Gorham, 298
Where has New Hampshire gone?! I only have 17 miles left in the Granite State, and no landmark mountains either! The Presidentials are behind me, as are Wildcat, the Carters, and Moriah. Now, it really feels like all I have left is Maine.
Two days ago was the test from Mother Nature. With fog settling and the wind whipping (I think the official report from Mount Washington was 75mph gusts), I tackled the northern Presidentials. It was kind of a blur. There were no views, but it was a lot of fun balancing myself between the uneven rocks and the wind. And then once in a while the Gulf Edge trail would take me right up next to a precipitous drop off. Good thing the wind was blowing away from said drops!
There was a certain air of morbidity in the hike two days ago. At Mount Washington, there was a list of 155 people who had died on the mountain, from the 1800s to one month ago. Easily the scariest names were those who died of hypothermia and exposure...in the summer. It's possible. It was in the upper 40s with strong wind, so all it would take is some rain and a little unpreparedness...
The good news is I survived with flying colors, and ended the day at a hostel. The hostel offers a slackpack for the 21 miles from Pinkham Notch to Route 2, and I decided to break down and enjoy my first ever slack.And what a slack it was. 21 miles!
While that's doable pretty much anywhere else, in the Whites it is really difficult! I am pretty sore this morning after scaling three sets of mountains yesterday, all 4000 footers. First it was the Wildcats, which are crazy steep on the way up. Without a backpack, I felt like a god at first. I raced to the top of Wildcat, where there is a ski gondola, in one hour. Then it was Carter Dome, Mt. Hight, and Middle and North Carter. These were a long ridge walk, with some nasty ups and downs along the way. By the end of this I was pretty tired. And then it ended with Mount Moriah, which by the end I was just dog tired. 20 mile days are not recommended here!
So today will be easier, and tomorrow I'll be in Maine. Wow. My goal end date is in a mere three weeks, August 15. Also wow.
- Scribbles (aka Ted)
8:00 a.m. 7/25/2015
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