July 23, 2012

Apologies for the scattered topics in the posts but I wanted to give some more details about some of the things I've done that occurred after Mt. Washington and up to today.

One of the important opportunities going through the Whites is the chance to do work-for-stays at the Huts. I briefly mentioned this in my previous post when I summitted Mt. Lafayette in that storm. A work-for-stay requires you to arrive relatively early to ensure you get a space, of which there are limited opportunities for thru hikers. You are served dinner and breakfast (after everyone else eats) and given a roof to sleep under. Sometimes you are lucky enough to get a bunk. One work for stay I slept on the porch under a starlit night sky that was beautiful with a nice cool breeze and the other was inside in the dining hall (Lafayette). The only other work-for-stay I did was for dinner alone because there was a huge group of kids at the Mizpah Hut. After so long on the trail, large, loud crowds are not exactly welcome; it's just too much. The work-for-stays are a great chance to conserve my food reserves (still carrying a dinner from my original packing in Gorham) and sleep indoors.

I mentioned that I stayed at Chet's Hostel which gave me the chance to slack-pack through Kinsman Notch. The views of the Whites were amazing and I was able to see everything I had already come over and Mt. Moosilauke which I would eventually summit. Since Moosilauke I have put on some decent miles and plan to continue doing that. My average over the last few days has been around 15 miles. May have pushed myself a little harder than I should have or even needed to in getting to Hanover and now I'm taking a zero to rest my right calf muscle. It's already feeling better so it won't be long till I'm back on the trail again, soon as I can restock.

Some of the trail magic I've encountered is just amazing. A few days back in the Whites we passed Rt. 302 and met a previous thru-hiker named Rock Dancer who sits out on the trail head with drinks and food for the hikers passing by; he does this for 2 days. Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang, and Little Foot and I arrived about 2pm and ended up staying and talking with Rock Dancer till 5. At that point we decided to stealth camp in the area, just off the railroad tracks and go to dinner with Rock Dancer who also took us to the Irving to get some supplies. Rock Dancer was a wealth of information about the upcoming trail. I also had the opportunity to meet the ice cream man just before Moose Mountain. Bill Ackerman (the ice cream man), gives hikers free ice cream and water out of his home. I was even luckier that evening because his niece, Sarah, and her children were visiting and they decided to make popcorn and lemonade and share it with myself and two other hikers. While visiting, I found out that Sarah is a doctor at a hospital in Maine who treats lyme disease. I spoke with her about Jonathan's condition and she recommended he be tested again because of the time it takes for antibodies to appear which will give a positive result on the test; too early and the test will come back with a false negative. Hopefully that's not what he has but every little bit of information helps. Bill even let us pitch tents/hammocks in his yard. This was my first chance to pitch my hammock on the ground and it worked really well. There are a few things I'll do differently the next time but those are just to give myself a little more space.

Had a slight hiccup in my resupply schedule when the box that was sent to Glencliff wasn't there when I showed up. Slightly disappointing but the lady who dropped me off at the post off also took me to the local mart where I was able to pick up enough supplies to get me to Hanover.

Met many great NOBOs who shared invaluable information about Hanover and the upcoming rail; Five Pair, Shy Dog, Frenchie, Salt Bomb, Nutter Butter, BP (Bottomless Pit), Pepper Boy, and Duke (a dog on the trail following Pepper Boy though he's another hiker's dog). One of the major discussion points has been water as there has been a stretch with limited or weak water. Thankfully there's been some trail magic in the form of 5 gallon jugs of water we can top off with and I'm taking every opportunity I can to fill up at each stream I can get water out of. The other major discussion point has been the free things you can get at the trail towns coming up; specifically Hanover.  Here you can get a free slice of pizza, a snicker's bar, a free cup of coffee, and a free bagel just for being a thru-hiker. Hanover is extremely nice to thru-hikers and even has a list of numbers to trail angels you can call who will put you up in their houses for the night. It fills up quick though.

I'm planning to camp outside town again like I did last night. The weather's been great so no need for a rain fly and the temperatures are cool enough that just my liner is enough. Weather for the next few days is for some chance of rain but no more than 50%. Will be nice to see the streams, creeks, and brooks up a little more. My fear is the high temperatures continue as I get farther south. I've been hearing that NY, Pennsylvania, and VA are having issues with their water sources. Hopefully each state will have plenty of rain right before I walk through them but far enough ahead for the trails to be mostly dry. I've been blessed with good weather so far and only a few bad days though I anticipate running into more as hurricane season really kicks off and I get farther south.

This morning I took a shower and did laundry at the community center. Feels good to be rinsed of all the dirt and sweat, though I still have some of that natural hiker musk. Not only is it hard to get rid of (will probably need to wash for at least an hour and soak in multiple tubs of hot water when I'm done) but it helps keep the mosquitos at bay just that little bit more. After my shower/laundry, I headed into town to get all my free foods and look through the outfitter shops to see if there was any gear I wanted. I have everything I need but there's always a chance I may find some new, lighter-weight gear to replace something I have. I finally found new socks when I took the free local transit bus to West Lebanon to the EMS there. I'm going to go through a bunch of socks but feet are important on the trail. My socks might have lasted me another 100 miles but no sense taking the risk. After that I picked up my resupply package from the post office (glad this one made it) and came here to the library to post.

Hoping Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang, and Little Foot catch up to me tomorrow morning.  They are supposed to be making it to Etna tonight which puts them about 6 miles outside Hanover. I'm going to hang around and wait for them probably.

Some minor highlights since my last post:
- Hiked up Cube Mountain
- Hiked up Smart Mountain and climbed to the top of the fire warden's tower which had some amazing views
- Watch the new Batman movie last night

I may have missed a few things but I left my map with my gear in the community center. I figure if I can't remember it, it can't be that important.

~Shadow Grimm

1 comment:

  1. Hey! Glad you met Frenchy and Nutter Butter, two of my good friends from the trail! I finished at Katahdin on the 21st...it was amazing! I am at my mom's house now relaxing and will be heading back home to California soon...looking forward to following your blog! If you have any questions or anything just shoot me a message! HAVE A BLAST!
    - Tarzan, AT GA-ME 2012

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