Date: 2009-08-05
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Fire Warden's Cabin
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I was the last person to leave camp this morning! I was so tired! I was dreaming that I was somewhere in a shelter-like building with a bunch of people, pleading, ¢Can I just take a nap?¢ New Hampshire is already wiping me out and I only hiked 10 miles yesterday! I got up at 7:11, and hit the trail at 8:30. I had some serious climbs ahead of me on this humid day. I first had a 500 foot warm-up, then a tough 1000 ft climb to Holts Ledge, where I stopped to make a call to the lab. Olivia and Andrew were planning to hike Mt. Moosilauke with me, and I needed to tell them where and when to meet me, and ask them if they could bring me a few things.    As I headed into some fields just after a road, I saw a sign with an arrow that read, ¢Free water¢ with an ice-cream sign below it. I decided I could use some free water, and headed off in that direction. I kind of expected to find an ice-cream truck, based on the picture, but saw nothing. Somehow, I found the house the sign was referring to, and looked up to see Ahab, Kog, and Chance lounging on the porch, waiting for the owner of the house to return. They really wanted some ice cream. I snacked a little and filled my water bottles up with the hose outside the house, while a short rainstorm passed over us. I didn¢t expect the owner to return anytime soon, and really didn¢t need any ice cream, so I moved on towards my next 2500 foot climb up Smarts Mountain. I used my ipod for energy, which helped. I did sprain my ankle again twice (but I would classify it as a 1/2 sprain followed by a 1/4 sprain) and hoped it would hold up.       I knew that my friend Bound, and her friend Low, had slept in the fire tower on Smarts Mountain on their thru-hike last year, and I had the idea to do the same ever since I saw her pictures when we were in Daleville. However, stopping at the fire tower would make it a very short day, which I preferred not to do, as I had a destination to get to. I would have to hike 20 miles the following day if I stopped here, in order to meet Andrew and Olivia.      I went over to the cabin to drop off my pack before heading up the tower. There, I found Carpenter and Double Zip, who I had last seen at the 4th of July party. They were about to move on to Hexacuba Shelter. As it was nearing 5 o¢clock, and I was feeling tired, I was leaning towards staying here.      Kog and Ahab were already in the firetower when I got there. Kog pointed out Mount Washington and Franconia Notch to me. We were all excited to be so close to the Whites. I told Kog I wanted to sleep up here, but he said thunderstorms were predicted for the night and that it was probably not the best idea. It was also a very windy night and with the broken window panes, it was cold up there! We headed back to collect water (the source was far away and only a trickle), and then cooked dinner. Roots, Kog, Chance, Ahab, and two 20 year olds occupied the porch, and I sat off to the side on some logs by the fire pit. There was a lot of juvenile male humor going on, which didn¢t make me feel the most comfortable. I set up my hammock in the woods and then discovered that my bottle of contact lens solution had leaked all over my stuff sack. Not only did I not have anymore lens solution, but my journal had gotten wet and the writing on the bottom of all of the pages was now all blurred. I put on my hat and warm clothes and joined the boys on top of the fire tower where we watched a beautiful sunset.   Tomorrow would be a big day.