Date: August 1 2000
Trail Day: 62
Miles Today: 17
Location: Hall Mountain Lean-to
Section Mile: AT 250
ECT Mile: 931
Got a late start today. The trail dropped from SR 17 and then climbed onto
the Bemis range. Once on top it ran the ridge. It had numerous peaks - First
peak, Second peak, Third peak, Bemis mountain, Elephant mountain and
Old blue mountain. Then it dropped all the way back to a valley, went up
and down Moody mountain and climbed again to Hall mountain lean-to. By the
time I came to Moody mountain I was tired. It became dark and started
raining. I managed to get to the lean-to and startled the occupants.
One of them was Little Bit. She has been on the trail for 5 months and
has completed less than half the trail and is now flip-flopping. Among AT
hikers there is a saying - Thru hiking is 20 % physical and 80 % mental.
I fully believe this. Little Bit had the physical portion down pat. She
has a 15 lbs bag and is fit. However, she has lost the mental focus and
is now having a hard time. She is on the verge of dropping out. Many
teenagers seem to be having this problem. They start of in groups, do
low mileages, take numerous 0 days. Then people start to drop out and
the remaining people have a hard time. This was the case with Lurch
who I met about 5 days ago. I hope both of them complete the hike.
First day of experimenting with my aerobics shoes. It does not have
ankle support and I twisted my ankle thrice - once quite badly. Other
than that it feels extremely comfortable and has no break-in period.
It rained heavily all night. The roof is made of metal and the rain drops
make a big racket. It was also a very dark night.
Date: August 2 2000
Trail Day: 63
Miles Today: 17
Location: Grafton Notch
Section Mile: AT 267
ECT Mile: 948
Got a somewhat late start again. I have not yet adjusted to the shorter
days. When I was in Quebec the sun would be shining brightly by 5:30 AM
and then it would be lights out at 10 PM. Not so now.
Today's hike was very hard. In Hindi - "Phat Kae Hath Main Aa Gayee". The
climb up Bald Pate Mountain was long and gruelling. Once on top, it was not
so bad. There was a small dip and a climb back to West peak and then a huge
drop to the valley. I decided not to stay at the Lean-to as I could not
have covered as many miles as I wanted. Besides, I need to gain experience
with my tarp and I like to camp as opposed to sleep in a shelter.
Also met Nomad again. It was a pleasure to see him again. He had pulled
forward when I took a 0 day.
Date: August 3 2000
Trail Day: 64
Miles Today: 14
Location: Carlo Col Shelter
Section Mile: AT 281
ECT Mile: 962
Had a very comfortable night in my tarp. I am starting to get the hang
of it. Its more comfortable than the lean-to's because the ground is
covered with leaves and offers some cushions. I do not carry a sleeping
pad.
Today was a low mileage day - 14 miles but very hard ones. There was a
4 mile climb out of Grafton Notch, a run along the ridge and then a sharp
descent. The descent is called Mahoosuc arm and is quite well known. Then comes
the Mahoousuc Notch. Its a jumble of large boulders strewn in a valley.
Its like a puzzle. You climb, scramble or crawl any way you can. There
are some instances where the trail runs through caves. This is a deep
valley and the sun does not shine in some places. Its cold as a freezer
and there is ice in some of the deep holes. The notch is only one mile
and I enjoyed it a lot.
Then came a climb back to Goose Eye Mountain. On one of the peaks the
trail does an almost about turn. Not realizing this I continued on another
trail which ended abruptly. I turned back and could not remember which of
the trails I had come by. Picked one, walked some, saw marks made by my
walking stick in some bogs and headed the other way. I met Sunny, a north
bounder. I made sure I was headed in the right direction. It started
raining and I slipped and fell. Decided to slow down. I got to the
shelter very tired. This was a very tough day.
One of the scouts who was at the shelter had the following plan to make
the AT better - Tax Maine till they secede, then move the end point to New
Hampshire, thus improving the trail. Maine is a very hard section with lots
of ups and downs.
It rained again at night.
A photograph
Date: August 4 2000
Trail Day: 65
Miles Today: 16
Location: The Barn, Gorham
Section Mile: AT 297
ECT Mile: 978
Last night I became very thirsty and decided to go to the nearby spring to
get water. I couldn't find my way at all in the darkness even with my
flashlight and decided to go back to the shelter.
In the morning the scouts were giving away all their left over food as they
were winding up their hike. I got a bagel and Gatorade mix.
Today's hike was fairly easy. I crossed into New Hampshire - my fourth
state. I took a
photo at the border. One of the ledges had tons of
blueberries. I spent an hour picking and eating them - delicious.
Got a ride into Gorham and had 2 feet of sub, 2 whoppers and 2 helpings
of apple pie for dinner. Trail appetite has definitely kicked in.
Date: August 5 2000
Trail Day: 66
Miles Today: 8
Location: Imp campsite
Section Mile: AT 305
ECT Mile: 986
Had a good night's sleep. Picked up my mail drop. I had asked Vivek to mail
me my external pack. I am switching back to an external, as it is lighter.
