Date: 2003-07-29
From: Galehead Hut

To: Eathan Pond Campsite
Miles today: 11.8

Day 138 Avg Mls/Day 13.2Weather: Pleasant, Partly cloudy in the morning, mostly sunny in the afternoon. Low humidity highs in the 70's.Today's Nature: Views of the peaks and surrounding mountains were great.What a difference a day makes. Woke up to a clearing sky and views of the mountains that we had just hiked through in the cold, windy fog yesterday. Not only did we have better weather, but the Trail today was as easy as it gets in the Whites.As I walked out to the restroom this morning, I saw one of the "hutmasters" scolding Hazmat...I think for sleeping in the dining room overnight. He left before breakfast so I didn't get to talk to him to find out the outcome or even where he was headed today.Breakfast at the Hut was so so. The eggs reminded me of the powdered ones they fed us in the Army. Oatmeal is oatmeal and the fruit was out of a can. They did serve us a great homemade peach muffin though.Ranger Rick and I started hiking at 7:30. It wasn't long before I got ahead of him and stayed there until we met later at lunch.The Trail immediately began a climb from Galehead Hut (3,820') to South Twin Mt (4,902'). A little less than a mile and it took a little less than an hour to do it.The next stop was Mt Guyot (4,460') with a fantastic view. It made a lot of difference in how much I enjoyed today's hike.After Mt Guyot, it was easy Trail for 4 miles down to Zealand Falls Hut. I arrived just before 12:30. There were a number of "vacation/tourist" type hikers there on the porch. The only "all you can eat for a dollar" food here was homemade bread. I still bought some and used it with my chunky peanut butter.About 10 minutes after I arrived Ranger Rick walked up and joined me. We must have spent a half hour or so eating and enjoying the view of the neighboring ridge from the porch. We saw a couple of fellows who stayed at Galehead last night and were staying here tonight.We left the hut together and basically hiked together the rest of the afternoon. The Trail was pretty easy as it followed an old railroad bed for about 4 miles.Just before arriving at Eathan Pond, we met 2 SOBO's who Ranger Rick had hiked with earlier. They had jumped ahead and flip-flopped from Katahdin and are now finishing the AT in sections.We got here around 3. We could have hiked 3 more miles easily to US route 302, but there were no good places to stay around there. If we hitched into the next town it would mean a motel and a hitch back to the Trail in the morning. Besides, it's going to be a nice night to tent and I need to eat some of the food I'm packing.This is a fee site and the caretaker, a young man named Charlie, collected the $8. I set up my tent on a wood platform. Had to squeeze the stakes in between the boards like in the shelters. It seems to work okay. In the site next to me is a YMCA youth group...quite talkative but friendly.Had mashed potatoes with bacon bits for supper...tasted good.   They designate an area where we are only allowed to cook. They say it contains all the food smells in one place so it doesn't attract animals to the shelter and tent sites. We put our food bags in "bear boxes."Just before 7 p.m. a young SOBO thru-hiker, Slacker, arrived and hung his Hennessy Hamock next to me. It is his first night in the hammock so it took him some time to set up.Ranger Rick and I both agree that the hardest part of the Whites so far were our first 2 days. Yesterday and today the terrain was much easier. That may all change tomorrow when we will climb nearly 4,000'. It will be a slow day but I would like to do around 13 miles to Lakes of the Clouds Hut.Thought for the Day: The best is yet to come...of the Whites that is.