Sunset and Sunrise

I made it to Lincoln NH! And I'm almost finished with all the White Mountains! Just two more mountains left to go, then it's mostly flat and shouldn't be too hard (fingers crossed).

Mt. Washington summit

In other news, I decided that I'd focus my blog more on the interesting stories and less on the physical walking (which I'm putting more in the Stats section). Y'all have read enough of me explaining my pain I think. I'll focus on things you guys probably find more interesting. Also, there are far too many people in the Whites. I miss Maine.

Also, I'm sorry about the formatting issues. I ran out of time.

Day 29 (July 12): 5 Mountain Day

I rode the shuttle to Pinkham's notch with a few NoBos, and one other SoBo who I had met a long time ago named Brightside. Brightside planned and trained for this hike for a year and a half with his granddaughter, and sold his business to hike the AT with her. After the 100 mile wilderness, she decided "she was more of a section hiker" and took a bus home. He now has twice the budget he started with, and is hiking a fair bit faster with fewer breaks. He's a great guy.

Five Mountains to go (Madison, Adams, JJefferson, Clay, and Washington)

A few miles into the trail, after Brightside and I got split up, I saw Daddyo. He had been at the White Mountain Lodge when I left for the wedding! Turns out he took it kind of slow, and then got lost for a day (there were a lot of intersecting trails and the AMC does an awful job of blazing the AT). So, he decided to wait for a thru hiker he knew, and greeted me with "I've been waiting for you. Let's go."

Random suspension bridge in the trail

Daddyo and I eventually met up with Brightside at the first mountain we had to climb (Mt. Madison), a 2.6 mile 2800 foot climb which is said to be the hardest incline on the AT.

Four mountains to go

Daddyo, Brightside, and I eventually got split up (uphills tend to do that, because everyine has their own crusing pace on them), and we all passed tons of day and weekend hikers with much smaller packs. I'm probably a bad person for it, but I get a kick out of jogging past them on the uphills. I figure it's also just kind of polite because it lets them get back to hiking sooner, and I know I don't like stopping (especially long) for other hikers.

Three mountains remaining

As I was climbing, I occasionally checked behind me to see the view and admire all the day hikers (so many people), when I saw a yellow shirt in the group. I hadn't passed anyone in a yellow shirt. So I walked faster. I checked later, and he was gaining on me. Eventually, near the summit he passed me, but he was a thru hiker, so I'm OK with that. He's also probably the most intense SoBo I've met. He's starting his Triple Triple Crown. For those of you who don't follow hiker lingo, a "triple crown" is given (It's really more of a title) to a person who has thru hiked the Appalachian Trail  (2100 miles on the east coast), the Pacific Crest Trail (2600 miles on the west coast) and the Continental Divide Trail (3 miles in the middle). Wrong Way (the yellow shirted thru hiker) has done each of them twice, so has a double triple crown. He's now starting the AT for the third time, then will do the CDT and PCT a third time so he can get his Triple Triple Crown. I think he's in his sixties. He says he's been homeless and hiking and wandering all over the U.S. for 10 years now, ever since he retired (he goes south in the winter).

Two mountains remaining

Eventually, I got to Madison Hut, a beacon of civilization and day and weekend hikers and free water. I arrived around 1 PM, and chatted with Wrong Way, a couple NoBos, and Brightside before heading out from the hut at 2:30 or so, to hike the remaining 4 mountains I had planned for the day.

Just one... more... mountain

The crowded observation deck

While hiking along the presidential ridgeline (after Madison) I passed a ton of casual hikers going from hut to hut, but no SoBos. One guy told me I should skip Mt. Washington because it's a zoo with a ton of people who just drove up or rode the train up there and that I couldn't see anything anyways, so should just skip it. I responded, "but it's on the AT..." and he kinda looked at me funny then we both left. Normal people: so weird.

A view of the first four mountains I climbed

I guess my legs were kinda tired and I ran out of water, so the climb to Washington took me longer than expected. I got there at 7:30, searching for water and maybe snacks and ice cream. Apparently, the mountain closes at 6 PM though, so everything was closed and locked. There was no water. Some good views though, and no line for a picture by the summit sign (other thru hikers had to wait in a 5 minute line to get their summit picture).

