Day 34 Zero in Gorham

Yesterday it became clear that my knee was not ready to continue. The next 100 miles in Maine would be among the most difficult of the whole trail. The legendary Mahoosuc Notch was  a day away. It is the most fun (or the most difficult mile of the AT...basically a one mile scramble over boulders as big as cars).  The first day would start with a nearly 2000 ft climb.  So I decided to take a whole day to rest it and think.

I called Kathy, my sister for her thoughts. She a PH.D. Physical therapist and so I value her input. After describing to her the problem, she said that the continued use (abuse) would probably result more of the same pain and stiffness. 

As I though about the previous two days, I decided that the risk of personal injury because of my left knee was not worth that risk. 

I thought about my last 400 miles. I looked at my trek across the White Mountains ( map above). I summed up my nearly 1900 miles on the trail. I decided to draw a line for the moment, pleased with this section. I've purposely gone rockclimbing or backpacking when I knew I was injured. So risk/benefit analysis done, I'll stop for now. 

It has been a great trip! The geography, the sites, trees, flowers, animals and the people all made it very memorable.  The folks at the White Mountain Hostel were really great!

And the AT will be there when I choose to  finish.  It's right across the road from this great hostel

2016 miles: 392

Total AT Miles : 1892

Day 33 to Gorham NH

During the night my knee woke me quite a few times. It became painful to bend and to the touch. Thankfully the rain stopped. So I packed up, stuffed some

Blueberry breakfast bars in my cargo pocket and set off. It was obvious to me that this going to be a day of self-rescue. 

First I had to climb over Mt Moriah. Thankfully, the only sacrifice would the time because of my slow pace. 

(That's Mt Moriah in the middle)

The views were great. 

Then came the 3000+ foot descent. The rocky trail crosses rocky stream beds. 

After most of the descent I met Wallaby an Canadian walking the trail because his work ended. We chatted and I told him of my knee. He gave me an elastic bandage which actually brought some relief. 

I finished the descent on absolutely idylic foot path: gently sloping down, smooth and covered with pine needles. 

It was the ....

Someone thoughtfully put a reminder of the remaining miles Katahdin (actually a bit less)

As finished the day early at the White Mountain Lodge, place made from hikers. 

It was be another nero as I arrived 2:30 pm

Miles: 8

2016 miles: 391

Total AT miles: 1891.4

Day 32 to Imp Campsite

I woke up to a cloudy day. To boot,  myknee  was still a bit swollen and stiff. But I thought walking would work that out. So we (NH Bob and I) had the big hiker breakfast and set out for the Wildcats.  This was a much talked about ridge. It was supposed to be very tough. It starts out with a steep rocky 2000 ft climb.

We quickly saw from a height where we spent the night.

At the top was the Wildcat ski lift.

And then the rain started. It rained all day. That made the rocks slippery. 

And there was no view. 

All during the day, my knee was a problem. It was still swollen and stiff. I had to do a lot of rock scrambling including handholds.  With my limited range of movement in my knee plus pain, my walk turned into the first day of a "self-rescue."  I had to use my poles to hold my weight as I eased down onto the left leg. Down climbing backwards was

also a challenge since I couldn't bent my left knee much. 

Walking in the rain is something one gets used to as long as it not too cold. I don't wear my rain clothes because I get just as wet inside my rain clothes because of the exertion. So I keep them as a dry layer. But the clammy feeling gets old. 

I had lunch at Carter notch hut.  Eating my own food reduced the weight in the pack so I didn't buy soup. 

It was getting dark as I hobbled the last 300 yards into Imp campsite. I pitched my tent on a platform. Before a few days previous I'd never done that because my tent is not self standing. But I learned to jam my tent stakes into the spaces between the slats with twigs. They held fine. I again boiled water under the vestibule of my tent, ate my freeze-dried beef stroganoff and went to sleep. But not before I was joined by Timber and Legs who also tented on my platform. 

