Day 28, July 12
13.3 miles
Carter Notch Hut
I got lost for about 40 minutes in the morning. The trail crossed a river, but when it turned, it was red blazed (the AT is supposed to be entirely marked by white blazes, although it is often not well maintained), with no sign in sight, so I assumed that was a separate trail and could not figure out where the AT went. I waited at the river for a while, hoping someone would come along, before deciding to just follow the trail, which was fortunately the right one.
I was almost at the summit of Moriah, the first mountain of the day, when who should come up behind me but Ben, a friend I had not seen since Shaw’s at least two weeks previously. Relish and Eclipse were not far behind. When people fall behind you, you have no way of knowing where they are, or if they are even still on the trail, so it is always a surprise when they suddenly reappear.
Water has been scarce recently, so all four of us walked 0.2 miles off the trail to Imp Campsite just to get water, as it was the only source marked for the next 6 miles or so. Of course, about 5 minutes after we hiked back out and left, we crossed a small stream, rendering the whole time-consuming side trip unnecessary.
Now that we are in the Whites, we are in AMC territory. That means the trail is incredibly well maintained, but it belongs more to the day hikers and weekenders than the long-distance hikers. A lot of thru hikers dislike the AMC because most of the official campgrounds charge a fee, the huts charge over $100 a night, and stealth camping, or camping at an unofficial spot, is often prohibited. I appreciate the AMC’s programs and all the work they do, but my companions and I were frustrated by the fact that, for large segments of the trail in their territory, there were no shelters, and many of the campsites and shelters, when they are available, are located anywhere from 0.2 to 1.1 miles off-trail. For a thru hiker, having to walk off-trail, or retrace your steps, for any reason, is incredibly frustrating. In the Whites, any official source will tell you that it is necessary to plan your trip thoroughly in advance, but here more than anywhere else, it is never certain whether a campsite will be full, or a stealth spot occupied, or work-for-stay taken, making each day unpredictable.
I made it to Carter Notch Hut around 7:00. Even though there were already two nobo women doing work-for-stay, they were kind enough to let me stay as well. There were only a few guests, so we got to sleep in one of the bunkrooms, which was a real treat.
Day 29, July 13
About 7 miles
Stealth site past Pinkham Notch
I swept some floors for about 20 minutes and rolled out around 9:30. Witch and Weasley passed me slackpacking northbound, so we stopped and took a break together. After that, I
made very little progress. I heard thunder while I was on the Wildcat ridge, but the sun was still shining. Just before I began my descent, the sky split open with an earsplitting crack, and I started scrambling to attempt to outrun the surely impending rain. Strangely enough, that was it. The thunder receded, and the sun stayed out for the rest of the day.
I stopped in at Pinkham Notch and took a break for a couple hours to charge my phone. I
have been struggling with relentless exhaustion, especially when I hike alone, which is most of the time. Relish, Eclipse, and some other sobos showed up later, and I ended up stealthing with the two of them and another sobo, the Marshall, that night.
Day 30, July 14
About 13.7 miles
Lakes of the Clouds
By the time I made it up Madison, it was windy and
completely socked in. I waited for Weasley for an hour or so, thinking she would be somewhere behind me, but decided to push on to Lakes around 2:00. Between Madison and Lakes, there is nowhere to stay unless you venture a ways off trail, so I had no choice but to walk on through the rain.
I was frustrated at first that I had only 50 feet of visibility on some of the most majestic peaks of the trail, but I was
so awestruck by the otherworldliness of the rocky ridge line that I realized I would definitely be coming back, so it didn’t matter that I didn’t have a view this time.
The USFS employees at the summit of Washington were incredibly friendly. One of them even ventured out into the storm to show me the way to the trail. Unfortunately, the cog train did not pass me on my way up, so I was unable to follow through on the time-honored thru hiker tradition of mooning the cog railway.
I showed up at Lakes around 7:30. They had a full house but were glad to have me do work-for-stay, even though I was the ninth hiker to arrive. Cady and Wes were there, as well as the Dude Crew: three other sobos, including Kyle and Jake, now Shivers and Rocko, with whom I started, a nobo named Fireball, and some LASHers (Long Ass Section Hikers). We had a very fun night and ate tons of lasagna, lentil soup, corn, and other yummy food we don’t get on the trail. The guests didn’t all go to sleep until 10:00, so it was a late night.
zucchini walking 