Sunset as I walked to the hut

Finally, I descended from Mt. Washington to the Lakes of the Clouds hut, and got to do work for stay. I made beds the next day and got to set up my hammock in their dining hall and eat their leftover pancakes and bacon and eggs in the morning. Worth.

In Lakes of the Clouds, I saw Double Dip and Camp Shoes,  who had come from Madison hut today. We caught up, apparently Moose was stealth camping a few miles ahead because she was uncomfortable with all the people  (there were maybe 100 people there), and Peaches was sick with some form of diarrhea. He'd also drunk some unfiltered water the day before.

Stats:
Milage: 15.0 miles
Elevation change: 6500 feet up, 3500 feet down
Start-stop time: 8 AM - 8:30 PM
Pokémon caught: 0. Had no data on Washington, didn't check the other peaks
Knees: confused and willing to trade back for the airplane seats
Back bending speed: 30 degrees per second seems about right
Water drunk: 8.5 liters, still dehydrated
Slept with: 100s of people, 10s of thru hikers (including Camp Shoes, Double Dip,  and Wrong Way)

Day 30 (July 13): Walking is hard yo

Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and I got on the trail late (10:30) because of work for stay and patching Camp Shoes' inflatable sleeping pad. Also, Camp Shoes betrayed his name and got camp shoes "because they were free." (His name came because he insisted Camp Shoes "weren't worth the weight" to carry)

Once we hit the trail, while I could keep up with Camp Shoes and Double Dip on the uphills, they sped past me on the downhills (my knees are rebelling). So they left me behind.

Eventually, I came across Snacks, a SoBo I had heard about, but not met. She had just split from her normal hiking partner  (Scruffy) because her roommate who was coming up to hike with he missed her bus (so she had a day and a half to travel 6 miles). We were walking along a gorgeous ridgeline, and she wanted to see a sunset. There wasn't a water source, but she offered me a liter of water to stay with her. I agreed.

We called it a night at a stealth spot on the ridgeline and watched the sunset, though I forgot to bring my phone and my knees wanted me to not stand up more than necessary, and I'd taken a ton of sunset pictures the day before. Snacks took one and sent it to me, but I don't think I'll get it until she has wifi and hits the resend button.

Stats:
Milage: 9 miles
Elevation change: 500 feet up, 2500 feet down
Start-stop time: 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Pokémon caught: 0. Too many people on all the peaks, so didn't take pictures or catch Pokémon.
Knees: STOP NOW. DON'T CATCH YOUR FRIENDS. THE RIDGELINE IS NICE.
Back bending speed: 25 degrees per second seems a little fast. Maybe ease off the bending?
Water drunk: 5.5 liters
Slept with: Snacks and 3 NoBos

Day 31 (July 14): Rescue for Stay

Determined to catch up with Double Dip and Camp Shoes and Moose, I left at 6:30 AM and promptly got lost. Fortunately, I knew I needed to go downhill, so I just bushwacked down for about an hour until I saw a person and asked if they were on a trail, which they gave a confused yes to, and kept walking.

After finding the trail, I eventually found water, which was good because I'd only had a liter. Determined to get the best part of the water, I accidentally jumped into the river with my boots on. Feeling kinda dumb, I changed into my Chacos for the rest of the day. Several people commented on how intense I was for hiking in sandals. I just felt kinda dumb.

8 miles in, I met Moose. She, Camp Shoes, and Double Dip had been playing cards in the middle of the trail waiting for me. We caught up to Double Dip and Camp Shoes at the next hut, where they were helping the caretakers by eating the "bad" batch of sourdough bread (it hadn't risen: still had calories though). Moose and I ate too, and told Camp Shoes and Double Dip we'd catch them about 5 miles down the trail.

Pugs, Baby Bear, and Baby Bear's dad got to the hut and we chatted with them. One thing led to another and we started playing in the waterfall by the hut. Pugs and Baby Bear are both engineers, so we decided to do some hydroengineering by using our bodies to redirect river flow. Then it was 4:30 and ominous clouds were rolling in. They also offered Moose a free bunk at the Cabin, since Baby Bear's brother couldn't make it. She accepted and I got work for stay from the hut.

Sunset from Zealand Falls Hut

An hour later, a torrential downpour started. The small waterfalls we had been playing in expanded from a flow a single person could stop by lying down to more water than a small house.

