The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...Two days on the AT in The Whites

                       The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!


Two days on the AT in
The Whites

                   

                                               During the storm...                                     After the storm
                                                             6/30/17                                                    7/1/17

We crossed 4000 feet for the first time today! From Jeffers Brook Shelter, we climbed up to the summit of Mt. Mooselauke in New Hampshire, 4802 feet in elevation. Over four miles we gained 3494 feet of elevation. It was a difficult climb putting us above treeline for the first time. You could feel and see the jubilation in all of the thru hikers! We are truly in the Whites! Then the Whites stuck back. I now have to descend down the back side to Route 112 so my brother Mike can pick us up to resupply and also to pick up two more hikers, Bruce and Joe, father and son, who will be arriving in the morning. Mike and JoAnn live close by in Plymouth. Then we were back on the trail for a short 8 mile hike to the Eliza Brook Shelter. It was a short hike but in the rain it took us 8+ hours. Then the Whites stuck back! We arrived at 7:00, exhausted, wet, and hungry, having to set up 3 tents in the rain. I had the last spot in the shelter. Could it get any harder? The answer was South Kinsman, North Kinsman, and more RAIN! The trail is no longer a trail. It is a small brook with 4.6 miles to go. As we pass Lonesome Lake Hut, the heavens open up. The trail is now a raging brook. We are walking in the ankle deep water. We now have 3 miles to go. We can do it! At 2.5 miles, Cascade Brook and Whitehouse Brook come together. It is now a raging river. You can hear boulders rolling down the rushing water. The only option is to turn back and hike back up the trail which is now a raging river to Lonesome Lake Hut. Just as we turn to go back up, we discover are cut off by Cascade Brook and can't move forward or backward. Up the hill and through the brush is our only alternative. It looks like we need to find tent sites somewhere in the woods! We find nothing suitable. We continue walking up the ridge and are able to find the trail above Cascade Brook and walk back to Lonesome Lake Hut. Now the questions becomes will they allow us to stay in the hut. (Huts require reservations and paying guests come first. We usually stay in shelters which are free and on a first come / first serve basis.) This is a little dicey at first. At the hut, they suggest we take the alternative side trail to shelter. Then they relented. They not only allowed us to sleep in the dining hall but fed us a turkey dinner after the guests were served. The Whites give back. We have reservations at Notch Hostel for Sunday night. As we begin to leave, Bruce and Joe have had enough and will catch a shuttle back to Mike's and head back to Indiana. It's time to adjust our schedule and take 2.5 zero days (those are days when we don't hike, but resupply, regroup, and refresh) at Mike's before getting back on the tail on July 5th. Happy 4th! Stay tuned!