Zero Day In Gorham

July 7.  I could finally sleep in a bit in a nice hotel bed!  We did not have time to resupply yesterday so we had some town work to do today and we didn't plan to hit the trail too early.  It was nice to have clean clothes...I hadn't washed my clothes since Killington, Vermont and my shorts hadn't been washed since Bennington, Vermont!  We got moving...kinda.  My feet hurt incredibly bad.  Every step felt like standing on marbels, my legs were sore, I thought about taking a zero day (not hiking), but we both wanted to make at least a few miles!  We walked down to the McDonald's for breakfast.  We sat and ate and Rafiki headed down to the post office to pick up his resupply.  I sat at McDonld's and waited and talked with a few locals about the trail.  By 11:00 AM we were still there and as we walked back to the hotel we discussed just taking a zero day.  We still had to get to Wal-Mart for my resupply and there was a chance of rain.  If we hiked out in the afternoon we would probably only make it 10 miles or so...we could instead stay another night and get an early start in the morning.  We got back to the hotel and noticed there was a hot tub...sold...a zero day it would be!  We got a ride to Wal-Mart from a Southbound hiker.  He was with his brother who had to take a few days off from an injury so he rented a car and was driving hikers all over town.  At Wal-Mart I bought food and seriously considered buying an MP3 player but none would take a mini-SD card and I didn't have any way to uplaod music...so I settled for headphones that I could use with my phone if needed.  I will be looking forward to getting home and having a chance to listen to music for real!  We stopped by Subway and the outfitter and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon to relax.  I picked up a six pack of local brew and took a plastic patio chair out to the grass by the road and watched the world speed by.  It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon so groups of motorcycles cruised by, people were out riding bikes, and lots of cars with kayaks and canoes on the roof racks passed by headed to the river.  Everyone was out enjoying the fantastic weather (while the rest of the country was having a deadly heat wave) and it made me slow down and think a little more about this trek.  I have been pushing hard since Pennsylvania, and enjoying everything, but today I had my first zero since Amy came to visit and it gave me some chance to think.  I am less than 2 weeks from the end, less than 300 miles from Kathadin.  No, I don't want to slow down, but yes, I will enjoy every grueling step.  I watched everyone pass by, enjoying a Saturday afternoon, and remembered, I am living the dream!  Countless times along this walk I have heard people say they wish they could be in my shoes...and countless times while climbing up 4,000 foot mountains, with a 30 lb pack, in the rain, cold, and snow...I have wished to be in their shoes...at home, warm, dry, and comfortable.  I have spent 4 months living in the elements...if it was hot, I was hot...if it rained, I was wet...cold, I was shivering.  I have had to carry my own food, I have had to search for water, I have had to endure blood, sweat, and pain.  But, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I feel like I am living the dream, everyone's dream!  The dream to do something crazy, something no one thinks you can do, something no one thinks they can do.  But why not?  Just go do it!  Early on in the trail I had a thought that I have reminded myself when things are not going well, a quote that I want to live by now and after the AT..."Dream BIG, and go get it!"  Growing up I never would have imagined I would walk from Georgia to Maine, and here I am now 15 miles from the Maine state line.  We all live once, and life is short.  You may not be inclined to hike the AT, but I think it is in all of us to do something crazy...to start a new job, move, or pick up a hobby...to change things up, to try something different to see what it is like.  Life should be lived...not just endured.  For me, I like to push my limits.  While most other northbounders are slowing down now to enjoy the last few hundred miles I am pushing hard.  Maybe it is from cross country and track in high school...always finish strong, but that is what I want to do.  I have surprised myself with the miles I have been able to pull since PA...and I don't want to slow down, not because I don't like hiking, but because I like to test myself.  How will we ever know our limits unless we test them?  How do you know what you can or can't do unless you try?  This is probably my last zero day before the end of the AT...but I am not sad...the AT is not the end of this adventure called life.  After this I have plan to go after bigger dreams and goals.  Everyone else around me is giving me a hard time for pushing so hard to the finish and not slowing down to "enjoy" it.  Yes, I am sure the AT will be a big part of my past, but I don't think I will regret finishing strong.  I can remember the last semester of college, my buddy Justin Bates and I talked constantly about wanting to get out of school and into the real world to start a business and get going.  We enjoyed every last minute of college, but we were looking forward to the next adventure.  That is how I feel about the AT...it will be over soon, but I am not slowing down to try to make it last, or prolong the change.  I am staying focused and pressing on, enjoying every experience I have, but knowing there will be more to my life than just the AT.  I have heard so many NoBo's say they have nothing to go back to, no reason to finish soon...I am thankful that I am looking forward to my "normal", post AT life.  I have a wife I love, a dog I miss, a lifestyle I am blessed with, and goals I want to achieve.  I am just as excited for my life post-AT as I was for my life post-college.  For now though, I am living the dream, hiking in the woods for the next two weeks, and I am going to live it up!  And when this is done, and I head home to "real life", I am going to live that dream too!   I can already say doing the AT has been one of the best decisions of my life.  I was comfortable...comfortable with my job, my town, my lifestyle...and the more I think about it, the more "comfortable" sounds dangerous to an adventerous lifestyle that goes after all that life has to offer.  I didn't know if I could make it from Georgia to Maine, I didn't know if I could be away from Amy for 4 months, I didn't know what would happen, but we tried it and we are about to succeed!  It makes me step back and wonder what else in life seems to be just out of reach that I could actually accomplish...that for me is what is dangerous about comfortable.  It doesn't have to be about success, money, or luxery items...but if you think something is out of reach and you don't go after it because you are comfortable, is that really living life to the fullest?  I am going to live with no regrets, live life to the fullest, dream big and go get it, and live life every day...for the next 2 weeks, and beyond!  Tonight is another night to relax, tomorrow it is back to the Appalachian Trail!

