Thursday 8/31; North Woodstock, NH/Franconia Notch to Liberty Springs Campsite (1816.7-1819.4)
Remember how we mentioned yesterday that we made our way to the little inn in North Woodstock, NH? Yeah, well leaving this morning was no easy feat. I wish so much that we'd made the move earlier and spent our recovery days there. Kind service, a warm bed, climate controlled room, a TV, and real food just steps from the door all made for a lovely afternoon. We splurged a bit on dinner last night, but we'd been eating ramen and Pop tarts from the hostel for two days. When your appetite is finally returning and you see red meat on a menu (which you basically haven't eaten in 5+ months)...Yeah. Included with our stay was breakfast at the lovely little restaurant there and oh my gosh, was it so good! In case you couldn't tell, food pretty much rules our lives at the moment. All this to say that we went back to our room after breakfast and very briefly discussed staying another night. I had been texting with Yard Sale about locations and plans, and she told us that a local hostel owner warned her of very bad ridge weather for tomorrow. So if we'd stayed today, we'd have stayed tomorrow as well. Which sounds AMAZING, until we pay for it. However, as we sit hunkered in our tent to the sound of drips and wind, and pretty much know we aren't going anywhere tomorrow, it sounds more and more appealing to go back down the mountain and make our way back to that warm, cozy bed.
We haven't discussed the Vortex that towns can be. What you've just read...That's what we call "The Vortex." It pretty much just means you get stuck in town eating, resting, being clean, and enjoying not hiking. Until you remember that you came out here to HIKE, and manage to get yourself out of town. Often, that means you may only hike a few miles like we did today. But, you're out and can think clearly again. Unless you freeze in the night. That said, Bean is often a furnace, and I think I mentioned that he opted to not get his warm sleeping bag back. I'm a bit concerned that he's gonna turn into an Erik-sicle. He assures me he's fine. We shall see how this night goes.
Since we've got some time this afternoon, I'll make this post even longer and touch on thoughts and reflections.
Bean contributes: "Up until this point, I don't know why the numbers are so low (meaning the number of people who successfully complete a thru hike). Anyone can do this."
To which I reply: Most people don't find this as easy as you seem to. Bean seems entirely unsurprised by anything we've encountered thus far. He says it's exactly as hard and as amazing as he thought it would be. We disagree on this point. It's far harder than I ever imagined it would be. I mean, my thoughts were "I grew up hiking and camping, and people of all genders, abilities, and backgrounds have successfully completed the trail, why not me?" And to some degree, that's a fair assessment. However, what it doesn't discuss is the mental game, the physical pain/discomfort, the hunger, the stress, the emotional--something, the rain, the snow, the cold, the heat, the thunder storms, the thunder storms on ridges (a totally different animal), the flat out bad days. The list could continue almost infinitely, I think. So, you may ask what are the redeeming qualities of this venture if there are so many negatives? There are a few, actually. The most important of which (2.5), in my opinion, are the amazing people we've met and fallen in love with. We have the distinct honor of walking with many people who are kind, humble, honest, driven, helpful, and simply beautiful souls. Each of them has brought a uniqueness to our journey that is ours alone, and without each and every one of them, our story would look so very different. We are forever grateful to these people, and look forward to continuing relationships with many of them for years to come. When we come home, we'll attempt to share our experiences with you. To answer your questions. To help you understand the transformation we have fostered in ourselves. But really, you won't entirely understand. You can't. You didn't do this with us. These people did. And that alone connects us in a very distinct way.
The other major positive I'll need to try to describe. Imagine it's been raining all day, every day, for a week. The power has been out so you haven't washed laundry. Your stove is electric, as is your water heater, so you've been eating peanut butter and jelly, dry ramen (or cold/rehydrated), Pop tarts, and whatever snacks you've got in the pantry. If you've showered, it was icily cold; so cold that it took your breath away and all you could manage was to flip your head over and wash your hair. Even that felt like it was freeze-burning your scalp, so you bird-bathed your unmentionable parts, dried off as best you could, and threw your clothes back on (in our case, they're also wet because we've been walking in the rain). Remember, they're dirty because you've been out of power. Have you got all that in your mind? Really imagine how grimy you feel, and how you'd like nothing more than a hot shower, and to run all those stinky clothes through a washer. Ok. Now, imagine you wake on the 8th day to no drips. You can see the sun shining through the window (or the rain fly). You open the door and feel the sun on your face. And now, you ask what's the point of all this? The point, my friend, is that when that sun comes out after days of rain...There is Nothing like it anywhere! You just turn your head up and enjoy feeling it on your skin. Look up though the trees and watch it glittering through the leaves (my favorite view in the world). The sun makes for a good day out here.
