Franconia Ridge.

I didn't stay for breakfast. I was invited for pancakes, but wouldn't be able to eat them until after 0800, and I needed to go into town for some more food. I had made an error in trying to decide how much food I would need to get me to Gorham. 

Before I left though, the crew leader wrote me a note on a piece of cardboard, and then taped it folded shut. It was basically a letter of recommendation for the rest of the huts, in case they didn't need anyone to do a WFS.  But I had no idea what it said.

I made it to the trailhead, and then walked an extra mile to the Flume Visitor's Center, around 0900, where I hoped I could catch a ride. I ran into Trail Bunny there, the wife of Longhaul Trucker, who I'd met yesterday. She offered me a ride into town, which I gratefully accepted. We ran some errands, and I bought her lunch as a thanks. She was pretty cool to hang out with, an international teacher. Her and her husband have seen and done some pretty awesome stuff. 

She dropped me off at the trailhead before noon, which was much faster than I'd expected to be starting back. I found a teddy bear sitting on a rock. If was a pretty cool looking bear, though it was wearing a Patriots shirt. I thought it looked very sad on the rock, so I picked it up, and after ascertaining that it wasn't filthy or infested, put it in my pack. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but it felt wrong to leave it there. 

Immediately the trail started with the steep stuff. Very steep stuff. I started walking with Ranger Amy, not a trail name. She was actually a ranger going up to do some work around Liberty Campsite. She was carrying a shovel. Not a small one, a full sized "I'm moving some serious dirt" heavy shovel. She stayed with me the whole way, too. A straight beast. 

A couple of miles up, we came scrss a father and his son, a boy of 6 or 7, I supposed. We talked for a while, and I offered the little guy my bear. They accepted, and they were Patriot fans, so I think the little fella is gonna be in good hands. Good luck, buddy. 

Also met the former president of the AMC, which is kinda neat. He was pretty cool.  He, and a lady I assume was his wife, were also strong hikers who were straight up killing it. 

Despite the steepness, I was pretty excited. At the top of this mountain was the famous Franconia Ridge, accounted by many people to be the most beautiful section on the Appalachian Trail. I was skeptical. I was sure it would be lovely, but a lot of these views so far, while nice, were a little short of spectacular. I was wrong. 

Franconia Ridge was breath-taking. Very beautiful. It was definitely worth the effort. I can not recall a place I've been in America that majestic, though I grant you that I've never been out west. It reminded me quite a bit of the Dolomites, and occassionally a flash of the Kunar mountain ranges.

The ridge was a couple miles long, and is now one of my favorite sections. I took my time up there, walking slowly and looking around. I was attempting to capture these views in my mind, imprint them deeply so that I would never forget them. 

On the top of ths ridge, I met Naked Ninja, Rosie, and Dr. Zoom. Trail Rabbit had mentioned these three to me as her friends, but I hadn't met them until then. They seemed quite amusing and I walked with then for a while today.  I stopped at a campsite I found while they pushed on to Garfield Pond, where they'd heard there was some camping. I do not like camping near ponds, due to the mosquitoes that inhabit that areas, so I stayed put. I only managed 11 miles today, but considering the detour I'm content. 

Lonesome Lake. It's rather pretty. 

This place even makes me look good. 

Guess which one is Naked Ninja. 

Franconia Ridge. 

Love this place. 

Kinsman mt and work for stay

Not too crazy a day. Passed a few Sobos, including Thor and Stack, who I'd met in Lincoln at Chet's. While talking to them at a shelter, another hiker came in without a word. He sat down by himself, and didn't speak until I introduced myself and asked him his name. "Quiet." Very apt. He seemed cool, just very quiet. 

I also passed 3x5, who I hadn't seen since at least TN. He was doing good, but he had a long ways left on his hike since he'd flip-flopped. He didn't remember me. After crying for half an hour I pushed on. 

Beautiful views today, but it was steep. Very steep. Rocks. Lot of scrambling, and I was worried about the frame of my pack cracking again, due to all the bending over I was doing. 

I also thought a lot about the AMC hut system. I decided the reason I was against doing the "Work for stay" at the huts was primarily arrogance, which was something I've tried to work on. So I figured I'd at least consider it. 

Then I got to my first hut. Lonesome Lake Hut. Pretty place, but I'd intended to hike another mile and a half or so, to the next road, where Spice Kit and Coconut were going to be. I almost completely skipped it, but I wanted a Coke. So in I go. 

"Hi, do you have Cokes?" "No, we don't do that here, but are you a thru-hiker?" "I'm trying to be, a few hundred miles to go still." "Would you like to work for stay?" I paused. I really wasn't. But this was a pretty good place to stay and I was rather tired, anyway. And there was the whole internal debate I'd had earlier...