Out Of The Whites

July 6.  We had stealth camped near a visitors center and lodge so I wanted to be up early and on the move.  Besides, today was a Trail Friday and Rafiki and I planned to get into Gorham in the afternoon!  I woke up around 5 AM and started packing my gear.  When I got out of my tent I looked around and realized we had camped 30 feet from a building!  Oops!  I headed over to make sure Rafiki was up and found him in his tent a mere 30 feet from the cars in the parking lot.  I guess when you stealth camp you think you are being slick and staying hidden, but when the sun comes up you see the truth!  While Rafiki packed his gear I started up the Wildcat Cliffs, or as I was calling them, the Coyotes.  It was a very grueling 2,500 foot climb to start the day.  On the ridge we passed a gondola and a ski patrol office.  No one was there but Rafiki needed water and he tried to get in to get some but he couldn't fit through the window.  We had filled our bottles at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center but it was some of the worst tasting water we had tried on the trail.  It was times like this that I was glad I had flavor packets to hide the horrible town water taste.  After the Coyotes (Wildcats) we dropped down to the Carter Notch Hut.  This would be the last hut we would pass so we stopped in and the staff served up a full plate of pork for us.  Whatever isn't eaten in the hut eventually needs packed out as trash so the hut staff likes to unload extra food on thru-hikers, and we like to help!  After a good break, and some nice tasting water, we started the straight up climb out of the notch.   This 1,400 foot climb made me even more tired!  We crossed a rocky ridge and had some great views of the Presidentials.  In the morning the sky was completely clear, not a single cloud, and we could easily see the summit of Mount Washington.  It was the kind of day you would want for Mount Washington, as opposed to the cloudy day that we had yesterday for our summit visit.  By midday though a cloud had covered the top of the mountain again.  We made our way along the ridge slowly...the rock steps up and down were all more of a scramble, we were not having fun.  When we took a break at the IMP Shelter we were a few hours behind our planned schedule but moved on to make it to Gorham as soon as possible.  On town days I llike to get into town in the early afternoon so I have time to get my laundry and resupply done and then relax.  It was starting to look like we would be rolling into town after dinner, bummer.  One more 1,000 foot climb and more tough rocky downhill.  The last mile or two was nice and flat and we hit the road at 7 PM.  It had been a 13 hour hiking day for me and we only covered 21 miles.  The White Mountains were really hard but we were happy to be hiking some good miles still.  We stood on the side of the road and threw our thumbs up and the second car that passed picked us up!  Finally, some good luck for the day!  We were both extremely tired and beat up from the day and the car dropped us off at the McDonald's front door.  We got dinner and headed to the hotel and checked in.  We both took a shower and then hiked our dirtly clothes to the laundramat.  While the washer ran Rafiki walked to Burger King and picked us each up another value meal for second dinner.  When the clothes were clean and the dinners done we walked back to the hotel and I kicked back with a few good beers and let my feet finally relax!  The White Mountains had slowed us down a bit...they were definitely the hardest section of trail I have done so far, and I was beat up.  We finished the day in Gorham at mile 1,886, with 298 miles to go!  Under 300!  We would be crossing the Maine state line in 15 miles...3 more planned town resupplies, and the 100 Mile Wilderness.  We are getting closer!

