We head off for breakfast at the local diner, and both order 'the hungry man's platter'. Then we head off with packs and walk on to the highway to hitch back to the trail. Immediately a car stops heading in to town, with Sourdough and Spiritwalker, and they say - 'We can take you out to the trail,' so we had a quick return.
Sourdough hiked with us today, and it was great to walk and talk and catch up with all the news as we had not seen him for a few weeks. It is a hard slog - a climb of 2000' to the summit of Mt Success. We have lunch when we find a water source - water is scarce.
We arrive at Gentian Pond at about 5 pm and find a group of college students camping. We take platforms further up the hill and hope they won't be too noisy. We fall in love with the college students when they present each of us with a chocolate bar which they say is 'surplus to requirements'. We also meet 'Trooper' for the first time - he camps further up the hill in a patch of scrub - very much the lone wolf. But he does eat his chocolate bar.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day 152 - 30th August - Imp Shelter to Goreham - 8 miles
An early climb of a 1000' followed by a steep descent. The last two miles is an old road and we pick up speed to head into town as fast as possible. Crossing a small creek I slip and fall on the slimy granite and hit my head hard on the rock. Blood everywhere, broken glasses, and a gash about 1cm long. I was so eager to get to town! Now I have a throbbing headache.
The trail reaches the road and in the car park there is a 'girl friend' dropping off her partner, an AT thru-hiker. She gives us a ride into Goreham. We stay at the motel, and do laundry and resupply. Walmart is 5 miles out of town and we have the phone number of Bruce, a trail angel who thru hiked in 1987, so we call him and he drives us out to Walmart and waits for us while we do the shopping. Amazing character, and then he didnt want to accept any money, but we insisted.
We eat dinner at the motel restaurant - Mexican. And lo and behold, lolling by the pool, Neutron, Sandbagger and Zan, having bypassed the Wild Cat Range.
The trail reaches the road and in the car park there is a 'girl friend' dropping off her partner, an AT thru-hiker. She gives us a ride into Goreham. We stay at the motel, and do laundry and resupply. Walmart is 5 miles out of town and we have the phone number of Bruce, a trail angel who thru hiked in 1987, so we call him and he drives us out to Walmart and waits for us while we do the shopping. Amazing character, and then he didnt want to accept any money, but we insisted.
We eat dinner at the motel restaurant - Mexican. And lo and behold, lolling by the pool, Neutron, Sandbagger and Zan, having bypassed the Wild Cat Range.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Day 151 - 29th August - Pinkham Notch to Imp Shelter - 13.1 miles
Today is a very hard, long day to climb Wild Cat Spur and do the full traverse of the Wild Cat Ridge. It is possible to bypass this hike, and hitch straight into Goreham, and this has appeal for many of the young hikers. We find a big mob of them lolling by the pool at the motel the following day. Digby and I remain pure and are totally exhausted by the day.
The track visits a shelter by a lake at Carters Notch Hut which is very picturesque - we decide to drop in and have some soup for lunch, which turns out to be the worst soup we have on the whole trail.
We crawl into the campsite at 6.15pm after a very serious descent - a cliff rather than a trail. We wonder how non rock climbers cope with this. It would one of the hardest sections on the whole trail.
Day 150 - 28th August - Madison Hut - Pinkham Notch - 7.8 miles
We depart early immediately after breakfast. It is sunny but very windy and we climb the steep spur up to Mt Madison. It is almost a razor back ridge and we enjoy the views which extend right across the valleys. A steep descent off Mt Madison, and we arrive at the campsite at lunch time - we know Scatters is fit - but we could not have come this far yesterday. Another couple of hours and we arrive at Pinkham Notch - a large settlement - visitor information, shop with accommodation and restaurant. We eat and then decide to start along the trail to find a bush camp next to the creek.
We find a lovely sheltered tent site and then sleep away the rest of the afternoon. What a treat!
We find a lovely sheltered tent site and then sleep away the rest of the afternoon. What a treat!
Day 149 - 27th August - Lake of the Clouds Hut - Mt Washington - Madison Hut - 7.1 miles
The weather report says that the winds will drop from 50 miles per hour to 20 - 30 miles per hour so we delay our departure until the dial shows the decline and we start hiking at 9.00am. It is a struggle to walk and climb the 1,000' to Mt Washington but we take it slowly and finally arrive. Mt Washington is swirling in mist, with occasional breaks in the cloud to view the ocean and valleys below.
We meet up with Donna, Scatter's mum, and her Aunt Margaret who have brought lots of food for us. We meet in the car park at the car and stuff ourselves with turkey rolles and then keep on going.
The clouds clear as we descend to provide some great views of the ridge we are hiking. There is a train which climbs Mt Washington, and we walk along the tracks and the see the train - something quite prehistoric. We follow the ridge to Madison Hut, and arrive around 4pm and decide to book in as guests. It is too late for us to try to reach the campsite.
Scatters decides to head on to the campsite with On the Loose - the things you can do when you are young and fit. We enjoy the evening at Madison, and meeting some of the 'paying customers'. A thru hiker called 'Golden Ray' who is deaf, falls on the summit climb to Mt Madison and knocks himself out. He is carried down to the hut, and looked after. A doctor happens to be one of the hikers. Golden Ray is very fit, but the doctor is worried in case he falls again, and gives him his phone number to call if anything else happens.
We meet up with Donna, Scatter's mum, and her Aunt Margaret who have brought lots of food for us. We meet in the car park at the car and stuff ourselves with turkey rolles and then keep on going.
The clouds clear as we descend to provide some great views of the ridge we are hiking. There is a train which climbs Mt Washington, and we walk along the tracks and the see the train - something quite prehistoric. We follow the ridge to Madison Hut, and arrive around 4pm and decide to book in as guests. It is too late for us to try to reach the campsite.
Scatters decides to head on to the campsite with On the Loose - the things you can do when you are young and fit. We enjoy the evening at Madison, and meeting some of the 'paying customers'. A thru hiker called 'Golden Ray' who is deaf, falls on the summit climb to Mt Madison and knocks himself out. He is carried down to the hut, and looked after. A doctor happens to be one of the hikers. Golden Ray is very fit, but the doctor is worried in case he falls again, and gives him his phone number to call if anything else happens.
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