Date: 2014-07-14
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: Carlo Col. Shelter/Campsite
Miles today: 96.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 124: Monday, 14 July 2014 Gorham, NH, but on to Carlo Col. Shelter/Campsite (Mile 1902.9)¢Good Morning!¢ (It was 7am PST)¢Hey, I¢m awake AND up this time! How are you doing?¢ ¢Yesterday was a tough day for me. I got passed by a kids¢ group! Couple days before, I did 20 miles through the Whites and 19 miles on the Presidential Traverse and now my muscles hurt!¢¢How was the infamous Mt. Washington?¢¢It was a beautiful day up there! We lucked out! But then we had a 2800 foot drop in less than 2 12 miles. Quite the hike down! I¢m in Gorham, NH right now, as I went into Gorham twice but plan to hike about 17 miles into Maine today! It¢s pretty hot and humid right now. Maybe I¢ll do some night hiking.¢¢I was able to get the package on Saturday. I woke early, hiked to the Visitor Center, and hitched in to Gorham to get it. Thank you so much for all the goodies, the note from Andy and Grete, and the article on the ¢new Alpine¢ and the rock gym. The pound cake was fine and I shared it with a bunch of people!¢¢After going though the Whites, I was thinking, ¢I just want to WALK! Why can¢t I just WALK? I go up 30¢ of rocks and roots and down 30¢ of rocks and roots. I just want to WALK! I don¢t know why this trail isn¢t littered with bodies!¢¢¢I realized that I hiked all the way across Vermont without taking a shower, and I¢ll probably do that in New Hampshire! Why should I pay $30 to stay in a hostel to take a shower and do laundry when the first day back on the trail I¢ll be dirty and sweaty?¢¢Well, you DO take advantage of the various streams and lakes along the way. It¢s just not the ¢formal¢ bath and laundry facilities! It works for the dogs and other animals, why not for you!¢¢When we got through the Presidential Range, it was dark. We shined a light down the trail and saw 2 quarter-sized eyes about 8 feet off the ground shining back at us! It turned, and we got to see its silhouette. It was a moose! Don¢t know if it was the same one, but apparently, there was a moose that went through camp that night. I slept through it but the others said they heard crunching. When they looked, there was a female moose about 10 feet away! They didn¢t want to wake me for fear of startling me, which would then startle the moose. Well, I hope to have more moose-siting opportunities in Maine!¢¢I am glad to be out of the fee area in the Whites - $8 to camp at the shelter near the huts and $150 to stay in a hut and eat restaurant food. I thought about doing the work-for-stay at one of the huts. I got there, went it, and saw all these people in clean clothes that smell like fresh laundry eating food that had to be hauled in. I went out to the camp area and found ¢my people¢! I see people hiking up to these huts, carrying huge packs, and I wonder what they¢re carrying since they don¢t need food or a whole lot of water. I need to get back to the wilderness!¢¢I¢m on basically the same schedule with Thirsty and Boot Burner, and am hiking with X-C, Fletch, Simone, and Coco. Some might leave earlier or later, but eventually catch up with each other.¢¢I took a nap on the trail the other day, near a log with mushrooms growing on it. Now I have yellow mushroom stain on my clothes!¢ [I guess lake laundering doesn¢t take that out!]¢I¢m packing out a pineapple. I don¢t know how I¢ll eat it though.¢¢Don¢t you have a little knife?¢¢I have a razor blade, little scissors, toenail clippers, and a trekking pole!¢¢Well, you could eat it like ¢Grog¢ and just smash it on a rock!¢¢What a GREAT idea! Then just get out my spoon and slurp it up!¢[Dear Readers, I wouldn¢t put this past him! I will definitely follow up with this on the next phone call!]Well, there you have it ¢ Guy on a Buffalo, in his Natural Habitat!The Mum, and Back on the AT with¢¦..