Mount Washington

July 5.  Woke up in the dungeon of the Lakes of the Clouds Hut...it was nice and quiet until breakfast upstairs.  Everyone was moving the tables and benches and each hut staff does a skit during breakfast and that was pretty loud.  Someone ran down and let us know that the oatmeal was ready, time to head upstairs!  One of the other thru-hikers said "all the rich people upstairs are giving us trail magic!"  Everyone was so impressed with the program yesterday that they were dropping off food and snacks at our table.  I had two large bowls of oatmeal and then the pancakes were ready!  We swept the dining room when people cleared out and finished our breakfast.  Someone a few days ago advised me to be ready for lots of families and loud screaming kids at the Lakes of th Clouds Hut...and they were right!  There was a foosball table and lots of games and with the cold rain outside everyone seemed to be hanging out inside.  It was loud and much different than waking up in a shelter on the AT!  All of the guests were hiking out into the rain while us thru-hikers hung out in the hut.  You would think that is backwards...like we should be more hard core...but we were talking about hiding out from the rain and how an extra few hours here and there waiting for the weather to clear won't change our finish date in two weeks...but a few hours for weekend hikers can make a huge difference!  Plus, I am just sick of hiking in the rain!  We finally left the Lakes of the Clouds Hut at 10 AM...in a cloud.  We hiked up the 1.5 miles to the summit of Mount Washington in the fog and as we hit the peak the clouds parted and we saw sunlight!  But that was shortlived, the fog came back.  As we hit the summit the first person we saw was a heavily overweight guy with a big camera...we were there!  Mount Washington was like Clingman's Dome in the Smokies...the roads up make it easily accessable for everyone...not just hikers.  We checked out the visitors center and museum.  The museum was free for people who drove up in a car or took the cog train up, but people who hiked up had to pay $3...I made a thru-hiker decision and spent $2 on a soda instead!  Several other Northbounders arrived and we all hung out until noon...we had only gone 1.5 miles by noon and it was time to make progress!  We stopped by the summit sign and stood in line to get pictures with it.  The wind was cold at the top and as I stood in line freezing I told another hiker "Maybe I should have worn my underwear today for a thermal layer!"  I forgot we were in mixed company....hikers as well as "normal" people...a few ladies around us laughed and we all talked about our trek.  I made sure to get a picture with the "Bear Bell Chicken" at the top.  Rafiki and I were carrying a rubber chicken for a few days.  The rubber chicken is part of www.warriorhike.com, my friends Mark and Sean are hiking to raise money for wounded veterans.  They dropped the chicked at the first shelter in Georgia with dog tags that said take me to Maine!  Since then thru-hikers have been taking turns carrying the chicken north.  Rafiki and I would take the chicken over the ME state line and then pass it off.  After the pictures we shot off the peak and started down the AT.  We were still hiking in the clouds but making slow progress.  We passed a lot of people from the hut the night before and they all knew us from the thru-hiker presentation so we got more food and compliments as we went.  I passed one guy and he said "I can always tell a thru-hiker because you all look like Confederate Soldiers!"  I'm not sure how to take that...but I said thanks!

Random Trail Thought:  In responsed to a random thought I had a few months ago about Noah having only 2 flies on the Ark...I wish that Noah would have conveniently forgotten a few animals on the Ark...flies, gnats, mosquitos, mice, and snakes that can kill me...I could do without those.