Around 7 PM, a hiker came by. Their mother and father were stuck on the other side of the waterfall. So the hut crew members went on a rescue mission.  Remembering how late I got out last time I did work for stay, I pestered the hut crew members about helping, and they asked me to help get the hikers across. So I did.

We wound up taking a 10 foot ladder and a few 40 foot ropes up the waterfall, bushwacking 50 yards up to an easier crossing, figuring out how to use a 10 foot ladder to ford a 20 foot wide stream, lashing the ladder to rocks and holding down both ends, then grabbing people across the ladder. It was a lot of fun. They told me it counted as my work for stay, but I still wound up making beds and sweeping floora the next morning.

Stats:
Milage: 10 miles
Elevation change: 1500 feet up, 2500 feet down
Start-stop time: 6:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Pokémon caught: 0. Too busy slacking and playing in the falls
Knees: you may do this again
Back bending speed: 25 degrees per second seems ok. Maybe I'm getting better?
Water drunk: many liters
Slept with: Brightside, Moose, Baby Bear, Pugs, and 40 others. I slept under the table in the common dinning area on the route to the bathroom right next to the open windows with the mosquitoes.

Day 32 (July 15) Mountain Top Stealth Camping

Brightside and I hit the trail around 9:30 after doing the bed making chores. We immediately regretted the 6+ pancakes we ate for breakfast. 2 hours later, we wished we had eaten more of them.

Some views I guess? 

We met up with Moose, Baby Bear, and Pugs and made it to the next hut, where Pugs and I introduced the others to the wonderful game of ERS. We also had soup, which was delicious.

Top of South Twin Mountain, before the hut

Later, we came to Garfield Ridgeline campsite, which is another pay for stay campsite. Brightside decided to stay, Moose, Baby Bear, Pugs, and I decided to stealth camp on the top of the mountain for the free price, lack of day and weekend hikers, easy access to sunrise and sunset, and thrill of knowing the storm might break your hammock tree and kill you. Even the caretaker serenading us with her "Garfield Ridgeline" song (with guitar) didn't convince us to pay to stay (though it came close).

There was a minor water fall in the trail. See Brightside for scale. At least the individual rocks weren't as large as many parts on the trail.

Top of Mt. Garfield. There was an old building foundation we hung out in at the peak.

Sunset atop Mt. Garfield. A rain storm got minorly in the way (it hit us in a couple hours).

Stats:

Milage: 10 miles
Elevation change: 4500 feet up, 3000 feet down
Start-stop time: 9:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Pokémon caught: 3. Two Weedles and a Nidoran were found at Garfield peak. Only took 40% of my phone battery to do. Totally worth.
Knees: Just maybe take it easy on the downhills ok? Maybe we can get a truce
Back bending speed: 25 degrees per second? Yeah no. Just... try not to move your back.
Water drunk: many liters... huts with free water are great.
Slept with: Baby Bear, Pugs, Moose, and the dead tree I was sure would fail to support my hammock in the storm as I swayed all night long.

Day 33 (July 16): Skyplay

We got up at 4:30 and ran to the top of Garfield mountain (technically we were about 100 feet below it) to see the sunrise. It was cold and pretty. There were also 10-15 day and weekend hikers who came from Garfield ridgeline to see the sunrise.

Myself, Pugs, and Moose awaiting the sunrise in the Lee of the building foundation. Also, a boyscout I think.

Sunrise

Sunrise with Beard filter

Sunrise with In The Cloud filter

Later, Moose let us use her hot chocolate (it was cold) to start the day. She and I left while Baby Bear and Pugs were packing up (we were planning on stopping in Lincoln, they were not).

We ascended Lafayette ridgeline into a cloud. We loved the cloud because it kept us cool as we hiked. The ~200 day hikers we passed hated the cloud because it wrecked their view.

Climbing Mt. Lafayette in a cloud. See Moose for scale.

A brief break in the clouds

We caught up with Brightside (who had left before us) to welcome news: he'd had the best trail magic. He was eating on top of Lafayette and chatting with a couple of weekend hikers when they offered him the use of their car and gave him their keys. So we wouldn't have to hitch. Moose and I decided to hike the rest of the way out with Brightside in view at all times.

We got to the parking lot, found the car, got our stuff in, and discovered none of us had any idea how to turn the car on. 15 minutes later, we figured it out (keep the break pedal pushed down as you hold the button) and went to McDonald's. I ordered numbers 1-9. They were very confused and asked if I wanted a McWrap. Eventually they got it sorted out and I got an absurd amount of food.