"What's that entail?" "You eat with us, work for a couple of hours, and then make your bed here in the main room." Hmm. I tried to call Coconut, but no signal. What the heck. "Okay, I'll do it." 

I ate with the hut crew, and talked with them. As you might imagine about a group of young people who work and live in the White Mts all summer, they were an interesting and fun group. I liked them immensely. They also told me a lot about the hut systems and the AMC in general. After dinner they had me organize a bookshelf. And then complimented me repeatedly about how good a job I'd done. It made me wonder about how crappy thru-hiker labor must be. 

Came up this. Steeeep. 

Pretty view X

Finally on top. 

Moosilauke Mountain

Didn't get on trail until almost one. Said goodbyes to Gear, Reroute, and Ketchup, but was very pleasantly surprised by running into Spice Kit and Coconut immediately. They had just forded a river, but forded back to say hey while I got my gear. 

They hiked on ahead, and I began the dreaded trudge. Really wasn't that bad, but that might have been because I'd had a couple of days off. Ran into a summer camp group, the Aloha Hive camp. They were very cool, and gave me cheese, pepperoni, and crackers. As mentioned before, I'm easily bought. 

I ended up camping at the same place as Coconut and Spice Kit, and talked for a while. Spice Kit told me they knew they were going to like me when we met at Neels Gap, the day of the crazy frost. According to her, I said "It's like a magical enchanted forest out here! I'm Midnight Sparkle!" Which actually sounds about right. 

There was a road a few hundred meters from our campsite, and there was trail magic there, so I got a Coke for dinner. Good way to end the day. 

Oreos and milk the night before.

Bye guys!

On Moosalauke. 

Moose tracks. My size 10 for scale. 

Ups and downs

Literally. Pulled 20 miles, plus some extra due to a considerate AMC employee. This is a little out of chronologic order, but I'm still somewhat annoyed. The AT is not well marked in the Whites. In fact, it's downright confusing. I was hiking off of the southern Twin, and the terrain was rocky but not too bad. I'm hiking along, and come across a group of 10-12 people with their AMC guide, sitting in the middle of the trail, on the rocks. The guide was pontificating about how grand his job was, even spreading his arms and saying "This is my office." I ignored his cliche and kept hiking straight through the group. But then I got to Guyot shelter. Which was .7 miles off the trail. I sat down confused. Another hiker came from the opposite direction, a local, and I asked him where the AT was. He pointed back the direction I'd came. Crap. 

So I hiked back, passing Uhaul and Dozer, who'd done the same thing I had. None of us could figure out where we could have missed the turn off. Until we came to where the large group had been. They'd been literally blocking the trail, so effectively that we couldn't even see it. I was pretty upset at that moment. The a Whites are not a place you want to do extra mileage, especially not due to inconsiderate AMC guides. 

Backtrack a bit, this morning went to another hut, where they fed me. I took a look at the crew leader's ankle, which she had sprained. I recommended RICE, and asked her to open the note the other crew leader had given me. I was very curious about what it said. It was positive. I also got a text from Coconut saying they had an extra bed in the room Spice Kit's mom (Spicy Mama) had got for them.  I sent a text back saying I probably wouldn't get to the road until 8ish. 

Back to after the extra credit I did. Ran into Rugby and Big Tex. Hiked with Rugby for a while, until we got to the next hut, Zealand Falls. I'd just told him about mt additional hiking. "That's him!" I exclaimed, pointing excitedly from a few feet away. "That's the dude who blocked the trail!" I was sort of hoping to get this dude's attention, not because I wanted any sort of altercation, but because I wanted a "My bad, man." Didn't happen. Instead, an older AMC volunteer came over to deflect me. He was really good, and I wasn't looking for any sort of confrontation anyway. Mostly, at the time, I was amused because of the situation, and was chuckling to myself at the behavior of the "professional." 

Oh, back to before running into Rugby and Big Tex. This is a confusing blog entry, hope you're following. Ran into a couple coming down a side trail. The sign said "Zealand Summit." I asked them if it was worth the walk. They assured me it was. They got me good. The summit was literally a dirt patch surrounded by pine trees sufficient to block the view of everything. Would have been a good campsite, but nothing of interest other than that. 

After Zealand Falls Hut, the AT goes down a waterfall. I mean, it's doable, but a little sketchy. You wouldn't want to tackle that in the dark. But the last few miles were beautiful hiking, very smooth. I was busy thinking about how I was going to get a ride to Coconut and Spice Kit, but figured I'd find a way when I got to the road. 

Due to the detour, I ended up arriving at the trailhead at Crawford's Notch around ten to 9. When I arrived, immediately I heard a voice say "Midnight Sparkle?" What the heck? "Coconut?" Spicy Mama had driven them back to pick me up, on the off chance I showed up. Apparently they'd decided they were giving me five more minutes, and I arrived right as those ran up. I've been really blessed on this trip. 