The other half of that is hitting a summit with a view on a sunny day. Especially a cool sunny day because in the cool weather, the haze is often at a minimum and you can see to forever.
These seem so random and insignificant, but they are the why's that have come to pass while we've been on this epic walk. They keep me going. And you all, of course. Seriously. Knowing you all are counting on us to succeed has literally kept me out here on a few occasions. More than I'd like to admit, as a matter of fact.
So, I'll call it quits for now. This is the longest post in quite some time. More long ones to come, I'm sure.
Friday 9/1; Liberty Springs Campsite zero (1819.4)
Well. Day two in the Whites and the ridge weather was so bad that we didn't leave camp. Headed up Mt. Lincoln tomorrow under sunny skies to enjoy Franconia Ridge. We have certainly learned to go with the flow it here. The trail has a mind of her own, and we're at her mercy.
Saturday 9/2; Liberty Springs Campsite to Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite (1819.4-1827)
Holy moly, Franconia Ridge! We are so glad we waited for good weather to climb the summit. We spent a few hours ridge walking 2 miles and enjoying views to the horizon and beyond. There just are no words, guys. The beauty is incomprehensible. The hiking itself is hard. Like, really hard. It's frustrating to know that just a week ago we were capable of 15 mile days minimum. Bean is still able to push fast miles, but his pace has definitely slowed. Mine, however, has slowed exponentially. I am confident I could have moved faster over the ridge today had I not stopped to talk with every tourist who stopped to ask me/us about our journey. That said, we wouldn't have made it really much further. The issue with pace up here is that you have designated campsite and huts. You can stealth, though you have to be aware of weather conditions, and hope to find stealth at an elevation low enough to avoid winds and cold temperatures that the ridges and summits often see. The designated campsites are often paid (we pay $10 for a thru hiker card, and then $5 per stay), and seem to be pretty nice. We're currently hunkered in a shelter avoiding a giant rain storm, and it's quite nice. The huts are paid and are very expensive. People pay a lot of money (like a hundred dollars per person) to hike in, and stay at the hut where the crew serves food, and manages beds. Sometimes, if you time it just right, you can land a work for stay at one of the huts. When this happens, you do work they need, and in exchange you get to eat leftovers (which we're told are very good) and sleep on the floor. You can also sleep on the floor in bad weather sometimes, you just don't get to eat the leftovers. Though often if you're passing by after breakfast, they'll let you eat leftover oatmeal. Whatever isn't eaten has to be carried out, so they usually don't mind. They offer soups and baked goods for relatively reasonable prices. Our thru hiker cards get us one bowl of soup and two baked goods each, and 10% off other items for sale. So, that's the Whites in a nutshell. We stopped here last night, and now, because of the coming storm, the terrain, and the location of campsites/iffi-ness of the huts, we're hunkered. We could go 3 miles to the hut where they would likely let us sleep on the floor out of the weather, but the wind is crazy strong right now, and the clouds are blowing through camp at nearly 4,000 feet. I think the four of us here, us and Yard Sale, and a new friend called Brave Happy are pretty good to sit tight. Tomorrow is supposed to bring good weather and we plan to push a pretty long day. We'll hit town first thing Tuesday morning, resupply, and head back out.
Sunday 9/3; Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite (1827)
Zero. We are learning to trust our decisions. It's a hard line to walk, but a great lesson to learn. The weather sucks, and wee lose nothing in the long run from waiting it out. Our motto in Maine is "Low and Slow." Meaning low miles and slow progress.
