all dry (it sat out in the Sun all day), we are well fed (we went to a pub down the street), and we have a ride back to the trail in the morning (by Mike, the hotel owner). Nice people run this motel¢¦ Life is good, now all we have to do is hike out of Crawford notch and up Mount Washington tomorrow. NOTE: So far in the Whgite Mountains we have had only 1-2 partial views between clouds. But the views we got up at the mountains from Rock Dancers car were AWESOME!!! Water falls, mountain views, then more views of Twin peaks from the hotel. I hope the weather stays nice for tomorrow (there is a chance it will rain all the way through the Whites). So far, I don¢t really like hiking the AT in the Whites. Aside from the weather, which has been crappy (the trail is mostly wet and flooded), the Hut system is kind of crappy for Thruhikers, regular shelters would be better (a smaller fee, and a place top camp instead of high fees at the Huts and being forced to Stealth camp). There are no work for stay guarantees at the Huts, we are living proof, that hikers do get turned away, so plan accordingly. As long as there are Stealth sites to use, hikers can make do, but tomorrow may be different. Our options are a Hut at 7 miles, or a Hut at 11 miles, there are no other options, since we will be above tree line. If they are full, we are screwed, camping above tree line is dangerous and illegal, plus it is Mount Washington, any type of weather is possible. We¢ll see what happens¢¦ On a positive note, the Huts are nice, and the Croo members are great. So even though I don¢t like the system as a thruhiker (give me shelters any day), it¢s great for Regular people, who have the money and want to experience the outdoors in a more catered way. But anyway, tomorrow we have Mt Webster, Mt Jackson, Mt Clinton, Mt Franklin and maybe Mt Washington. Sounds like an awesome hike, I¢ll keep you posted. Life is good!