We went to some AMC place, I honestly have no idea where. They'd even got me a plate of food set aside. I was really rather in shock at how great they were being to me. I knew there was a reason I loved those two (three now, Spicy Mama!). 

Oh, one last bizarre tale from the day. A dotay. I think that's what this guy called it. A mostly naked man was hiking up the Southern Twin when I started down it. At first I thought he was wearing a low cut kilt, then decided it was a sheet. Then decided I had no idea and while I didn't really want to talk to this guy, I was just curious enough to do so. 

"Umm, what are you wearing?" "It's a dotay!" "Is it like a kilt?" "No, it's a dotay!" "Uhh.. what's a dotay?" "It's an Indian garment. I'm trying to get them accepted over here. They're perfect for hiking, lightweight and breezy." I was actually a little disturbed by this guy's pose. He continued. "You wrap it around yourself, then roll it down, so it fits whoever." "Oh. Is it secure?" Because it definitely didn't look that way. Uhaul and Dozer were there by now, listening in. "Yes! You wrap it, then you roll it." "It looks like it could fall..." "I don't think you get it, you wrap it, then roll it!" "Okay, see you later!" 

I hiked off quickly, and Dozer and Uhaul followed. After a few minutes we started laughing. There were several "You don't get it, you wrap it, then you roll it!" jokes the rest of the day. 

My recommendation. If I scrapbooked this would go in it. Thanks Scott!

You got to wrap it, then roll it. 

This guy might make a good door, but he's a terrible window. 

I'm not even sure where this is. All the a Whites look good. 

July 13.

Day wasn't that great. Hiked fifteen miles, pretty miserably. Just made me sure I needed a day off from hiking. Dreading this nasty weather coming up. 

Made it to the Welcome Hiker Hostel. Lot of people there, all the bunks were filled but I got a couch.  Did get my winter gear though, it had been mailed there. I think I'll survive the Whites, now. Reroute was there, and Sole Power, Simba, and a few other people that I didn't know. Actually a lot of people I didn't know. Everyone was scared of the weather. Busy, busy. Hopefully I'll get a bunk tomorrow night. 

Ledge I slept on previous night. 

The Ice Cream Man

I purposefully stopped a few miles short of Bill Ackerly's home. Bill Ackerly is a legend of the trail, the Ice Cream Man. He lives just off the trail, and has welcomed hikers for decades, giving ice cream to all comers. And more intriguing to me, he's known for his croquet game. 

It was pretty fun. Bill's sister, Carita, was visiting, and turns out they're from Ky. Louisville fans, but no one's perfect. I hung out there for a couple hours. Carita won the croquet game. I had a pretty solid chance, but I tried to get fancy and blew my shot. They were pretty good though. I enjoyed my time there. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and off I hiked. 

But not that far. Not a great walking day. Felt miserable, and my body was starting to tell me I needed a break. I ran into several cool locals, and scored some strawberries, which were delicious. I didn't quite make it to the shelter I was planning on before dark, so I ended up cowboy camping on a rock ledge for the night. 

Mountains in the morning. 

Bill and Carita, croquet legends. 

Lovely view J (?)

Lovely view K

Lovely view L

Lovely view M. 

July 14

Woke up and was very excited not to be hiking. But was also not really looking forward to hanging out in a crowded hostel. South bounders everywhere, and everyone was trying to avoid the weather. Some sort of "polar vortex" was going on.  

So when Reroute decided to rent a car, I jumped on the chance to go with her, Trillium, and Opie to head to Lincoln, a nearby town. Trillium and Opie split off from us, but we ran into Geared Up, Ketchup, and Sisyfus (who was back on the trail, yay!). While we were sitting outside the grocery store where Gear and Sis were resupplying, a lovely couple came out and started talking to us. Chaga Princess and Funguy, a couple of trail angels. They asked us if we were familiar with trail magic, and when we replied in the positive, they said "Well, you're about to get some," and the proceeded to buy us lunch at the Mexican place. Good conversations there, and they told us about the town. 

After lunch, we went cruising. Reroute drove us down a scenic highway, and it was a little weird seeing the mountains from that angle. Plus the speed. Thirty miles an hour is ridiculously fast when you've been walking for months. I ate a lot of ice cream.  

We needed a place to stay, so we decided to check out Chet's, a "secret" hostel in town. It was for thru-hikers only, and Chet quizzes new arrivals. It was a lot like the Gatekeeper from Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Apparently a lot of people were trying to take advantage of him in the past. Dude was super cool, but his place was pretty busy due to the weather and SoBos, so we ended up staying at the Carriagehouse hotel, a very hiker friendly place.  Good place. 

Some sort of on fire ice cream. Good show, cinnamon does weird stuff in flames. 

Ketchup and Gear. 

The captain pose.