Random Trail Thought:  If America had not won its independence from England I might be hiking in the "Royal Range" rather than the "Presidential Range"

We made it to the Madison Spring Hut around 4 PM and stopped in for a food and bathroom break.  This was probably my favorite hut on the AT, but we kept moving on.  Rafiki and I made the slow descent down the rocky ridge to Pinkham Notch.  Two other hikers, Plus 3 and Smiling Joe, caught us and the four of us hiked into the Pinkham Notch visitors center.  It was a very tough trail and we didn't arrive until 9 PM.  It was getting dark but I still didn't need to hike with my headlamp!  The visitors center was open until 10 PM for snacks and there was a hiker room downstairs with bathrooms, showers, and vending machines open 24 hours.  The only rule is no overnight sleeping...great.  It was night now and the 4 of us needed a place to camp.  We were near a lodge but that was $80 a night...stealth camping would probably be our best bet.  Rafiki and Plus 3 headed to the end of the parking lot and found spots a few feet in the woods.  We all ate dinner on the visitor's center patio and watched a racoon run around under us picking up the scraps.  Smiling Joe and I packed it up around 10:15 and walked out back to a flat spot we had seen off the trail.  We set up our stealth camp and headed to bed.  I fell right asleep...I was exhausted from another tough day in the Whites.  We had hiked 15 miles for the day and camped at mile 1,864.8 with only 319 miles left!

A Presidential 4th of July

July 4.  We woke up a little before 6...the cook was in the kitchen making breakfast for the guests and we needed to clear the dining room.  We packed our gear and put the benches and tables back in place.  Another hiker with singing skills was asked to sing America the Beautiful at 6:30 to wake everyone up and get them ready for breakfast at 7.  It is interesting to be around a ton of people who paid high dollar to rent a bunk here in the hut.  We are so used to being around thru-hikers all the time so this is a unique experience to be so close to people from the "real world" while still being on the trail.  After everyone had breakfast while us thru-hikers sat out on the porch in the rain we were invited in to eat the leftover oatmeal, eggs, and coffee...it was great!  When everyone cleared out of the hut Rafiki and I scrubbed and squeegeed the bathroom floor and helped the other hikers sweep and make the bunks.  Around 9 AM, and after 2 cups of coffee, we were done and headed out on the trail.  The rain had pretty much stopped and we made decent progress down Crawford Notch.  We crossed the road and headed up Webster Cliffs, which turned out to be a very tough trail.  The boulder climb straight up took me 2 hours to do 3 miles...painfully slow!  Once up we had some great views and headed up to Mizpah Hut and the Presidential Mountain Range.  We hit Miizpha at 4 PM and found 3 other thru-hikers there waiting for a work for stay.  We decided we would move on the 5 miles to Lakes of the Clouds, one of the biggest huts, and only 1.5 miles from Mount Washington!  Only 5 miles...not too far.  When I came up the first climb to Mount Pierce I heard thunder and could see clouds forming in the distance.  At this point it was either go back where I came from or push on.  I decided to push on, Rafiki was a little ways behind me.  As I climbed higher the thunder got louder.  Meat had been telling me about a book he read recently about how people die in the Presidential Range...I was also thinking about a lady I got water from a few weeks back.  She was telling me about the Presidentials...she said the locals know to be below tree line by 2 PM, and it was closing in on 5.  She said that she has seen trail signs that were hit by lightening that exploded a good 300 feet in all directions.  She also said she has friends up here who bring down the dead bodies of hikers killed in storms.  She was pretty intense and I wasn't sure if I should believe everything she said...but regardless, the storm was moving in fast now and I was freaking out!  I started to see lightening, the thunder grew, and the strikes got closer.  I was on an exposed ridge closing in on 5,000 feet above sea level and I had two metal poles in my hands...not a fan!  I started trail running and eventually stopped to dump out my water bottles...no extra weight!  One bottle had my soup in it...dinner!  No matter, I needed to be light!  This was the most scared I have been on the trail, I don't know how I did it but I made the uphill 5 mile section in under 1.5 hours.  I came around a ridge as the rain started and saw the roof of the hut and ran!  I shot into the hut at 5:30 and asked about a work for stay, golden!  I was sweating, tired, and thankful I survived.  I got water and sat on the bench with 2 Southbounders, another NoBo, and Smiling Joe...I hadn't seen him since the Smokies!  We all talked and 30 minutes later Rafiki rolled in...he had run too and the storm had engulfed him in the cloud.  He said he could only see 10 feet ahead of him and when he was freaking out he about ran into the wall of the hut...made it!  Once Rafiki arrived the guests were served dinner...88 guests, it was packed!  After dinner I talked to several people and met a couple who are hiking up Katahdin in 2 weeks and they said if I am there at the same time they would drive me back to Boston if I needed a lift, that was cool!  The program for the night was Smiling Joe and the Southbounder in a question/answer session with the guests.  All of the thru hikers were introduced and the guests started asking questions.  I headed to the kitchen and started doing the dishes.  After the program we were all given the extra food for dinner, potatoes, peas, cake, and more.  After dinner quiet hours started and most guests went to bed.  The staff was enjoying the 4th of July with some choice adult drinks...lots of choice drinks.  We were offered the "dungeon" downstairs under the hut.  We got down there and it is the emergency bunker room...with a few bunks.  I thought I would prefer to sleep upstairs but if we did we would be woken up at 5 AM...and downstairs we could sleep in a bit.  I settled into the to bunk and passed out.  It had been a tough day, 1.5 miles from Mount Washington, and we spent the 4th of July in the Presidential Range!  It was a 19 mile day, spent the night at the Lakes of the Clouds hut at mile 1,850, 333.5 miles from the end!