We saw Double Dip and Camp Shoes  (who had gotten into town early and seen Finding Dory) and Baby Bear and Pugs (who stopped in because Baby Bear broke another poll).

The hostels in town are all full, so Brightside and I split a Day's Inn cottage, while the others made plans to get back out to the trail... after playing mini golf and watching another movie (which I think they're still at).

Dinner. Aka numbers 1-9 at McDonald's.

Stats:

Milage: 10 miles
Elevation change: 1500 feet up, 4500 feet down
Start-stop time: 7:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Pokémon caught: Some sparrows at the Day's Inn.
Knees: This is acceptable. Not good, but acceptable
Back bending speed: 15 degrees and don't you try any funny business punk.
Water drunk: 4 liters, hot chocolate, and a smoothie.
Slept with: Brightside, sheets, and the disconcerting fact that no matter how many times I fill the sink with water and rinse my clothes in it, it always turns muddy.

Moving forwards, I expect to make a brief stop in Glenclif for a resupply (It's 0.3 miles from the trail), and begin to hit some high milage days, as the trail is beginning to get substantially nicer (less roots, rocks, and mud, more dirt) and have less elevation gain (only two real mountains left, then every individual mountain is under 1000 feet above it's surrounding, which really isn't a mountain)

Blessings,
Grizzly

Through the Thunder and the Rain

Made it to Gorham New Hampshire! Successfully completed my first state on the AT, just 13 more to go. Also, about to take my first 6 days off.

Day 22 (June 29) Lightning and Baldplate

Favorite town exchange
between the waiter and me
"Sir, more water?" "Yes."

Sleeping in is great
doubly when it avoids
morning thunderstorms

Sleeping past seven
awful idea because
PM lightning storm

Lightning at the peak
decided not to die here
guess I'll hike back down

It rained a little. Everything was kind of wet. But also pretty

Description:
This morning, I awoke (very tired) to a thunderstorm. The folks at Pine Ellis said the storm should blow over by 11 AM, so I decided to wait until the 9 AM shuttle instead of the 7 AM shuttle. This was a mistake (though the breakfast at the dinner was fabulous).

After hiking my first 4 miles, I passed a shelter and began climbing Baldpate, which has 1.5 miles of exposed rock on a hilltop. Unfortunately, I needed to ascend through rain while hearing thunder (about 2 miles away, so probs fine). There were many excellent views as I climbed. Also a rappelling rope and a couple ladders. See pictures.

The rope and later made climbing this rock easy. The torrent of water going down it (see minor water fall on left) made it harder.

After making a false summit with an ~300 degree view from which I could observe the storm and weather from above most of the clouds. There were a pair of thunderclouds on either side of the mountain I was hoping to finish climbing. I broke for a lunch and 'hope it passes' break.

Looking back while climbing: worth it

View from a bald peak looking left of the mountain I'm contemplating climbing

After eating, I saw that there was now a thundercloud forming behind the mountain, on the ridgeline I'd need to hike along. Settling back to watch I looked back down the trail... and saw a cloud forming and coming up the trail I had just taken.

Deciding that blind on an exposed patch of rock in the middle of a cloud during a thunderstorm wasn't where I wanted to be, and that I also didn't want to hike into a thundercloud, I hiked back down. It was discouraging and my boots got soaked. I also passed two other hikers who just decided to keep going.

The view from the path I came up before that mist turned into a full blown cloud (full blown cloud picture not taken because of frantic scramble to get down the mountain)

By the time I got back down to the lean-to  (a hard and bruising feat given the terrain and effective river I hiked down in) my boots were squelching up to my ankles.

Stats:
Milage: 4.5 miles
Elevation change: 1500 feet up, 500 feet down
Boots: damp and the duct tape is wearing off (again)
Slept with: Gonzo, Cinder, Booty, Troubadour, a lightning storm, and a leaking shelter

Day 23 (June 30) Summit success!

Baldpate post-storm view
multiple hilltop vistas
wind and clouds above

Description:
Today, we attack the mountain again! This time with soaking boots and socks! But with clear(ish) skies and dry(ish) ground. Also a lot of wind.

I tried to recreate some of the pictures I took yesterday, but it was rather windy and cold and I didn't want to get caught in another storm in case it got bad again. Took plenty of pictures though.