Monday 9/4; Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite to Ethan Pond Shelter (1827-1841)
Have I mentioned what a difference a day can make? Oh my gosh, the views today! The day started in the clouds, and we arrived at our first hut yet to dreary fog and cold temperatures. We went inside, had some snacks and warm drinks, and moved on to find the summit if South Twin Mountain. It was a long final .8 to the top, and the wind and clouds up top made our time on the summit extremely short.
We made our way to Mt. Zealand which afforded a surprising view of the surrounding ridges and peaks. We continued in search of the hut, which was quite a ways away from the summit. We took a very short side trail after being told the view was not to be missed by a day hiker, and boy was he right! We finally made it to the hut, and they had soup for us and oh so yummy applesauce bread! We left to tackle 5 more miles, which might have been the easiest AT miles in the Whites. A 14 mile day here is not an easy day. But Bean was sure we could accomplish it, and we did. And...It was AMAZING!
We're camped tonight with two guys we met yesterday, Nick and Will. They are brothers who are out for a few days before their dad joins them for a few more. They are super nice and we've had great conversation about their studies and plans.
Tuesday 9/5; Ethan Pond Shelter to AMC Highlands Center/Gorham (1841-1844)
A quick 3 miles today and a hitch to the Highlands Center, then a shuttle to Gorham to resupply. And...We're back to waiting out the weather. I don't know how much most of you know about the weather here in The White Mountains, so I'll give you a quick rundown. Many of the summits are above tree line. The weather can turn, literally on a dime that high, and it can also be completely different from the weather in the valleys. This fact is never more true than on the summit of Mt. Washington, where some of the most extreme weather in the country occurs. As in, it snowed the other day. So, the fact that these hurricanes are spitting poor weather in this direction makes hiking a bit complicated. Please don't misunderstand--we feel for those affected by the hurricane very deeply. We mean in no way to diminish what these communities are experiencing in the aftermath of the storms. We're just also frustrated while trying to reach our goal. All that said, we're in Gorham, NH waiting for the weather to clear so we can safely summit Washington and The Presidential Range, and then The Wildcats to finish out the Whites. And if we're very, very lucky, we'll get to see dear family friends, Bruce and Michele!!
So stay tuned, friends and cheerleaders. You won't want to miss a second if these final weeks and the special crazy that's sure to come with them!
Remember how we mentioned yesterday that we made our way to the little inn in North Woodstock, NH? Yeah, well leaving this morning was no easy feat. I wish so much that we'd made the move earlier and spent our recovery days there. Kind service, a warm bed, climate controlled room, a TV, and real food just steps from the door all made for a lovely afternoon. We splurged a bit on dinner last night, but we'd been eating ramen and Pop tarts from the hostel for two days. When your appetite is finally returning and you see red meat on a menu (which you basically haven't eaten in 5+ months)...Yeah. Included with our stay was breakfast at the lovely little restaurant there and oh my gosh, was it so good! In case you couldn't tell, food pretty much rules our lives at the moment. All this to say that we went back to our room after breakfast and very briefly discussed staying another night. I had been texting with Yard Sale about locations and plans, and she told us that a local hostel owner warned her of very bad ridge weather for tomorrow. So if we'd stayed today, we'd have stayed tomorrow as well. Which sounds AMAZING, until we pay for it. However, as we sit hunkered in our tent to the sound of drips and wind, and pretty much know we aren't going anywhere tomorrow, it sounds more and more appealing to go back down the mountain and make our way back to that warm, cozy bed.
We haven't discussed the Vortex that towns can be. What you've just read...That's what we call "The Vortex." It pretty much just means you get stuck in town eating, resting, being clean, and enjoying not hiking. Until you remember that you came out here to HIKE, and manage to get yourself out of town. Often, that means you may only hike a few miles like we did today. But, you're out and can think clearly again. Unless you freeze in the night. That said, Bean is often a furnace, and I think I mentioned that he opted to not get his warm sleeping bag back. I'm a bit concerned that he's gonna turn into an Erik-sicle. He assures me he's fine. We shall see how this night goes.
Since we've got some time this afternoon, I'll make this post even longer and touch on thoughts and reflections.
Bean contributes: "Up until this point, I don't know why the numbers are so low (meaning the number of people who successfully complete a thru hike). Anyone can do this."