Franconia Ridge

July 3.  Woke up in the hotel at 5 AM and thought about getting going...but I rolled back over and slept until 7.  This was another hotel with shower soap but no shampoo...must be a Northeast thing to not offer shampoo at hotels, oh well!  My body was completely sore...my legs, arms, and core.  Yesterday the trail was tough...we had passed a sign that said "Extremely Difficult Trail" and it was right!  We packed up our gear and walked down to Peg's, a local breakfast spot.  We ordered the Hungry Man breakfast special, pancakes, eggs, corned beef hash, toast, bacon, and coffee.  I have been really eating recently and I was still hungry!  Our server had also been our server the night before and we had fun shooting the breeze with her, but eventually we had to get back to the trail.  I checked the weather on my phone and it looked good for today, but storms tomorrow.  It has been a great feeling to check the weather on my app...each time I check it I add a new town, the next town, and I delete the last few towns...I can track my progress on the AT by the towns I delete!  We headed out to hitch a ride...one thing about hitch hiking, we have learned that although you'd think a Sabaru driver would be an outdoors person and someone who would likely pick up a hiker, it seems to not happen.  We have been passed by countless Sabarus with roof racks, kayak holders, bike holders, but no space for hikers.  Also, luxery cars like a Lexus will never stop.  And it is always hard to watch a pickup truck pass by with an open bed.  We stood out on the road for several minutes before a lady picked us up.  On the ride to the trail we learned that her boyfriend thru-hiked before and now he makes is own backpacks and gear.  She dropped us off at the trail and we headed back into the Whites.  I told Amy a few days ago that I was going to the White Mountains and the Presidential Range, where people can die.  Amy was not a fan of that comment.  The Whites can be dangerous, but I was prepared with warm gear and we were shooting for huts along the way.  Besides, today was one of those ideal days in the Whites...amazing weather and spectacular views.  We headed out of the gap and up the Franconia Ridge.  The trail was tough again...stepping up on rocks with my knees and feet as high as my hips, trying to power myself up.  It was a hard trail yesterday and this morning and I felt like the primary motion was up or down...but the secondary motion was forward.  Franconia Ridge was amazing...the views were unbelievable.  I took photos...but there is no way they will do it justice.  We took it slow through the ridge, looking at the views, but after that we needed to make some miles.  We hiked up and over Mount Garfield and that was one of my favorite views of the day.  The mountain was smaller than the others, but it was surrounded by wilderness and we sat looking in one direction and could only see natural beauty while behind us were towns, highways, and buildings.  We hiked on to the Galehead Hut.  Rafiki was in the lead but he was having a rough day and eventually he realized that he was going slow.  He tried to speed up for a few minutes but I eventually had to pass him and pace us faster.  We stopped at the hut at 5 PM but we headed on to Zealand Falls Hut, 7 miles up the trail.  The trail from the hut to South Twin Mountain was 30 minutes straight up, like taking a stair master for half an hour, with a 30 pound pack.  It was hard!  The rest of the 7 miles were downhill but rocky.  It was an amazing evening and we pulled into the Zealand Falls Hut at 8:20 and asked about a work for stay.  There were already 4 hikers there but the staff said if we cleaned the bathrooms in the morning we could stay.  We had cookies and leftover turkey and at lights out at 9:30, the 6 of us hikers spread out in the dining room on the floor to sleep.  It was supposed to rain overnight and it would be nice to hike with a dry tent in the morning.  Today was a good 19 mile hike, we finished on mile 1830.9, 353.3 miles from Katahdin!

