September 1 - Gorham, NH (Day 166 – milepoint 1860.9)

Paka and I were able to work for a little while this morning in exchange for our night stay in the Hut. Latane, the hut caretaker, had us scrubbing the floors in the bathrooms and we actually enjoyed the chore.

Chewy, Achilles, Cosmo, and Bue Bird all headed out early and, since Paka is very likely the slowest hiker to ever set foot on the AT and doesn’t function well alone, I was forced to slow my pace and keep him company. Lucky for me he’s at least reasonably intelligent and can hold a conversation…

We were eventually joined by Puff and we periodically ran into Dragonfly, Woody Pop, and Anapurna throughout the day.

Walking out of the woods onto the road into Gorham gave me an unexpectedly strong feeling of completion. We were all proud and relieved to have made it through the Whites uninjured and in good spirits.

Enter Gorham, NH and the Hikers Paradise Hostel. Ready for some rest. Bruno, owner of the Hiker’s Paradise, greeted us warmly and made us all feel welcome. After he showed us to our rooms, Bruno said we could “buy” bicycles for getting around town. For $1.00, you are handed a bill of sale and allowed to choose from the dozen or so old bicycles in the parking lot behind the building. Cool idea and a convenient way for us to run errands.

Showered…Monday Night Football…beer, food-I-don’t-carry, ice cream…feet up. Paradise, indeed.

Aquaholic

August 31 - Carter Notch Hut (Day 165 – milepoint 1845.9)

Really enjoying the company of these folks I’ve been hiking with for the past couple of months. When they’re around I laugh a lot more and conversation is always interesting. I got ahead of these guys coming into the Whites and spent most of the past week hiking alone. Taking the day off at Lakes of the Clouds allowed folks like Cosmo, Achilles, Paka, Chewy, Huff and Puff,
and Landshark (to name a few) to catch up, and I was really excited to see them again.

A guest at Lakes of the Clouds Hut asked us if we had any “revelations” during our journey. I could not give him a specific answer two days ago, but now I think I would tell him this: Although I think it is important to spend time alone out here for reflection and solitude, we humans are social animals, and the best things in life should be shared, in some capacity, with others. The rewards come in ways you just cannot make up.

Aquaholic

August 30 - Osgood Tentsite (Day 164 – milepoint 1835.4)

Achilles and I summited Mount Washington this morning under a thick blanket of fog, so we didn’t stick around.

Very tough terrain and rough coming down Mount Madison. My knees are sore enough to complain about them.

Joined here at Osgood Tentsite by Achilles, Paka, Chewy, and Jeff, a Harvard graduate student in Landscape Architecture. He is very polite and has not complained once about the smell.

Aquaholic

August 29 - Lakes of the Clouds Hut (Day 163)

Weather sucks. Took the day off.

Turning over today’s journal entry to Paka:

“Paka Bear – self-described as cute, reasonably intelligent, and not as smelly as some hikers I might mention – seeks date for UNC Homecoming Game October 11. Send resume to (x-address) Greensboro, NC 27408. Photo ID required. Applicant must be described by her peers as cute, reasonably intelligent, and not a Republican.”

August 28 - Lakes of the Clouds Hut (Day 162 – milepoint 1825.3)

Helped the Mizpah Croo clean up this morning, then headed out in a heavy fog for a short five-mile day en route to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut.

It’s a shame to be missing some of the views up here in the Presidential Mountains. I know there’s more to appreciate than fog, rocks, and nice-smelling day hikers. It is supposed to be clearing up soon, though, so we’ll see.

The summit of Mount Washington is only a mile away from the hut here, so Lej and I went for a quick climb up to the summit to check things out. Hopped on a pay-phone and got to call Johnny. Damn, I miss him.

Aquaholic

August 27 - Mizpah Hut (Day 161 – milepoint 1820.6)

Felt much stronger today. Not sure why. Need to start paying closer attention to the mix of food, water, sleep, and miles.

Made it to Mizpah Hut just before the rain and early enough to take advantage of the work-for-stay option. Ended up on “evening entertainment duty” again, along with Church Mouse. Full house tonight.

Aquaholic

August 26 - Ethan Pond Shelter (Day 160 – milepoint 1814.0)

Helped the Galehead Hut Crew with morning chores and said goodbye to Jim and Roaming Gnome.

Some of the views today had me thinking of the scenery in the movie, Braveheart. Breathtaking, really.

My body was tired and I yawned a lot while hiking today. After only 11 miles, I was very much ready to call it a day. My decision was made less complicated by the beauty of Ethan Pond. Joined here in the shelter by Lej and Easy Walker.

Aquaholic

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

August 24 - Loon Mountain Hostel (Day 158)

Slept until noon. That was weird. Did nothing all day. That was weird, too.

Aquaholic

August 23 - Franconia Notch, Loon Mountain Hostel (Day 157 – milepoint 1781.0)

Tough terrain this morning forced me to periodically strap my poles to my pack and scramble on all fours for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, heavy fog at higher elevations still looms, so no views, but I dropped down to Lonesome Lake and was rewarded with the beauty of the lake and surrounding area. At this point, I realized I wasn’t going to make it to the post office in North Woodstock
before it closed at noon (today is Saturday). I would have to wait until Monday, which is a bit of a bummer. I’d hoped to avoid spending money if I could help it. I was also not looking forward to what I had heard was a very difficult hitch into town. Much of the traffic along the road is made up of tourists, who are typically far less apt to pick up hitchhikers than locals.

But as I emerged from the woods and up to the road at Franconia Notch, a bus driving by honked at me and pulled over. The driver, Sam, invited me in and informed me he was heading back to Loon Mountain Ski Resort, where he works, and that I could stay at the hostel there if I would like. I thought that sounded great.

Sam also informed me of a concert at the resort tonight and that I could work at the show in exchange for my stay at the hostel. That also sounded like a good deal to me. I asked him, “Who’s playing the concert?”

“Big Head Todd and Ziggy Marley.” he proclaimed.

That sounded good to me.

Sam dropped me at the hostel where I was provided a room with shower and laundry access. I was eventually joined by Lej, Silence, and Easy Walker and we all walked over to the base of the ski resort at around 4:00 to report for “concert-duty.” Our hostel and concert host was Steve Shaberman, who put us to work in the concession area – pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chips, fries, ice cream, soda, etc. – and said we could eat “as much as we would like.”

We put Silence on pizza duty. Lej and Easy Walker were given security t-shirts and stood near a fence to keep people from sneaking in without tickets. They had a great view of the stage and, of course, we made sure they were well-fed and thirst-free all evening.

Steve made me sort of the “hiker-crew-leader,” which was something like a glorified gopher wandering around looking busy but really not doing much. Met Ziggy and Steven Marley before the show (I’m sure I made a powerful impression) and eventually ended up walking around the concert with boxes of ice cream bars. I even sold a few.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters were excellent as usual, and Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were far better than I expected. PakaBear, Chewy, Cosmo, and LandShark showed up during the show in disbelief about our luck. We made sure they didn’t leave hungry. Outstanding show, to say the least, and Steve took great care of us all.

Now back at the hostel, a little after midnight, happy and comfy. Wondering what to do tomorrow.

Aquaholic