White Mountains

On the 25th, we did 6.4 miles and camped at the Nauman Campsite. On the 26th, we did 7.9 miles and camped at the Tuckerman's Ravine Shelter. On the 27th, we did 5.4 miles and camped on top of Wildcat Mountain peak D. On the 28th, we did 4.1 miles and camped on top of Carter Dome. On the 29th, we zeroed on Carter Dome. On the 30th, we did 6 miles and camped at the Imp Campsite. On the 31st, we did 6.1 miles and camped at Rattle River Shelter. On the 1st, we did 5.5 miles and camped on top of Mt Hayes.

So we got back on trail and started hiking in the rain, straight up. While it was actually kind of nice to be back in terrain that I consider mountains, it was not easy. The fact that I had just taken a week off and UV had taken a little over two probably didn't help either. Despite that, up we climbed. We went quite slowly and it was a lot of work but I found the trail much more enjoyable then the relatively flat and easy trail I had left. The downside of this was we had to do some night hiking to get to the campsite. There we had to pay to camp... not an outrageous concept to most people but after five months of free lodging it was surprisingly galling.

The next day we hiked up Mt Washington. The hike was nice and the weather was great. It was a little overcast but warm enough to sit on the peak of Washington in short sleeved shirts without any concern about temperature. On the way to the top, we cleaned the fridges at Lake of the Clouds hut for a great free lunch and six pieces of chocolate cake. Our speed of hiking, slow, combined with the long break for lunch and then the long break on the top to soak in the view (and eat more food) meant we weren't going to hit our target. The other option was a hut that would cost a ton and we wouldn't get there in time to get work for stay. To solve this problem we decided to take a bit of a shortcut.

On the AT, Pinkham Notch is 14 miles from the peak of Washington. I knew that, via Tuckermans Ravine, the notch was only about 4 miles from the peak and there is camping halfway down. This worked out perfectly. The caretaker even offered us work for stay if we went around and picked up trash.

During this day of hiking I came to the realization that the one aspect of hiking that doesn't directly increase my enjoyment is miles. Everything else about being out here is just great... miles not so much. The following days I embraced this ideology and didn't even care about hitting specific campsites. We just walk until we are tired or find a great place to pitch a tent. This is technically against the rules of the White Mountains but we do it in a way that is low impact and environmentally friendly.

The day after Washington had us climbing Wildcat. This is the hardest climb I've done so far on the trail. It was incredibly steep and just kept going. As a result we got to the second peak of Wildcat and found a great little sheltered campsite about .1 miles from the top of the gondola. It was a great day. Some amazing views, hard climbing and a decent lunch at the Pinkham Notch Lodge. The next day was a very short day to the top of Carter Dome. There we found the best campsite we had in a long time. It was right next to the trail but behind a thick screen of evergreens so no one even noticed us and we were at 4800 feet with an amazing view. It was so nice we just stayed there all next day. From there, we just did some short days and got down to Route 2 where we met Cassie with our food drops.

Originally we had planned to meet Cassie at Grafton Notch, but it was early in the week when we realized that we were going to be a few days short of getting there. We could have made it past Route 2 easily considering we took a zero and did a few easy days at the end. The trouble was there are no roads between Rt 2 and Grafton Notch. While normally this is actually a nice thing about a section of trail, it made meeting Cassie a bit tough. I guess when the consequence of something being "tough" is taking some really enjoyable easy days in the White Mountains, things are going pretty well. The actual act of resupplying was the best yet on trail. It was great to have a ride all lined up and someone that was just willing to make a stop at a store without question. It was also quite nice just to eat lunch and chat with Cassie.

After everything was taken care of, we got back on trail. We climbed to the first peak and found a great view and a flat rock... good spot for a tent. We should hit Maine tomorrow and maybe we will pick up the miles a bit but, then again, maybe we won't. I am not really concerned with anything except having a great time in the woods with UV. Maybe we will do all the miles in Maine and maybe not. I don't think I overly care. We will keep moving; one of the things I enjoy is camping in different new places and exploring, but I do so without concern or great ambitions. Just to spend time in the woods.