I will be getting rid of about 4 lbs with this. The mail was there. I am
always relieved to find mail. It was missing one of the pins. I could not
find the right sized pin in any of the stores. So I bought a bolt with
a lock nut instead. Also bought a Hiker's companion. It is a book that
describes the facilities along the way. I had ordered one from Wingfoot
but it never arrived. Also broke down and bought a pair of Leki hiking
poles. They are 120 for the pair but I think well worth it. Walking with
2 poles is definitely easier. So in the past few days I have switched
bags, shoes and walking sticks. The first day in my cross trainer shoes
I had twisted my ankles thrice - once quite badly. The next day it was
twice. The third and fourth days I had no problems. I think I have adjusted my
walking style. I have stubbed my toes many times though.
Today was a very light day. Low miles with only very small sections that were
steep. I did not feel well. Felt light headed and woozy. So decided to
do only a short section and get some sleep.
Date: August 6 2000
Trail Day: 67
Miles Today: 16
Location: Near Auto Road
Section Mile: AT 321
ECT Mile: 1002
Red letter day today. Crossed the first 1000 mile mark. Aimed for a 19 mile
day, managed a 16. The 19 looked possible till the trail made a sharp
descent into Pinkham notch. It was extremely slow going. There is a visitor's
center here with all kinds of tourists and "cool" people wearing bandanas,
carrying back packs etc but none of them knew where the AT was.
I wonder what they were all doing.
Saw no thru-hikers today. Either there were none or they were clean
shaven or they were slack-packing. I think about half the thru-hikers
are slack packing this and the Maine section.
The views
1
2
3
here are excellent. Most of the trail runs on the ridges. The
layout is similar to what I saw in Mt. Logan, where the range comes to
an end to the South. Here the end is not as abrupt because the mountains
are very high. The weather has been great today also. I count myself
lucky to have such good weather in the Whites. Tomorrow I head to Mt.
Washington and hike a 14 mile section that is above the tree line.
I am also feeling much better than yesterday.
Last night I also met Class 5 who is hiking from Florida to Cap Gaspe.
He and his brother started together, but his brother found a girl
friend along the way and dropped out. Class 5 was very upset. The troubles
women cause :-)
Other thru-hikers that I have met recently are No Fuel yesterday and
Hokie Flash 3 days ago. No Fuel is originally from India. I had heard
of him from Buckeye Bob with whom I had summitted Katahdin. Also heard
about him from Sea Otter. No Fuel got his name because he started
the AT but forgot to get fuel.
Hokie Flash is another fast hiker aiming to complete in 94 days.
Surprisingly, it is the fast hikers like him and Sea Otter with
whom I have had the most extensive conversations.
When I first started the AT most northbound thru-hikers I met were
either very fast or started very early. The crowd seems to be now
coming in - March and April starters.
I am in my tarp again tonight. I think I am getting the hang of this.
I also weighed my pack - 23 lbs with 3 days of food and a little water.
Quite good.
Date: August 7 2000
Trail Day: 68
Miles Today: 13
Location: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Section Mile: AT 334
ECT Mile: 1015
I wrote my journal too soon last night. As soon as I was done it started
drizzling. After I was done with dinner and went to sleep it started
raining. In the middle of the night I realized that my sleeping bag
was getting wet. Not a good sleep. I got up in the morning and looked over
my tarp set-up. Found some obvious errors which I need to rectify the
next time.
The day started out fairly easily. I climbed on to the ridge quite easily
but as I kept gaining altitude it started to fog up and it started
raining. Its very rocky once it gets to the top. About 14 miles is above
the tree line including Mt. Washington. Progress then became horribly slow.
There was a place where I took a bad fall. There were a group of 4 guys
coming the oppposite way, it broke my cocentration and I ended up face
down, backpack on top. The guys helped me up. I tried walking a few
steps but the pain was quite bad in my knee. I then had to sit down
for 10 minutes or so. I cheered myself up with some cream cookies. The
pain then went away and I continued. The climb up Washington was
very slow. It was extremely windy and foggy. I took a
shot
here. Visibility
was barely 10 ft or so and my right lens of my glasses would fog up
constantly. Got to the summit (elevation about 6300 ft). It was horrible
weatherwise and I was just eager to get the summit behind me. I wont be
reaching this altitude till I enter the Smokies in Georgia.
There was a visitors center. I bought 3 sandwiches and 2 muffins and
wolfed them down. The place closed a few minutes after I had finished.
I looked outside at the
bad weather
and almost felt bad for myself
for having to head out again.
The hike after that was actually easier and I got to a hut. The huts here
have a work for stay option for thru-hikers, but they were filled. They
allowed me to sleep in the dining room for 6 $ and gave me left over food -
I was glad. Nomad showed up about an hour after I did. He had taken a 0
day in Gorham so we are hiking together again.
Today was a short mileage day but the mileage was tough. I dont think
I will be able to cross 20 again till I get beyond Mt. Mousalake.
