White Mountains

I'm writing this post from the safety of a library in Lincoln, NH.  The trail, which follows a ridge 3000+ ft above me, is about to get pretty rough.

Yesterday, I climbed and then descended Mt. Moosilauke.  I believe it's been the biggest ascent so far on my hike.  (There have been bigger mountains, but the climb has always started from a ridgeline instead of the base of the mountain.)  The climb took almost three hours, but it was rewarded with an amazing view.  For the first time in a while, the trail went above tree line (the point above which trees cannot grow because of temperature, wind and altitude).  I could see every direction, but I couldn't linger too long because the wind was pretty strong - strong enough that I had to walk at an angle to stay standing.  And it's not even the biggest. 

The next few days will have a lot of exposed ridgeline and some relatively high summits.  I've heard a lot from the southbound hikers that I've been meeting over the last couple weeks.  Mt Washington (the highest mtn in the White Mountain range has some pretty bizarre weather.  The highest temperature ever recorded on the summit is 74 degrees.  Seventy-four degrees!  Ever!  That's the highest!  The summit receives snow every month of the year.  The other day, a hiker told me that the wind chill temperature was below freezing.  And this is in July!

So, I'm a little nervous about the next week.  I've heard so much about the White Mtns during my hike.  Yes, they are dangerous and have extreme weather but they are also the most beautiful views on the trail.  This is why we're out here.  The bad news is that it's supposed to rain pretty hard over the next few days.  So, there's a decent chance we won't be getting much of a view.  Bummer.

On a happier note, I've had a pretty good time on the trail since leaving Hanover a few days back.  I had a great time in town with my Aunt and Uncle.  They spoiled me pretty good.  I got some pad thai, lots of desserts, gelato and some trail snacks as well. 

Then, a couple days out of town, I got to meet Ice Cream Man.  The Ice Cream Man (Bill) is a retired guy who lives near the trail and encourages hikers to stop by and get some water and ice cream.  Bill's sons hiked the trail a long time ago and they got a lot of support during their hike, so he feels like he needs to give back to the current generation of hikers.  It was a great afternoon sitting around on Bill's porch and we even got in a game of croquet too.  Good times.

This library's got a time limit on their computer, so I gotta go.  Thanks for reading!

New Hampshire!

Earlier today, I crossed from Vermont into New Hampshire.  I'm currently in the town of Hanover, NH at their library doing some way-overdue internet stuff.  Hanover has been really great so far, but it's also a little overwhelming.  Dartmouth is located here, so it's a very college-y kind of town, but the trail also runs through town - so it's got a little bit of an outdoorsy vibe as well.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I got back on the trail almost 2.5 weeks ago (July 4th), but everytime I've had a chance to get online, I was in too much of a rush to get other things done, that I didn't have time to write anything.  I had a particularly annoying experience in Dalton, MA, where the librarian insisted that I follow the hour limit.  "And what if there's noone waiting for a computer after that hour is up?"  "Doesn't matter.  Them's the rules."  Ug...

So, since my last update, I've crossed the border into MA, then crossed another border into VT and then crossed yet another border into NH.  And each time, the trail has gotten progessively better.  The forest has changed.  It's gotten more and more pine-y, to the point where it smells like Christmas all of the time, and the pine needles on the trail are like little pillows for your feet to land on.  The grey squirrels have disappeared and been replaced with chipmunks and red squirrels.  And the bears seem to have disappeared as well (I hope), and lately I've been seeing evidence of moose.

The attitudes of hikers have changed as well.  It feels like we're almost done, although we still have 450 miles left to go.  Everyone I've talked to has had horrible things to say about their time in NY state and the second half of PA.  And ever since we've passed those places, the experience has gotten more and more enjoyable.  The hikers that I meet are all pumped to be out here.  Earlier on the trail, there was a lot of complaining (and for good reason a lot of times), but that's all been replaced now with a kind of live-it-up-while-you-can and we're-so-lucky-to-be-out-here positivity.  It's really great to be around.

A lot's happened over the past few weeks, so it's hard to summarize or list all of the bigger events.  When I got dropped-off at the trail in Kent, Conn, I had a rough few days.  It was hot and sweaty and I had some painful chafing.  And then soon after that, I started having some issues with the shoes that I brought back with my from Atlanta.  I decided on using my old (600+ running miles) running shoes and seeing if I could finish the trail with them.  The problem is that my feet have grown from hiking and there was some exposed plastic in the back, inside part of the shoe - and this plastic was rubbing the back of my foot raw.  I doubled-up on socks and walked a little more gingerly and after a few days, the skin on the back of my foot hardened-up and stopped hurting.  So, I hope that won't be an issue any more.  Anyway, once I got through those two issues, things have been much better.

From AT 2012

One of the more important chores I needed to take care of while in Hanover today was pick-up a replacement part for my water filter.  The more I've used the filter, the more clogged-up it has gotten.  It's to the point now, where it takes way too long to get a clean bottle of water.  The filter came with a kind of water syringe for cleaning it out, but I left that in storeage in the interest of carrying less in my pack.  I didn't think I would need it on my hike.  Boy was I was wrong!  So, I went into an outdoor store in Manchester, VT to see if I could borrow a syringe from them, but they didn't carry this brand of filter.  No luck there.  So, then I contacted the manufacturer to see if they could mail me a syringe.  Yes, they could, but because they exclusively use UPS, they couldn't send it to a post office (which I would normally use).  So, I give them the address of an outdoor store which I found in my guidebook.  It turns out they went out of business not too long ago.  So, I don't know where my package went!  I'm pretty unhappy about that, but it's my own fault.  Now, it's time to order a new one.

I'm meeting my aunt and uncle in town today and they just arrived, so it's time to sign off.  Thanks for reading!