Pics of the Whites

 

The "dungeon" at Lakes of the Clouds Hut

"Real" guests enjoying dinner

Summit of Mt Washington!

Trail magic!

Trail magic Gatorades, beer, donuts and burritos from Kara and Nate! Thanks guys!

The Whites

New Hampshire! I've gotten more trail magic in this state than any other.

7/11 Porter, Pace, Toto, Crop Duster, Dreamwalker and I entered the Whites. We climbed Mt. Moosilauke and the view was gorgeous. The climb down was a bit treacherous but We received trail magic cherries and peaches at the bottom from Rock Monkey's fiancee. (We received trail magic from her parents the day before!) We said goodbye to Toto, and pushed 18 miles until Eliza Brook Shelter.

7/12 A morning climb up Mt Kinsmen in the fog lead us to our first hut. Lonesome Lake Hut had leftover pancakes so we gobbled those down. The "huts" in the Whites are places many yuppies pay $110 per person to stay. They consist of bunkrooms and include breakfast and dinner. For us thru hikers, there is no where to stay, so we have to beg to sleep on the floor in the huts and wash dishes to pay for it. They usually give us leftover dinner too. Hikers can also pay $3 for unlimited soup if you happen to pass a hut during lunchtime. We hiked into north Woodstock where we resupplied. While walking down the street, a gentlemen asked if I was a thru hiker and invited me to view his car's trunk (sounds kinda sketchy I know, haha). He then continued to offer me a array of hiker snack and dinners he didn't need anymore since his section hike was over. Talk about magic! I completely resupplied via his trunk, and headed back to the trailhead. Pace, Porter, Crop and I hiked around 4 miles straight up and stealth camped at over 4,000'. It was a bit chilly!

 

7/13 We awoke at 5am and did some ridge running over Mt Lincoln, Layfette, and Garfield. It was foggy, but when the clouds cleared, it was beautiful. We stopped and I ate 3 bowls of split pea soup at Galehead Hut. That evening, Crop and I decided we wanted to experience staying at a hut, so we were the lucky two thru-hikers that Zealand Hut allowed to do work for stay. Porter and Pace pushed on. After the "real" guests ate dinner, we ate leftovers with the Hut Crew, then along with another thru hiker, Spike, we bleached some shelves. Probably 30 mins of work, and we got ham, peas, mashed potatoes, salad, bread, cookies, and a warm place to stay!

 

7/14 I woke up at 5 and set off for Crawford Notch. Crop stayed and did more chores so he could eat breakfast at the Hut. I climbed up Webster Cliffs in perfect weather with beautiful views. Next was Mt. Jackson, a water refill at the Mizpah Hut, Mt Eisenhower, Mt Franklin and Mt Monroe. I was ridge running and saw rain clouds so I bunded up. The rain was brief and soon enough I was at the Lake of the Clouds Hut, just 1.5 miles south of Mt Washington. There were about 15 other thru hikers there! I stayed in "The Dungeon" (the basement of the hut) with Crop, Spike, and the Two Maine Boys.

 

7/15 I woke up early and was atop of Mt Washington by 6:45. The road wasn't open yet, so I was the only one up there! The weather was clear again, but the wind made my sweat cold. The record wind speed in the world was recorded there at 231 mph! There's also a cog railway to the top, and it's thru hiker tradition to moon it, but it didn't go by when I hiked near the track =( Crop, Spike and the Maine Boys caught up and we had lunch at Madison Hut. We hiked down a long spine ridge and my right side got way more sun than my left! We got down to Pinkham Notch where my friends Kara and Nate were waiting with Gatorades, beer, donuts and burritos! SO YUMMY. My first friends to do roadside trail magic! Thanks guys! With full bellies, we climbed up Wildcat Mnt (a ski mountain) and camped on top under the full moon.

 

7/16 Just 3 miles from where we camped was Carter Notch Hut, the last Hut of the Whites. We gorged on leftover pancakes, oatmeal, apple juice, etc and washed some dishes to say thanks! 18 miles later we were in Gorham, NH eating pizza and catching up on sleep.

 

Throughout the Whites, and before I started seeing Southbounders, or SOBOS. There are easily identified with HUGE packs, small beards, and big bellies.

 

I have yet to see a tick. I've heard of a handful of hikers who have gotten Lyme Disease, but I spray with Deet so maybe that's why I've been tick-free.

 

7/17 I'm taking a zero in Gorham today, and will be in Maine tomorrow! I pass near Bethel, Andover and Rangley, so if you live near there come say hi! My parents are planning on visiting Saturday the 23rd near Stratton. I'm predicting I'll finish on Katahdin Aug 2 or so.

The Whites!

I'm heading into the Whites tomorrow! Wish me luck! New Hampshire has been a little hilly and HOT! I'll write soon

Typical day

Here's an example of a typical day on the trail:

First I will start off with last night. This BBQ place in Fort Montgomery, NY was featuring a special called The Pig Out. Being the competitive person that I am, Porter challenged me to eat it and I couldn't give in. It was a half rack of ribs, half BBQ chicken, pulled pork, keilbasa, and some other unidentifiable pork. Plus cornbread and two sides- I chose Mac n cheese. Two hrs later I limped back to my hotel room clutching my stomach in defeat. I couldn't eat the keilbasa.

