Last Stop Before the Whites

Stats: Saturday night 7/30, MM 1799.7

(95.6 new miles, 1808.5 total miles)

At the top of Mt. Moosilauke Saturday

Not a bad week…except for leaving Mary again. And, the persistent foot problem came back. Hopefully it is fixed now, at least enough to get me through the rest of my hike. The new boots are GREAT, one problem resolved. I am so glad Mary found them! I'm at my last stop before the Whites.

Where we stayed last weekend, at the back of their property

Sunday after Mary dropped me off, I hiked 7 miles to a place near a stream where I stealth camped. It was hot and humid, and hard to go back after our nice weekend. Glad it was a short day. Saw Scooter and a friend, and met a SB (southbound) hiker, Speedo, who said he lost 43 pounds since starting his hike.

Monday was really hot and humid again, with a lot of ups and downs. Stopped at a place for ice cream and sodas. Also had trail magic of bananas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and water. Hiked 21 miles to Thistle Hill Shelter, camped there. The wart on my foot was starting to hurt, but not too bad yet.

Hot and humid again on Tuesday, foot starting to hurt more. Also feeling a bit weak from the heat, so when 2 hikers I knew, Shire and El, said they were going into town I decided to go with them. Ended the day of 13 mile hike at the Norwich Inn in Norwich, CT.

Hung out with El, Shire, and Edge Tuesday night, and met a couple from Florida who had questions about our thru hike. They found it interesting – not necessarily to do it, though, but to hear our stories. They bought us a round of beer, nice people, enjoyed talking with them.



Carved into the bench: VT, Relax and Enjoy

Wednesday I got up and started walking down the street to get to the trail. As I walked past the college, my foot was hurting so badly I knew I had to see a podiatrist.

Mary found one for me in Lebanon about 10 miles away (yes, great ground support once again!), so I took a bus there to see him. Said he thought I may have a callous and not a wart, and said he could shave some of it off and the callous around it. Gave me a shot between my toes to freeze the area, and removed all the dead callous, said it would be 75-80% better. Also made some orthotics that he said would help that spot. Total visit was $100, not too bad. Got back on the trail and hiked 13 miles with Edge to Moose Mountain Shelter. Foot was still numb so it felt pretty good.

Edge made a fire to keep the mosquitoes away, they are really bad right now. He also had 2 beers with him, shared one with me. We’ve been seeing a lot of SB hikers – as many as NB hikers at this point.

 



"only" 412 miles to go!

Still hot and humid on Thursday. When it is, my clothes stay wet most of the time and I’m soaked by the end of the day. Met up with El, Mishap, and Blacksmith, and hiked ½ day with them to Hexacuba Shelter, which is shaped like a hexagon. My foot was feeling better; not great, but manageable. Overall I hiked 18 miles on Thursday. Met more SB hikers at the shelter, they were sharing stories about the Whites and Maine: great views but hard climbs.

The Whites are the White Mountains in New Hampshire, some of the hardest climbs on the whole trail. Elevations are high, like in Georgia and parts of NC and Tennessee, and it will be cold again above the tree line. They also have the second highest point on the AT, Mt. Washington. I’ll be heading into them starting this Sunday.

The SB hikers also said Mt. Moosilauke, my next big mountain before the Whites, was really steep and a hard climb. It was a fun night with a lot of good conversation.

Friday I left early as usual, up and gone by 6AM while most people are still sleeping. I like to get an early start before the heat, I guess an old habit from my roofing days. Had trail magic twice from El’s father, who lives in the area and was set up at two different places to catch El as the trail crossed the roads. I think I had a total of 4 soft drinks and 3 or 4 snack cakes. Great fuel on a hot day.

Hiked 16 miles to Jeffers Brook Shelter, Still very humid, and no breeze so I was soaking wet again at the end of the day. I looked forward to a shorter day tomorrow, over Mt. Moosilauke, to my last town stop before the Whites.

Saturday morning the climb started right away, a really long climb of over 4 miles and almost 4,000 feet. Thankfully it was cooler today with lower humidity, which was nice, clothes still wet but not as tiring. The climb was not as bad as I had heard or thought it would be.

When I got to the top it was a very clear day, beautiful views. The top is like a big bald, very rocky in spots. It was also a bit chilly (50’s maybe?) with a cold wind, I had to put on my rain jacket because the wet shirt made it feel colder than it was. Yes, it was a little too cold to be refreshing, after taking pictures and enjoying the view I was ready to get off the mountain.

I had heard stories about a sickly looking moose who is always on the trail, doesn’t go off it so you have to skirt by him. When I got to him, I waited until he started eating and walked quickly around the other side. He’s about the size of a skinny horse, hard to tell from the picture. Some people said he charged them, but mostly he just lets people walk by.

Downhill was OK, again not as bad as I had heard. After the shelter, toward the bottom, it was very steep. Walked down steps made of 4x4’s somehow cut into the rocks.

The town where I was headed was about 5 miles from the trail, and I got to the road crossing around 11:30. I called the hotel where Mary sent her package and it was booked, so Mary helped me find another hotel and made a reservation there. To get to town I hitched a ride. This is not uncommon along the trail – people who live in towns near the trail are used to hikers hitching rides. Today a really nice lady picked me up and took me first to the place where Mary had shipped the package, and then to my hotel.

Shower first (always), then shopping for supplies and possibly new poles – mine were worn past the tips and the manufacturer didn’t make replacement for the whole end of the pole. But thankfully the place I went had a generic brand end that fit perfectly, cost $20 instead of a whole lot more for new poles. I also got rain pants at the advice of one of the SB hikers, who said it sometimes rained horizontally and it was a cold rain.

Ends are uneven and worn down.

After shopping, and laundry, I settled in to organize my pack and call Mary with the new blog post and to catch up. It’s hard when we can only really talk once or twice a week when I’m in a town because I need to save battery when I’m on the trail. Can’t wait to see her again at trail’s end.

Tomorrow I start through the Whites. Looking forward to the views – heard they were amazing – and to getting this tough part behind me. I’m ready for the challenge.

Thank you for your prayers and encouraging comments. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it, keeps me going. I am blessed and thankful to still be hiking, could not do it without all your support.

Talk to you after the Whites. Godspeed!