Hiking NH

I saw that. I dumped it out.

The NH shakedown did not go well. I have a black toe and can barely walk because of sore knees. I should not have stopped last year. I found the Maine half of the Mahoosucs easy back then.

Very perceptive. I was thinking this would make a good signature as I was laboring off Hayes.

I now set my sights on Gorham to Pinkham.... and possibly removing 2 toenails.

Here are 3


My view from my stealth site at Dream Lake

Whites from Cascade

Whites from Hayes

After reviewing the time stamps of these pictures, I am now convinced that the last picture is coming off Cascade and not on Hayes.

There was a ton of water in the air for my 2 days. Not rain, but very hazy. I posted one picture in the "Smell the Roses" thread.

MM, I am glad you are lurking. I sent you a copy of my itinerary a while ago for your input. You gave me good advice that I incorporated into the plan. I am seeking advice again.

I spent too much time fishing, camping, sailing, and visiting family this year to do a proper hike. I am running low on vacation. I hope to knock NH out on weekends instead.

However, that is not my main obstacle. My shakedown in the Mahoosucs did not go well. My knees are a mess. I do not believe time is on my side. I really want to get the Whites done while I am able.

I am in hopes of doing Gorham to Pinkham this weekend. I plan on sleeping between Middle and South Carter. I have studied the maps, guides, and profiles to death. I believe I can manage that section.

My question is on the next section. I think I have a plan to do Pinkham to Crawford in 2 days. My wife would drop me off at Pinkham on day one and drive to the peak of Washington. I would hike to that spot carrying just water, snacks, and a couple other basics. We would drive down together and spend the night in Crawford somewhere. The next morning we would take the earliest cog train back to the top. I would hike down to Crawford with the same setup as the day before while my wife rode the train back down to meet me at the bottom. This would be about 13 miles each day with very light packs.

Any thoughts? I post this publicly in case others have an opinion.

Perhaps I should go up both days. I do better on ups than downs.

To quote something Rasty asked me once: "Do you ever sleep?" Good night MM and thanks for the tips.

Too much rain forecasted for this weekend. Gorham to Pinkham will have to wait. I think I will take a drive to all the AT road crossings in NH instead and plug them into my gps. Who knows. Maybe there will be a view or 2 along the way.

Difficult 2 days. 13.4 miles from Gorham to Mt. Hight (includes blue blaze to Moriah peak). 8 mile from Mt Hight to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center (includes side trail to Carter Notch Hut). Home now. Tired and sore. Will update tomorrow.

A few notes about the weekend for others who might make this trip someday:

My wife dropping me off in Gorham at 7 AM. The walk into Rattle River Shelter is very easy as is the next 1.5 miles. The next mile and a half is a manageable up. Then comes an easy walk and finally a 300 steep section. All in all Moriah is not bad. However, my left MCL was shot already. I texted my wife that I was making good enough time (6 miles in 4 hours), but was already concerned that I might have to bail down a side trail to Rt 16. The good thing about this hike is that there are many side trails to bail on.

2 miles and 2.5 hours later I was at Imp. The trail and the pain were not entirely to blame for this slow pace. I spent a little while on top on Moriah. It is a 0.1 mile blue blaze to the peak. It is worth the effort for the view. At Imp, I called my wife and told her I was doing a little better and would push on for Zeta Pass. A note to the south bound: Do not get water at the 1st little rill as you pass the side trail to Imp. Walk a few more minutes and you will come to a much better one. This is a place to load up on water. Carry enough to make it to the notch.

The last 1/4 mile to the top of North Carter is very steep and lacks things to grab and places to put your feet. It is similar to a hundred places in Maine. I met a thru at the base of that steep section who was pissed. He said he would punch the guy or girl who designed that section. I wanted to say that would be God, but was afraid I would have been punched. Minutes later I met another couple who had similar complaints. They looked a bit more rational, so when they complained about who "designed" that section, said "that would be God". They rolled their eyes and walked by me. Honestly! Why are people like that on the trail? Do they want escalators? The AMC did not choose to put those solid rock slides there and Coach and others have not made it to that section yet.