To which I reply: Most people don't find this as easy as you seem to. Bean seems entirely unsurprised by anything we've encountered thus far. He says it's exactly as hard and as amazing as he thought it would be. We disagree on this point. It's far harder than I ever imagined it would be. I mean, my thoughts were "I grew up hiking and camping, and people of all genders, abilities, and backgrounds have successfully completed the trail, why not me?" And to some degree, that's a fair assessment. However, what it doesn't discuss is the mental game, the physical pain/discomfort, the hunger, the stress, the emotional--something, the rain, the snow, the cold, the heat, the thunder storms, the thunder storms on ridges (a totally different animal), the flat out bad days. The list could continue almost infinitely, I think. So, you may ask what are the redeeming qualities of this venture if there are so many negatives? There are a few, actually. The most important of which (2.5), in my opinion, are the amazing people we've met and fallen in love with. We have the distinct honor of walking with many people who are kind, humble, honest, driven, helpful, and simply beautiful souls. Each of them has brought a uniqueness to our journey that is ours alone, and without each and every one of them, our story would look so very different. We are forever grateful to these people, and look forward to continuing relationships with many of them for years to come. When we come home, we'll attempt to share our experiences with you. To answer your questions. To help you understand the transformation we have fostered in ourselves. But really, you won't entirely understand. You can't. You didn't do this with us. These people did. And that alone connects us in a very distinct way.
The other major positive I'll need to try to describe. Imagine it's been raining all day, every day, for a week. The power has been out so you haven't washed laundry. Your stove is electric, as is your water heater, so you've been eating peanut butter and jelly, dry ramen (or cold/rehydrated), Pop tarts, and whatever snacks you've got in the pantry. If you've showered, it was icily cold; so cold that it took your breath away and all you could manage was to flip your head over and wash your hair. Even that felt like it was freeze-burning your scalp, so you bird-bathed your unmentionable parts, dried off as best you could, and threw your clothes back on (in our case, they're also wet because we've been walking in the rain). Remember, they're dirty because you've been out of power. Have you got all that in your mind? Really imagine how grimy you feel, and how you'd like nothing more than a hot shower, and to run all those stinky clothes through a washer. Ok. Now, imagine you wake on the 8th day to no drips. You can see the sun shining through the window (or the rain fly). You open the door and feel the sun on your face. And now, you ask what's the point of all this? The point, my friend, is that when that sun comes out after days of rain...There is Nothing like it anywhere! You just turn your head up and enjoy feeling it on your skin. Look up though the trees and watch it glittering through the leaves (my favorite view in the world). The sun makes for a good day out here.
The other half of that is hitting a summit with a view on a sunny day. Especially a cool sunny day because in the cool weather, the haze is often at a minimum and you can see to forever.
These seem so random and insignificant, but they are the why's that have come to pass while we've been on this epic walk. They keep me going. And you all, of course. Seriously. Knowing you all are counting on us to succeed has literally kept me out here on a few occasions. More than I'd like to admit, as a matter of fact.
So, I'll call it quits for now. This is the longest post in quite some time. More long ones to come, I'm sure.
Friday 9/1; Liberty Springs Campsite zero (1819.4)
Well. Day two in the Whites and the ridge weather was so bad that we didn't leave camp. Headed up Mt. Lincoln tomorrow under sunny skies to enjoy Franconia Ridge. We have certainly learned to go with the flow it here. The trail has a mind of her own, and we're at her mercy.
