Thursday, August 7, 2014

Day 30 - 39

Day 30 - 7.3 miles

Got a late start leaving Gorham. I was hiking by 11:30am. It was a hard 2,500 ft vertical climb over about 3 miles to the top of Mt. Madison. It was worth the climb for the amazing views. 



This is a view of Mt. Washington from Mt Madison. 


So throughout the White Mountain National Forest there are 7 "Huts". These huts are like hotel rooms and are rented by patrons and can hold up to around 35 people. These huts also will allow around 3-5 thru hikers to do a work for stay per day. The workers at the huts will give the thru hikers the leftovers from dinner. They also allow us to sleep in he dinning areas at night. Sounded great to me. 

This is the Madison shelter. It was the first shelter I stopped at and was able to do work for stay. 


Went to sleep with a full stomach and a roof over my head... It was awesome. 

Day 31 - 7.0 miles

Today I headed up Mt Washington. I hit the trail around 9:30 am and it was raining already. As I ascended the mountain the rain started coming down harder and the wind picked up. Then it started to sleet. The wind was blowing so hard that I had to leaning into the wind to stay upright. I found out later that the wind was blowing around 65mph. The visibility was about 15ft and I was soaked. 


Made it to the top of Mt Washington and dried out at the Summit House. I stayed up there about 2 hours then headed down to Lake of the Clouds Hut. I saw this sign as I came down. 


I was able to do work for stay at Lake of the Clouds also. I had dinner and a good night sleep. 

Day 32 - 19.1 miles

Got started late because the weather was bad till about 9:30am. The rain stopped but is was very windy and cold. I was wearing almost every piece of clothing I had, including gloves. I made it to the Zealand Falls Hut and did work for stay there too. 




Day 33 - 9.5 miles 

Made it a short day to let my body rest after a long day yesterday. Had some good views today. 


It's hard to see but this is a mountain rabbit. 


Chilling at camp. 


Day 34 - 10.3 miles

Beautiful view at the top of Mt Garfield.




Then went up Mt Lafayette, it was very steep. There was 2 miles of the trail on the crest of the mountain. It was a constant view and It was beautiful. 




Made it down to Lincoln, NH. I had heard from some other hikers to go to Chet's place. Chet is a trail angel that has his house retrofitted to provide thru hikers a free place to stay, wash clothes and shower. It is completely donation based. 





There was 18 thru hikers that stayed there the night. 

Day 35 - 8.8 miles

Hiked up Mt Kinsman today. Had a clear 
beautiful day. 







Day 36 - 16.8 miles

Went up and over Mt Moosilauke. This is the last part of the White Mountains. This sign really instilled confidence in me before my climb. 


There were some cool waterfalls going up the mountain, but it made most of the rocks wet. This made the nearly 1 mile vertical climb very difficult. I understood why they put that sign up!




This is on top of Moosilauke. 


Made it to Glenncliff and stayed at Hikers Welcome Hostel. This was a guys house made to accommodate hikers. It was almost a hippie commune. Everyone was very nice. 



This was the hiker area. 


Day 37 - 14.8 miles

Stopped by a campsite to use the privy, it was awesome. It was made to look like a castle and the toilet was a throne. 



And there was a dungeon.....


Day 38 - 17.7 miles

Another great day of hiking. On top of Mt Cube there was an old fire wardens cabin that hikers can stay in. 


And a fire tower you can go up in. Unfortunately is was cloudy when I went up there so I couldn't see much. 



As I was walking down the trail I saw a sign....


Bill is another trail angel and he give hikers free ice cream, water and sodas. This was just what I needed. Here are some pictures of his house. 



He even had a porta potty for us!


Day 39 - 10.9 miles

Easy 10 miles into Hanover. Hanover is home to Dartmouth college. The AT goes right through the town. Everyone is very hiker friendly hear. 

Day 40 - Zero day! 

Had to get some new shoes, mine were falling apart. REI is sending me a new pair but they couldn't get them to me before I leave town. 

Total miles - 442.1
Miles left - 1,743.2

Enjoy!









































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