August 25 - Galehead Hut (Day 159 – milepoint 1799.9)

A rare, unsuccessful hitch in the morning forced me to walk the two-or-so miles from Loon Mountain to North Woodstock for my
maildrop. I know, “2-miles-walking-big-deal-that’s-what-you-do-you-walk.” But I knew I had about 13 Trail miles planned for the day, which involved a lot of UP. And besides, walking along a busy road, for lack of a better term, SUCKS!

Full load of food and the return of my winter clothing has my pack feeling heavy again. I got a ride back up to the trail crossing at Franconia Notch from an ’89 thru-hiker, “M&M Ken.” He said he took only two days off on his entire thru-hike. I told him that yesterday was my 31st. He laughed and we exchanged a few highlights. M&M Ken - good fella.

Nice day and after the initial 4,000 foot climb to Franconia Ridge, I had outstanding views of the White Mountains all day. Met up with LandShark on top of Mount Lincoln and we made our way to Galehead Hut where his cousin, Jim, has been working all summer. As I walked in, I was shocked to see Roaming Gnome standing there. Haven’t seen him since Fontana Dam, North Carolina! So we played catch-up – he’s working as part of the hut crew, what a cool job – and they fed us really well.

LandShark, Watergirl, Spice Boy, and I ended up being evening entertainment for the hut guests, answering questions and sharing stories about our trips. I could get used to the AMC hut experience.

Aquaholic