White Mountains? No Problem

On the 14th I did 17.5 miles and stayed at a trail angels house. On the 15th I did 18.6 miles and stayed at the Ore Hill campsite. On the 16th I did 15.1 miles and stayed at Beaver Brook shelter. On the 17th I did 9 miles and stayed at Eliza Brook shelter. On the 18th I did 18.3 miles and stayed near Garfield pond. On the 19th I did 18.3 miles and camped along the Saco River. On the 20th I did 11.1 miles and stayed at Lake of the Clouds hut.

This week was the main section of the White Mountains. They are outrageously gorgeous but somewhat difficult. Surprisingly my mileage is still going strong. I was even able to pull off back to back 18 plus mile days. The first of those 18 involved doing Kinsman mountain first thing and then doing Franconia Ridge at the end. Quite a day but one full good views. Like these...

So New Hampshire has been fantastic. These mountains are what I was waiting for since Georgia. Thankfully they do not disappoint. The trail is rugged and difficult and I love it. Nothing is quite as fun as climbing tough mountains everyday.

Besides the mountains, what has been amazing is the people. For some reason many people in the south will tell you that people are less friendly in the north. As a northern I have always disagreed. The trail this year has proven that this is blatantly untrue. The town of Hanover, NH has amazing trail angels. One of them gave us a ride to an outfitter, then a ride up trail to slack pack and finally picked us up again, took us to her house and fed us fancy cheese and gelato. All out of the goodness of her heart. Also, while in town two other people asked if I needed a place to stay. This is an extreme example of northern kindness but it has been the same way all over the north. Hitches come easy and trail magic is plentiful, it's a wonderful thing to see.

Tomorrow I summit Mt Washington and then shortly after it is on to Maine. Things are coming to an end. Hikers are more prone to discussions of life post trail now and it brings up quite the array of emotions. It might be nice to have knees that bend without complaint and feet that don't hurt but the trail is so amazing it will be sad to leave it again.