Date: 2021-07-13
From: Lyme Dorchester Road

To: NH25A, Wentworth
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It was raining again in the morning. The weather report said it should stop around 10 and just be overcast for the day, so I set out for the trail .  The 3.8 miles up Smarts MountaIn took me from 8:10-10:45. It was windy, wet and cold. There were many sections of slanted wet granite slabs to be navigated.  The trail was often a stream.  The uphill was tedious and monotonous and lonely. I prayed for someone to hike with for the day.When I finally reached the fire tower at the top, there was one woman there trying to get cell service. It was too foggy to bother climbing the tower for non-existent views so I quickly made my way into the 4-sided fire warden cabin and closed the door to be out of the wind. I pulled off my wet shirt and put a dry one on. I sat down on the wood floor to rest and eat an early lunch.  The woman from the fire tower came in shortly and introduced herself as Buttercup. She is a 73 year old from Galveston Texas who began her hike in Harpers Ferry.  She intends to hike to Katahdin, then flip back south and hike back to Harpers Ferry.  She had spent the night there in the cabin with several male thruhikers (including Polar Bear) after hiking only 6.2 miles the previous day from the Trapper John Shelter. All the others had left much earlier in the morning, but she had hung around hoping for the rain to stop.When I finished eating and began packing up, Buttetcup asked if she could hike with me. I agreed and we set off. I had to slow my pace for Buttercup as we descended Smarts Mountain, but it was nice to have someone to hike with and talk to. Even though it wasn¢t raining anymore, the trail was a mess; we slogged through mud and puddles all afternoon. As we began to ascend Mount Cube, the trail got worse and Buttetcup got slower.  She had her full pack and I only had my gear for the day. There was so much running water that there were several places where it seemed we were hiking straight up a waterfall. When we finally topped Mount Cube, I took a picture with the sign because there was still fog blocking any views.  I messaged John to let him know I¢d be later than I anticipated because I had slowed down to hike with my new friend. Buttercup  had wanted to get down the mountain to the Hwy 25 road crossing and get to The Barn Door Hostel for the night, but their last pickup was scheduled for 4:30 and there was no way she would make it down in time. I told her we would take her if she kept up with me.As the afternoon progressed, it got cooler and darker. After an hour, I finally told Buttercup I needed to hike at my own pace and get down quicker so that John would not be worried that I was so much later than we planned. I had no cell service to reach him and explain. After being sure she had her headlamp, I left her and hiked down alone. I didn¢t even bother trying to avoid puddles or mud or look for rocks for stream crossings; I just slogged through it all.  I actually went in up to my knees in one stream.I finally reached the road crossing and John and the truck. It felt so good to peal off my wet shirt and shoes and socks and put on dry socks and shirt. I cleaned the mud off my legs with my wet bandanna. John had bought KFC chicken strips and I had one cheese stick and a Baby Ruth left in my pack. I devoured them all. It was just over an hour later that Buttercup emerged victoriously from the woods. We drove her 15 minutes to the hostel and I went in to catch up with Polar Bear. John and I still had an hour trip back to our hotel. We stopped at Burger King and had burgers, fries, and milkshakes in the car.Back at the hotel, I enjoyed a hot shower and clean, warm pajamas. It took a half hour to rinse out my muddy shoes and socks. Tomorrow will be a zero day to do laundry and relax while also preparing for the next section when John leaves and I begin hiking with a full pack for the rest of the trip.