Into The Whites!

July 1.  This morning I did not want to get up and hike.  The hike out of Hanover had been a good one, pretty tough, and I was not looking forward to doing more today.  The trail is really becoming more challenging...both physically and mentally.  There seem to be higher highs (and the mountains keep getting taller) and lower lows as I get further north.  This morning was a low.  I did not want to wake up in the woods, I did not want to hike in the woods, I did not want to go to the bathroom in the woods (3 times before noon!), and I am getting sick of eating junk food, being dirty, and being away from home.  I hiked out early but Rafiki caught me 5 miles in.  We hiked together for a bit...the trail got soggy and Rafiki's foot sunk into the mud and was completely covered.  He wears Teva sandles and his brand new socks were now covered in mud, I guess time to break them in!  The flies and bugs on the trail now are some sort of twisted torture game playing with my head.  They buzz around my face and ears without landing and since my hands are busy with my trekking poles I don't have the opportunity to swat them away.  Eventually they do land though, and when they do they bite!  They also try to burrow in my hair which is pretty gross.  Today I hit my breaking point and after a very bad hour of flies I stopped and pulled out my baseball cap to cover my hair and I dug out my ear plugs I brought in case people snore in the shelters and popped those in so I couldn't hear any buzzing.  Ahhh, now that was better.  I was still in a pretty bad funk, I was starting to wish I had an MP3 player to listen to music as I hiked.  Before I started the trail I told myself I would not listen to music while I hiked so I could take this time to really think.  Well, by this point I think I am sick of being in my own head!  I also thought that headphones on the trail is sort of dangerous since you can't hear what is going on around you.  When I put in my ear plugs today I was extremely happy that I could not hear what was going on around me...the flies buzzing my head, driving me insane!  We did some good climbs in the morning and I was happy to find out that I was maintaining a 2 mile per hour pace on some tough climbs!  At 3:30 we made it to the base of Mount Moosilauke, a 6 mile, 4,000 foot climb.  We had already hiked 20 miles for the day and still had this plus 2 more miles to the shelter.  We started up, I paced myself.  About half way up a rain cloud rolled in...I got a few sprinkles and threw on my pack cover, then it poured!  It was not a bad storm, it was still sunny, but it was one of those rain clouds that drops enough rain in 4 minutes to completely soak you.  I was drenched.  I continued up the climb and caught up with Rafiki before the summit.  The top of the mountain was just below 5,000 feet and from there we could see ahead into the White Mountains.  We were going to have a tough week!  The top of the mountain was exposed and very windy so we moved on and made it to the shelter by 8.  We set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed.  It was a 28 mile day, with a huge 4,000 foot climb...and we were now in the Whites!  We were both looking forward to a 17 mile day tomorrow and a hitch into town for sodas, food, and to relax!  We were 1,793.3 miles in...390.9 miles from the end.