The next morning rolled around and I woke up feeling worse than I did the night before. I started to pack up to hit the trail, but decided a forced vomit was in need. After reliving the night before in a bad way, we were all packed up. I grabbed two yogurts while Pace tried unsuccessfully to call a cab. We ended up begging the manager to let a desk worker drive us two miles to where we got off the trail the day before. We offered her $20 but she refused. In our usual order: Pace, myself, and Porter, we started our hike across the Bear Mnt Bridge over the Hudson. We had to cross a crosswalk and waited a solid five minutes since NY traffic stops for no one. After an truck with New Hampshire plates finally let us cross, we began a steep uphill. I was still feeling weak and queasy, and Porter was nursing his own hangover. Pace was quiet with his own thoughts. I guess he was fantasizing about naked hikers. It was summer solstice, known in the hiking world as Naked Hiking Day. We were not naked. We finally peaked out and our climb ended so we chatted about hiking naked- the chaffing, sunburns, mosquito bites, and about which hikers we would hate to see naked.

Six miserable miles later, we came to a road with a gas station! We bought cold gatorades and I ate a pint of Ben n Jerry's milk and cookies. My tummy was feeling better. Pajamas, another thru hiker showed up. We were surprised to see him with clothes on, since we pegged him as most likely to hike naked.

Two overweight girls wearing jeans stepped out of their card and set out for a hike with their dog. Their packs were huge- complete with a cooler and chair strapped to the outside. Before they set off we warned them about naked hiking day. We caught up to them a few minutes later and Pace asks for a photo with me in the center because we are doing a study on packs. I tried unsuccessfully to contain my laughter.

After passing the girls and joking behind their backs, we saw a big black snake to the left of the trail. I vibrated the end of it's tail on some leaves to imitate the sound of a rattlesnake. I wondered where he would learn something like that- his mom, snake school, kiwanas for snakes, maybe his best friend was a rattler.

We kept moving. Little ups and little downs. I turn my phone on occasion to text and pass the time and share with Pace and Porter anything interesting I find out. We grab some granola bars out of the side of our packs and eat while hiking. Pace stops to pee so I go first, moving slowly in case there's a snake. Then I spot them. Coolers! And on top of a mountain?! Surely they are full of trash and ants like so many others. But no, this Trail Magic is stocked and we stop and all enjoy cold Gatorades.

A few minutes later a southbound section hiker passes us and warns us that her friend close behind doesn't have his hearing aids in. She also tells us that she's seen some partially naked hikers. We pass by her friend, and Pace starts mumbling things to see if he indeed cannot hear. I break into laughter for the second time in one day and have to stop hiking to compose myself.

We hike more, mostly in silence, pointing out a toad here or turkey there. Pace gets hungry so I hand him some snacks he had stored in the outer part of his pack. We cross a road and there is a pump house so we fill up our water bladders since it's nice to not filter it. I pee. It starts to rain, Pace puts his pack cover on but Porter and I have waterproof packs. We start hiking again.

We cross another road and spot a man. He's covered in white paint so we know he's been out repainting the blazes. He seems odd and comments on how in shape the women hikers are. We hike up to a view if a lake. A bit later we come to another view and two kids are playing guitars. On the way down, two other kids pass and I smell how clean they are. After they pass I tell Porter and Pace I'm going to check their cars for a soda and steal it. They didn't have any. I would have left them a couple bucks, don't worry. We hike on, under powerlines, and Pace hikes fast because he has a pacemaker. We finally get to a campsite with a water pump and set up our tents.

At the campsite are the first and only thru hikers we saw all day. I'm disappointed because they are not naked (not that I wanted to see these particular people naked, but did want to have some sort of special experience on this day). I find a summer sausage in my backpack while unpacking- Porter hid it there while I was in the bathroom throwing up my bucket of meat! That is the last thing I want to see! We all laugh, I cook cous cous with tuna over my camp stove, brush my teeth and go to bed. I look out the mesh part of my tent and see multiple fireflies floating around the yard. It reminds me of my grandparent's home and I drift to sleep thinking of Kentucky and our 28 mile day.

New England!

6/21- After a failed attempt to eat "The Pig Out," I woke up feeling horrible. After a morning bout of bulimia, we started hiking. We crossed the Hudson River, and ended up hiking 23 miles. Lunchtime, we hiked past a gas station, so a Ben and Jerry's Cookies n Cream calmed my stomach. This day was summer solstice, known in the hiking world as "Naked Hiking Day!" We did not partake. We joked about who we wouldn't want to see naked, bug bites, sunburns, chaffing, etc. We didn't see any other thru hikers until we got to our campsite that night. When I unpacked my backpack that night, I discovered a 9oz sausage Porter had snuck into it! Almost made me puke again haha.

 The 1/2 Gallon Ice Cream Challenge

The Pig Out aka Bucket o Meat

6/22- 27 mile day in the pouring rain, but crossed into Connecticut!

6/23- 12 mile hike into Kent, CT in the pouring rain again, so we decided to stay the night.

6/24-17 miles into Pine Swamp Shelter

6/25- 24 miles. Stopped for lunch in Sailsbury. Rain, rain rain. Saw 501 again, lots of section hikers and Pace carried 3L of wine! Crossed into Massachusetts!

6/26-13 miles to Great Barrington, where Dreamer met us with gatorades and cookies! Porter's friends visited and we enjoyed the Brew Pub. The sun came back.

 

6/27-28 miles until Upper Goose Pond Shelter.

6/28- 30 miles. Stopped in Dalton for lunch, and spent the night in a church in Cheshire,

6/29-29 miles. MUDDY. Stopped for lunch for 2 hours on Mt Greylock, Massachusetts highest point, so we ended up hiking until 10pm. Crossed into Vermont!

6/30- 4 miles where we picked up Porter's car, our friend Crop Duster, and drove to Porter's house, did chores and went to the Troy Brewing Company.

7/1- Went tubing this morning! Washed Porter's and Dreamer's dogs, and enjoyed a BBQ at Porter's.