Well on the 24th I crossed the Vermont / New Hampshire border!!! Welcome to the Whites! It had been raining for 6
days straight now as I rolled into Hanover NH. I hung my hammock behind the Dartmouth University Soccer Fields and got ready for another long
cold wet day. After hanging around Hanover for a little while I decided to go see a movie in town. Indiana Jones was the only thing playing, so Indy it was.When I got out of the theater it was STILL raining, so I sloshed back to my hammock and went to sleep, to only have to wake up every 30 minutes to push the canopy up so water didn't come crashing through at soak me.
Next morning, I packed up and started heading north again. The trail looked like the Colorado River rushing down it, it was ankle deep with cold wet mud all day. I am not sure if I could have hated my life anymore at that moment. So I trucked up about 10 miles to Moose Mountain Shelter. The rain poured into the night as I fell asleep cold and
just about completely miserable....Next morning, SUNSHINE!!!!!! Wow I had entirely forgotten what that beautiful ball of fire looked like! It was warm and refreshing! I feel like a new man (other than not showering in about a week) the trail was still so gross, but I didn't care anymore, at least I was not soaked to the bone anymore. After a few days of walking through southern New Hampshire I came to the sign that said, Entering White Mountains.........uh oh, here we go.
And that my friends is where this blog gets a little more fun......
As SOON as I crossed the Welcome sign I dropped to a little stream.....by little I mean raging rapids. And of course we don't have a bridge, so I took off my shoes and strapped on my sweet Vibram five fingers and jumped right in! Holy WOW, it was freezing, and up to my knees! But I safely made it across this huge body of water... well maybe not huge, but big enough!
After a few hours of walking I got to the bottom of Mt Moosilauke, and man was this thing huge! It was a 3,800 foot climb in just over 3 miles. Imagine an indoor rock climbing wall.....yeah kind of like that, but with 35 pounds on your back. The top was the first time we peaked out over tree line, so you could see for MILES and MILES. The wind up top was at least 30 mph, but it didn't stop me from eating my new favorite snack. Summer Sausage, Cheese and crumpled pringles on a tortilla! Yummmm!
After my lunch break I started heading down the steep mountain. What I didn't know was this was literally the steepest hill I have EVER come down. No lie, we had re bar anchored into the rock. So I am making my way slowly down this monster (don't forget everything is still soaking wet from the 6 month rain storm we seemed to get) as I was coming down the wooden steps notched into the rock, I was being as careful as possible. Well.......it happened..... Bearfoot went for a ride.
I had made it 1,800 miles without falling, but this one made up for it. So try not to laugh because I still am banged and bruised up pretty bad....
Imagine me, listening to O.A.R. on my MP3 player, just singing along....."That was a crazy game of po..........OOOOOHHHHHH MMMYYYYYY GOOODDDNNNNEEESSSSS!!!!!!" SLAM!!! I lost my footing on the wooden step and my feet started to slide down the rock. You know how you make that crazy move with your hands to try to keep your balance? Well I was skiing down for about 6 feet doing that. Then the cliff decided, "uh, well I guess its time to end" so I went tumbling off a 10 foot ledge...no lie. Landed on my hip and got my ankle twisted up in a root on the way down... stop laughing, it hurt.
So I sat for a minute to make sure I had not lost an arm in the process, and realized that I tweaked my ankle pretty good. Even better news! Storm was starting to roll in.... Time to get off this mountain, and fast. So I hobbled down the last thousand feet to the base of this ridiculous mountain, and hung my hammock for the night at the base. Of course it decided to rain again all night.
So the next morning I got to a road and hitchhiked into town to see a doc in the box about this ankle. Find out its a mild ankle sprain. Not a big deal, so I wrapped it up and kept on moving.
Next day.... Franconia Ridge!
So, if you have never been to this spot in the White Mountains, stop what you are doing, book a flight and go visit. I got up from Liberty campsite at about 6am to get a jump on all the day hikers. I had the whole ridge to myself. It was the most unbelievable views I have ever seen. I took a TON of photos from the top. I sat and enjoyed the views for a couple hours and decided to push on to one of the famous huts for the night.
Let me tell you something about the White Mountains, they get thousands of tourists a year to come hike. So every couple miles you normally see a few day hikers wearing the safari hat and full button down shirt, or cotton t-shirt. And here you are, stinky, sweaty and not shaven in weeks..... then the questions start-
Are you a thru-hiker?
Where did you start?
When did you start?
Have you seen a Bear?
Where do you sleep?
and so on and so on. So finally I just starting telling everyone that I was a day hiker, but just had a rough couple days... sorry!!
Well I stayed at Zealand Hut that night, what a great place. A hut is a place where people pay to get fed, a place to sleep and a little entertainment along the trail. Its like a hotel.....without the fancy anything. So thru-hikers can stay and eat if they do a "work for stay" which means after hiking up and down all day long, the only way you can stay for free is to work a little more..... I know it seems a little crazy. So I had to sweep the floors and do some dishes, but got a great meal out of the deal.
Well that is all I really have to report right now, the weather is turning really bad really fast again, so I had to take a side trail through the Presidential Mtn Range and down into Gorham. I am kind of bummed, but I know that I will be back to hike through Washington and the others. Its funny how the weather works at this elevation, at the base it is 70 degrees and sunny and the top of the Presidentials its 40 and storming like crazy!
My ankle is feeling stronger day by day and my beard is getting worse day by day....
I should be in Maine on Friday afternoon and am so excited I cant stand it. 291 miles to go until Katahdin!
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