Miles: 12.1

2016 miles: 383

Total AT miles: 1882.8

Day 31 to Pinkham Notch

The night before, I had bumped into a young couple from Lausanne Switzerland!  We chatted and exchanged addresses. That morning I said good bye and set off just before NH Bob who saved had me a spot on the tent pad the night before

Again there was a steep descent as we went toward Pinkham Notch. Boulders were again the trail of the day.

Toward the bottom it flattened out. I thought that I might still have time to catch breakfast at the Pinkham Notch visitors center. So I set a brisk pace. My left knee was a bit swollen and sore so slowed me down.  In arrived at 9:15 only to find the "all you can eat" hiker breakfast was over. 

But as I walked up my friend from 2014, Neon walked up. We had been planning to meet there. Unbeknownst to me he had hiked up to Osgood campsite with pizza for me.   But he arrive after 10 pm, well after hiker midnight. I was already asleep. Not wanting to disturb us  he tented and went back down. But here he was. We spent a nice day together catching up. 

But all day I nursed a swollen, stiff, painful left knee. I iced it. It helped a  bit. But it stayed swollen. 

So in decided to stay at Joe Dodge Lodge at Pinkham notch...effectively being a "nero" (hiker talk for a "near zero" day)

Miles : 4.7

2016 miles: 370

Total AT miles: 1869.7

Day 30 to Osgood campsite

The day started late because we "work for stayers" ate at 8:30 with the hut team.

After breakfast I packed up at set out for the summit of Mount Washington. It was a beautiful day. 

Beautiful day

Along the way the kind Forest Service people reminded us of the dangers of this mountain. 

There were a couple of small lakes to pass left over from the last glacial period. 

Even though Mt Washington has its dangers, it is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. There a road and a cog rail way. On top there is a visitors center complete with restaurant. There is a museum and a shop selling curios.   But all that didn't spoil my climb.

Then there was traverse of the other "presidentials". (Mt. Jefferson, and Madison). There would be 2500 ft of descents and climbs. 

After Mt Madison came the long rocky descent. There have been few boulder fields that were more difficult. 

The spot for the evening would be Osgood campsite, 3000 ft below the Presidential  ridge.  I arrived around. 7 pm.  Pitched my tent on the platform that the campsite manager gave me. I boiled water under my vestibule, ate and went to sleep after a long hard day.

Miles: 10.3

2016 miles : 366

Total AT miles : 1865.0

Day 29 to Lakes of the Clouds Hut

Today would be a 14 mile day. So I packed up, ate and left at 5:30 am. As I left the campsite I passed the Pond that lent its name and there was a group of hikers all looking at the water.  One whispered to me that there was a moose out on the pond. It was a big bull. Look hard.

After a short and really pleasant descent of two miles I began the long 3000 ft climb up to Mt Jackson (4052 ft )

My goal was Lakes of the Clouds hut another 1000 higher. It right below Mt Washington so I not allowed to camp because of the protected tundra. 

I passed by Mizpah hut and ate my fill of leftovers from lunch and lots of lemonade.  

As days this was just a long climb. Almost no descents. And the trail was

only rocky and smallnboulders for short distances. 

I arrived at LOTCs as 5:30 pm and asked for a "work for stay."  That is where they feed you and let you sleep on the floor of the dining room in return for work.  I swept the dining room and cleaned and organized the big refrigerators (this hut has room for over 50 people. 

That evening the sunset was beautiful. 

Miles : 13.9

2016 miles 355.7

Total AT miles: 1854.7

Day 28 to Ethan Pond Campsite

After a really good breakfast of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee and juice I set off at 7:30. It was a beautiful sunny day.  But the forecast was for T-storms

in the afternoon. The terrain ranged from steep and rocky to luxuriously flat. 

Today I'd be above treeline in morning as I'd  climb South Twin Mountain (4902 ft)

I passed by Zealand Falls Hut and had some lemonade and filled up my water bottles. 