Much more clear (similar location to picture directly above this one)

No thunderclouds through the trees today

Finally reached the top

Eventually, I passed through and rested a bit (mostly to let my feet and boots dry a little, the trenchfoot was coming back.

After a meal, I pressed on to my second mountain for the day. This one is well traveled by day hikers, so had a pretty well maintained trail up it. My feet were getting the wrinkles again, so I stopped for a moment and changed into my chacos for the first mile descent down the other side of the mountain. Turns out it was sheer rock. Was moderately perilous and aggravatingly slow (did impress several NOBOs though).

An interesting formation of discolored rock. Coincidentally right on a popular day hikers trail too!

After going just over a mile (and taking over an hour), I reached the pay for stay shelter (where I was not planning on staying because I'm a cheap guy), and changed back into my boots for the remaining 3 mile descent.

It... was perilous. Turns out that section of the trail might be the most dangerous, and it was wet from the night before... and my boots have terrible traction. Much sliding on my butt was done. But eventually I made it to the campsite I was shooting for.... or.... at least a couple of trees I could hang my hammock in (found out the next day we hadn't quite reached the campsite)

Stats:
Milage: 12.8
Elevation change: 4000 feet up, 4000 feet down
Slept with: Troubadour, Cinder, and a dead tree.

Day 24 (July 1) The notch

[No haikus from here on]

For the past 100 miles or so, I've heard about the 'hardest mile' alternatively referred to as the 'funnest mile.' Today I went through it. It's about a mile of a tumbled boulder pit through a notch canyon. There were caves and ice. Also 12 foot drops and rappelling down trees. It was excellent, though my arms got pretty tired by the end. Took about an hour and 45 minutes to make it all the way through.

Welcome to Mahoosuc Notch. It eats trekking poles.

With a side of pack straps

Served with ice

Looking back on my first rappelling tree in the Notch

Some of the caverns to go through. Also: blazes!

Looking out of the notch

After that, I decided to go a little short, so went just to the boarder of Maine and New Hampshire, rather than passing into NH, as was my initial plan.

Maine: who put a bog on top of this mountain? Also: can you find the terrifyingly over laden AMC worker?

Turns out this was a great idea, because 30 minutes after I stopped, it started thundering and raining. I was safe in a waterproof shelter. Also it turned out the ball of my feet were both blisters (can't feel my feet much when hiking, so didn't really notice until I'd taken a couple hours break)

See the discoloration on the ball of my foot? That's one blister.

Stats:
Milage: 7.1
Elevation change: 2000 feet up, 1500 feet down
Slept with: Cinder, Gonzo (showed up at 10 PM soaking wet), and the soothing sounds of a thunderstorm that isn't threatening to kill you

Day 25 (July 2) Farwell Maine!

Time to leave Maine! Just .5 miles left!

Huh. That looks like a straight up untamed mountain.

*20 minutes of climbing later*

Yeah... I must be off trail again... let's backtrack.

*10 minutes of climbing down later*

...nope. That was the trail. Guess I'll go climb it. Again.

*30 minutes of climbing and one 5 foot fall with a couple bruises later*

Success! First .1 miles of the day done! At this rate, I'll only get 1 mile from a 10 hour hike, but that's still enough to leave Maine. YOU CAN'T STOP ME MAINE! (Maine and I have a mildly antagonistic relationship)

One thing I will say: you really notice the difference between different groups maintaining the AT. Most of Maine was maintained by the Maine Appalachian Trail Conservatory (MATC), a volunteer organization which, while understaffed, knew what they were doing. The trail was always pretty clear where you should go, there were things to help on sheer rock, but there were a few more fallen trees on the trail than one would prefer. The southern part of Maine and New Hampshire are maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club, a membership based organization sustained by dues and absurdly overpriced campsites. They hire teenagers who don't know what they're doing to maintain the trail. So often the trail is not blazed well and it's a guessing game where the trail goes. They also pander to weekend hikers (who spend $130 per night to stay on a mountain), so sections that only thru hikers use aren't maintained, but are just sheer rock or some such nonsense.

The AMC and I disagree about what a "trail" is. This picture was taken with my phone pointing straight outward. The trail just goes up.

After passing the much easier travelled trail (including the appropriately muddy boarder), I met up with Gonzo and Cinder at the next shelter for lunch. Gonzo's sister and her husband were coming to join them for the day... and promised to pack in food... and they invited me. So, I went to the campsite 7 miles before Gorham with them rather than the town proper.

