Date: 2006-08-14
From: Smarts Mountain (Firewarden's) Cabin

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 20.0

Bama called me and said the warm Firewarden¢s cabin really hit the spot, no wind and no bugs. The guys climbed up the tower for the evening view and by bedtime, everyone was tired and quiet. Bama slept like a log and got some great rest.This morning was beautiful. Bama got up and cooked her breakfast and re-stuffed her pack out on the porch so she wouldn¢t bother the guys who were still sleeping. On the trail at 6:20 am. Lot¢s of miles to go today. Going to try for Glencliff, NH, the gateway to Mt. Moosilauke and the White Mountains ¢ the first time Bama will hike above tree-line.The trail was really good down off Smarts Mountain and all was well until she hit the base of Cube Mountain. And that¢s exactly what it seems be made of ¢ huge boulders and cubes of rock. Bama was getting some serious flashbacks of Pennsylvania! She might as well get used to this ¢ the Whites are rocky and high and rarely let up.She stopped for a lunch snack at Brackett Brook and thought about our neighbors across the street neighbors, the Bracketts. They would probably love this place. She met a SOBO named Dingo while she was resting. As she crossed NH Hwy 25, she saw a couple of Trail Angels handing out Trail Magic. This couple, maybe their early 70s, (Batch and MMMMB) had thru-hiked the AT in ¢92. They drove 50 miles twice a week to do Trail Magic. Of course you can¢t get enough calories, so Bama sampled their home made divinity, brownies, cookies, candies and of course, the cold drinks. Thanks, Batch and MMMMB! What lovely people.The trail was, for the most part, really good. But the huge patches of black, sticky mud and muck are still there in sections. Bama figures this is probably the way it will be until Katahdin. Crossing streams is unavoidable, but the ATC also apparently loves to run the trail as close to ponds and swamps as possible for the same reason they love to run trails straight up rock piles and boulder fields. Un huh, and we¢ve got the pictures to prove it.A little while later, near the Ore Hill Shelter, she saw this family of six approaching and the man and the boys went on southbound. Mom was a little ways back and Bama said, ¢C¢mon Mom! Gotta catch up!¢ The lady laughed and she and Bama chatted and Bama found out she was Treehouse¢s aunt. They were all there for a family reunion. How ¢bout that?Soon a climb over Mist Mountain and then a descent into Glencliff, NH to the Hikers Welcome Hostel. The owner is out hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and has hired a caretaker. The accommodations are a little on the rough side (bunks in a barn), but hey, beats rain and mud. There is food for sale, a shower (costs extra), laundry facilities ($6/load)and an internet connection. Everything seems to have a price. The caretaker will shuttle you to ¢town¢ for necessities (for $2.50) and slack pack you for $1.25/mile, but Bama says there¢s not a lot to the town. The post office is in a lady¢s house. She doesn¢t know anyone here except Snickers, whom she hadn¢t seen in a long time, and Comfortably Numb.All in all a great day and great mileage. Soon, she¢ll be lucky to make 10 miles a day as she enters the Whites.Bill