July 2.  It rained last night...so this morning I packed up my tent wet.  I packed up and checked in with Rafiki and he was packing up as well.  I headed down the trail and it was DOWN!  It was a very steep downhill along a stream-waterfall which was pretty, but the rock steps down, and the rebar hand rails made it really tough.  I was incredibly sore in the morning, so bad it felt like yesterday had been the hardest hike on the trail yet.  It was a really chilly morning, I started with my layers on but shortly after I started I warmed up.  I had wondered if I should wear my underwear under my shorts to stay warm, but I was glad I left them out.  We took a break at the bottom of the hill and headed up the next mountain.

Random Trail Tought:  What ever happenend to Wade Boggs?

On the way up we passed a pond with a bunch of wood planks to walk on.  I stepped from one to the next and realized that there wasn't a plank there when I sank into the mud and it covered my foot and half of my calf.  We continued hiking up the mountain and in sections I had to throw my poles up and use the trees to pull myself up onto boulders.  It was a very hard section of trail.  At least we enjoyed a great view from the top.  We headed down the otherside and passed a shelter and a few water sources but they were all orange, yellow, or from a pond, so we were still drinking the 2 liters of mountain spring water from the night before and thirsty.  We finally made it to the Lonesome Lake Hut, our first hut of the Whites.  We stopped in and talked with the hut workers, got water, and had some cold turkey they had left over.  We hiked the 3 miles down to the road to North Woodstock on a mission...we were heading to town!  From the road we tried to hitch for a good half an hour.  A lady passed us on a bike and stopped and said she, her husband, and her dad had all thru-hiked and when she got home she would send her husband up to see if we had been picked up.  I thought we needed a sign that said "Harmless Hikers Need A Hitch!"  Luckily a few minutes after she stopped by a girl who spoke very little english picked us up.  She dropped us off in town and we hit the gas station first for food and drinks.  We checked in at the hotel and found out that the lady that had owned the laudramat across the street had passed away and it was closed...R.I.P. laundry lady...we would be hiking out with smelly clothes.  We showered and picked up our resupply food and walked downtown for food.  We ate outside at a local pub and the burger was fantaastic!  The rain clouds moved in and we took cover, headed back to the hotel, and sat inside, glad to not be in our tents for tonight's rain storms.  On the way back I picked up a locally brewed Woodstock Inn Brewery beer that had an Appalachian Trail sign in the logo.  Tomorrow was going to be another big day in the Whites so we relaxed for the night.  The plan for tomorrow...get a big breakfast and hike on!  Tonight we stayed at mile marker 1,811, 373.2 miles from the end!

Big Mountains Coming!

June 30.  I woke up in the basement of the fraternity house around 7:30 AM and started moving around.  The frat brothers were going to have Saturday Cleaning Day starting at 8 and I wanted to be out of there!  The basement was incredibly hot and Rafiki slept on the tile floor and I slept on the hard wooden bench so neither of us got much good sleep.  We packed our gear and headed down to the village.  We stopped by The Bagel Basement because they give thru-hikers a free bagel...first breakfast!  We then walked to the gas station/Dunkin Doughnuts and I got 2 doughnuts and a coffee.  We sat outside and ate them, second breakfast.  Before we left I ran back in and got 2 more doughnuts, third breakfast!  After a bagel and four doughnuts I was ready to hit the trail!  We walked across town and headed out on the trail.  I was feeling the heay pack, not too happy about having 3 days of food.  We pushed hard up a few big hills and came to the Bill Ackerly home just off the trail.  The trail guide said we could stop and get water and take a break and play some croquet.  We stopped in and got water but Bill must not have been home.  After that it was a really tough several thousand foot climb up Smarts Mountain.  It took me a long time to make the climb but somehow I stuck pretty close to Rafiki.  The only bad thing about the climb was that Rafiki swallowed 2 black flies...gross!  When we made it to the top I ran into 2 other hikers I hadn't seen in a long time...one I hadn't seen since the Overmountain Shelter and another guy I hadn't seen since day 3 on the trail in Georgia!  We shot up the firetower to get the views of the mountains...it was nice to be back in the real mountains even if the climbs were tough, the views were worth it!  It was exhilarating knowing we had just climbed up the mountains we were looking out over. We found some flattish places to camp and I hit the sack.  We could hear some fireworks off in the distance as I climbed in my tent, July 4th was coming soon!  Today was a 23 mile day and we finished at mile 1,765...only 418 left!