Saturday 9/2; Liberty Springs Campsite to Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite (1819.4-1827)
Holy moly, Franconia Ridge! We are so glad we waited for good weather to climb the summit. We spent a few hours ridge walking 2 miles and enjoying views to the horizon and beyond. There just are no words, guys. The beauty is incomprehensible. The hiking itself is hard. Like, really hard. It's frustrating to know that just a week ago we were capable of 15 mile days minimum. Bean is still able to push fast miles, but his pace has definitely slowed. Mine, however, has slowed exponentially. I am confident I could have moved faster over the ridge today had I not stopped to talk with every tourist who stopped to ask me/us about our journey. That said, we wouldn't have made it really much further. The issue with pace up here is that you have designated campsite and huts. You can stealth, though you have to be aware of weather conditions, and hope to find stealth at an elevation low enough to avoid winds and cold temperatures that the ridges and summits often see. The designated campsites are often paid (we pay $10 for a thru hiker card, and then $5 per stay), and seem to be pretty nice. We're currently hunkered in a shelter avoiding a giant rain storm, and it's quite nice. The huts are paid and are very expensive. People pay a lot of money (like a hundred dollars per person) to hike in, and stay at the hut where the crew serves food, and manages beds. Sometimes, if you time it just right, you can land a work for stay at one of the huts. When this happens, you do work they need, and in exchange you get to eat leftovers (which we're told are very good) and sleep on the floor. You can also sleep on the floor in bad weather sometimes, you just don't get to eat the leftovers. Though often if you're passing by after breakfast, they'll let you eat leftover oatmeal. Whatever isn't eaten has to be carried out, so they usually don't mind. They offer soups and baked goods for relatively reasonable prices. Our thru hiker cards get us one bowl of soup and two baked goods each, and 10% off other items for sale. So, that's the Whites in a nutshell. We stopped here last night, and now, because of the coming storm, the terrain, and the location of campsites/iffi-ness of the huts, we're hunkered. We could go 3 miles to the hut where they would likely let us sleep on the floor out of the weather, but the wind is crazy strong right now, and the clouds are blowing through camp at nearly 4,000 feet. I think the four of us here, us and Yard Sale, and a new friend called Brave Happy are pretty good to sit tight. Tomorrow is supposed to bring good weather and we plan to push a pretty long day. We'll hit town first thing Tuesday morning, resupply, and head back out.
Sunday 9/3; Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite (1827)
Zero. We are learning to trust our decisions. It's a hard line to walk, but a great lesson to learn. The weather sucks, and wee lose nothing in the long run from waiting it out. Our motto in Maine is "Low and Slow." Meaning low miles and slow progress.
Monday 9/4; Garfield Ridge Shelter/Campsite to Ethan Pond Shelter (1827-1841)
Have I mentioned what a difference a day can make? Oh my gosh, the views today! The day started in the clouds, and we arrived at our first hut yet to dreary fog and cold temperatures. We went inside, had some snacks and warm drinks, and moved on to find the summit if South Twin Mountain. It was a long final .8 to the top, and the wind and clouds up top made our time on the summit extremely short.
We made our way to Mt. Zealand which afforded a surprising view of the surrounding ridges and peaks. We continued in search of the hut, which was quite a ways away from the summit. We took a very short side trail after being told the view was not to be missed by a day hiker, and boy was he right! We finally made it to the hut, and they had soup for us and oh so yummy applesauce bread! We left to tackle 5 more miles, which might have been the easiest AT miles in the Whites. A 14 mile day here is not an easy day. But Bean was sure we could accomplish it, and we did. And...It was AMAZING!
We're camped tonight with two guys we met yesterday, Nick and Will. They are brothers who are out for a few days before their dad joins them for a few more. They are super nice and we've had great conversation about their studies and plans.
Tuesday 9/5; Ethan Pond Shelter to AMC Highlands Center/Gorham (1841-1844)
A quick 3 miles today and a hitch to the Highlands Center, then a shuttle to Gorham to resupply. And...We're back to waiting out the weather. I don't know how much most of you know about the weather here in The White Mountains, so I'll give you a quick rundown. Many of the summits are above tree line. The weather can turn, literally on a dime that high, and it can also be completely different from the weather in the valleys. This fact is never more true than on the summit of Mt. Washington, where some of the most extreme weather in the country occurs. As in, it snowed the other day. So, the fact that these hurricanes are spitting poor weather in this direction makes hiking a bit complicated. Please don't misunderstand--we feel for those affected by the hurricane very deeply. We mean in no way to diminish what these communities are experiencing in the aftermath of the storms. We're just also frustrated while trying to reach our goal. All that said, we're in Gorham, NH waiting for the weather to clear so we can safely summit Washington and The Presidential Range, and then The Wildcats to finish out the Whites. And if we're very, very lucky, we'll get to see dear family friends, Bruce and Michele!!
So stay tuned, friends and cheerleaders. You won't want to miss a second if these final weeks and the special crazy that's sure to come with them!
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