It's right beside the falls. 

As promised it rained late in the pm. So it was nice to sit under the shelter until it stopped. I again pitched my tent in a platform. 

Miles :11.8

2016 miles: 341.8

Total AT miles: 1840.8

Day 27 to Galehead Hut

After spending a night in my tent on a tent platform (my first time since my tent is a stake down and I thought it wouldn't work) I got up ate, packed and set off at 7 am. I had hoped to go 13 miles to Guyot Shelter.   But two things dissuaded me. First it was almost a mile off the
trail. Second the terrain was slowing me down and beating me up. So I decided to got just over ten miles to Galehead hut.  This is operated by the AMC and offers supper and breakfast. Since it is taking longer that I'd planned, I needed conserve food. So this worked out well.

Views were spectacular. 

I climbed over four Mountains today: Including Lincoln 5089 and Mt Lafayette at over 5263 ft, it's one of the tallest in the Whites. 

And then it was was over Mt Garfied (4458)

The hut is modern being rebuilt in 1999. 

Miles: 10.1

2016 Miles: 331

Total AT Miles:  1829

Day 26 to Liberty Spring. Campground

Not knowing what the terrain would but still needing to make at least 11 miles, I started out at 6:40. 

First I had to climb 2000 ft to Kinsman Mountain. 

Then I dropped 2500 ft to Franconia Notch.  But I passed Lonesome Lake Hut and had a bowl of soup and lemonade. The hut is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. 

It has a nice view. 

And just below is Lonesome Lake

After Franconia Notch I climbed nearly 3000 ft to Liberty Spring Campground. Part was a really nice trail but last 1.5 miles was steep and rocky. 

Miles: 11.5 miles

2016  miles : 320

Total AT miles: 1819

Day 25 to Eliza Brook Shelter

Today was my first day back after our family reunion in Turks and Caicos. I started at Kinsman Notch.

I was wondering what a week off would do to my conditioning. Well, it sure didn't help. The walk up Wolf Mountain wasn't bad but from there until Eliza Shelter it was all rocks and roots and swamp and mud.

This was a moose wallow. 

 It was so difficult that I only went 8 miles. But that was in part due to my knees which were stiff and sore. But i did see some nice views. 

Miles : 8

2016 Miles: 308.4

Total AT miles: 1807.4

Day 24 to Kinsmen Notch

Well today I was served a good breakfast at the Hikers Welcome Hostel. I bunked in becausen I wanted to look after the blisters on my heels, my left big toe nail that I knocked off two days ago, my bruised right ...enough of that.

I decided in spite of sore feet to climb the 4802 ft Mt Moosilauke. 

The climb took from 7:30 to 12:00. And when got there I was greeted by fog.  

The forecast was for thunderstorms and wanted to be off the mountain before they arrived. The descent was reputed to be very slippery when wet. But it was also one of the toughest 2 miles I've encountered.

But along side the trail was a long series of cascades. 

Between the slippery wooden steps, the steepness and the fact that it was rock scramble and not a hike, I had my hands fills for over and hour and a half of hard work. 

I walked from Kinsman Notch to Lost River Campground and caught a ride to North Woodstock and spent the night at "The Notch Hostel."  

The next day I caught a shuttle to Lebanon Airport (NH) and flew to Boston and then to Turks and Caicos for a family vacation.  

Miles: 9.7

2016 Miles 302.4

Total AT miles 1799.7

Day 23 to Glencliff NH

Today would only be 14,7 miles. After the 17.7 I did yesterday I could start close to 7 am.

That's what I did. Nursing to blistered heels and two sore big toes I set out. 

The day started with a 1000 ft climb. Over...

Mount Cube

The view south was great. 

The terrain is definitely more rugged than MA and VT

Miles today. 14.6

2016 miles : 291.6

Total AT miles: 1790.4