The walk across the Carters is nice. There are a couple of PUDs, but not anything like Maine. I am starting to see why others proclaim Maine harder. Maine sees a bump and says let's go over there, that would be fun. NH sees a bump and says what is the point of going over that stupid bump. There are nice views here and there, but not as much as I would have expected for walking a ridge above 4500'. The down to Zeta Pass seemed to go on forever. I had heard there was water at Zeta Pass. There is not. I had heard there was water between Middle and South Carter. There was not. Get plenty of water if you are going between Carter Notch and Imp Campsite.

After lingering at Zeta Pass for a bit, I decided to find the Stealth site that Chin Music described in his journal last year. At 6 PM I was at it. That made 13.4 miles (including the blue blaze to Moriah) in 11 hours. Not to bad when you consider that I linger at views and force every person I meet to talk to me. The stealth spot is very easy to find. It is directly across from the sign near the top on the south side of the peak at Mt Hight. The sign is supposed to say you can't camp here or further up the hill. Instead it has been ripped off the board. I do not understand why. It is like closing your eyes and saying I can't see you. Everyone knows what that empty board says. Besides, my camp was legal by about 4 inches. Mt Hight offered the best views of the entire trip. It is a bald pile of boulders.

I was up and back on the trail at 7 AM. I did not sleep well. I could not find a comfortable position for my left knee. The walk over to Carter Dome was easy. Carter Dome does not have a good view for a "dome". The climb off Carter Dome looked tough on paper. I kept wondering when it was going to get steep. The final 600' drop was steep but manageable because of all the steps. Maybe that was what the 3 complainers were looking for. At the Hut, I filled my water bottles and platypuses... platypi... platypodes... (I think it is just platypus like moose or deer, but can appear plural as fox or foxes). I dilly dallied and asked questions and made people sick of me. I bought a pumpkin brownie thingy and headed for the Wildcats.

The up over Wildcat A was not as bad as I expected. It is only 1000' feet and over with in just over a half a mile. The walk to Wildcat D has a few ups and downs. Tthe only real down is after C. At noon I was at the gondolas and feeling good. I had travelled 5 miles in 5 hours and goofed off a lot. I texted my wife that I had 3 miles to go and would be out by 3 PM. The views from the gondolas is beautiful. I plan on taking that ride with my wife later this fall.

In great spirits, almost floating, I headed for Wildcat E and the 2 steep downs. The 1st real down was very steep. I was thinking that it was almost good for it to be so steep because I could hang on to things behind me as I climbed and slid down. At the base of that steep came a 3/4 mile semi-steep area with a couple bumps. I was still feeling okay as I approached the real down. I was warmed by a few NoBo's as they passed me to be careful ahead. Just after the last great vista, I was not careful enough. I did not see the correct path and ended up going down a 50' narrow steep slot that had me jumping to a 4' wide dirt clump at the bottom. Not good. This down was stupid steep. I am going to file a complaint with God... maybe. 20 minutes later I had all my gear back on the correct path. Finally at the bottom, I was spent. I had nothing left. I had all I could do to walk the easy 1 mile walk along Lost Pond Trail to the visitor center. I arrived at 3:15.

Now I set my sights on Washington.

Pictures will come later. I edited the above post a little. I am no writer. My prose is supposed to be readable. Some times I leave words out. Some times I put extra words in. Hopefully it is fixed now.

I forgot to mention a conversation I had with a couple at one of the ponds in Carter Notch. They were making fun of my accent. After a fruitless attempt to defend my speech, I left for the huts with this final line: "I have a sistah named Rhonder. We pahk ah cahs in the doeyyahd. I like to eat lobstah in Bah HahBah." The woman replied "LAWWWBstaHH" and laughed. I wanted to correct her by saying it sounds like I "lob" a "star" but drop the middle a and the r, but felt I had done enough damage already.

Yes. But you are just a flatlander from away. I don't fault you much.

You got it. Thus the r on Rhonder. The one that surprised me was when someone asked me a bunch of times what I was saying when I said doe-we-yahd. I had no idea I was making 3 syllables out of dooryard. The "doe" and "we" are almost blended, but they are there. Once they figured out what I was saying, they asked what a dooryard was. I asked if they ever heard of kids playing in the front yard. They said yes. Then I said when you open the front door there it is.