The steak fajitas were delicious.

ME-NH border. Appropriately: over a bog bridge on a mountain

Stats:
Milage: 10.1
Elevation change: 1000 feet up, 2000 feet down

Day 26 ( July 3 ) Gorham!

After a suitably late morning to sleep off the party last night, I finally hit the trail around 10 AM. Honestly, this part of the trail was kind of boring and I just wanted to get into Gorham.

Wilderness!

Interestingly, the last half mile or so of the trail was along actual roads. It felt like a foreign world. I didn't have to avoid rocks and roots.

Must have been a big beaver

When I got into Gorham, I got the last bunk at the White Mountain Lodge (the best hiker hostel in town). Once there, I met up with a bunch of the SOBOs who had gotten ahead of me, there were 20 of us staying at WML. Also: we had a Walmart. Walmart is a huge and terrifying place. Definitely wanted a map and got lost. Found the Ramen eventually though, so it all worked out.

Stats:
Milage: 7.2 miles
Elevation change: 1000 feet up, 2500 feet down
Slept with: showers, full bellies, and friends

Day 27 (July 4) The slacking NoBo SoBo

I decided to try 'slack packing' 21 miles from one entrance to Gorham to the other. That said, I decided to do it over 2 days, so still took some gear (end pack weight was about 25 lbs, a little over half what it normally is).

Right from the start, I felt much more spry. The first mile flew by, and once I hit the first mountain, I went pretty fast up the side (propelled in part by a very filling breakfast and headphones from Walmart).

They explained the view

Eventually, I passed a gondola that some people use to get to the top of the mountain to hike (doesn't really make sense to me: it's only about 2000 feet above the road). After that, I started passing some day hikers who kept saying "happy 4th" instead of "happy hiking." Weirdos.

First sighting of the hiker hut. Right side of view blocked by a pack of day hikers

Eventually, I reached a 'hikers hut.' Which are fairly common in the Whites (this mountain range). They are massive constructs with purified water and stoves and a full-time work force. They also cost $130 to stay for a night (though they also have work for stay, which I'll likely do later). This one let me fill up my water and fed me their leftovers from a couple days ago! I ate turkey and lasagna and peas as lunch on a hike! It was great.

Mt. Washington. I'll tackle that mountain next week. And not in a car up the road

While eating, two NoBos came in and also filled up on food and water. I wound up hiking my remaining 7 miles with them that day and was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't have any real problems keeping up with them (and their normal packs are the weight of my slack pack).

I guess the views were ok

We made the campsite I was aim8ng for, though the NoBos pushed another 6 miles to another free campsite (this one cost $10).

I decided to just sleep instead of try to see the fireworks from the ridgeline, but disaster struck! For the past week, I had heard Cinder and Gonzo talk about a hiker, Banshee, they had hiked with for a while. He got his name because his snores sound like a shrieking Banshee. He showed up to our shelter, and I can confirm: his name fits. I can also confirm I only slept from midnight to 3 AM. Did get to see the fireworks after all though.

Stats:
Milage: 13.1
Elevation change: 5000 feet up, 4000 feet down
Slept with: didn't sleep

Day 28 (July 5) back to Gorham

This morning, I was up and out pretty early, wanting to get back to Gorham and a bed without many sounds. So, I left camp at around 5:45 AM, made the final ascent, then descended back to Gorham. It was quite tame. Once in Gorham, I caught the NoBos I had hiked with yesterday, and chatted with them for a bit before going back to the WML for a shower and bed.

Stats:
Milage: 8 miles
Elevation change: 1000 feet up, 3000 feet down
Slept with: showers and sheets.

Now, I'm going to take a zero tomorrow and hang out in Gorham (the hostel is a little outside of town), then take a bus to Boston, then a plane to CA, then go to a wedding, then fly back to Boston, then bus back to Gorham, then resume hiking. I should be back on the trail on July 12 (and will get to a town a while after that). I'm hoping Moose, Peaches, Camp Shoes, and Double Dip pass me while I'm gone (or at least catch up) so I can hike with them when I return.
Until then, stay safe.

Blessings,
David "Mad Scientist" Martin

P.S. my actual trail name is only and has only been "Grizzly," but I enjoy recording other things people have called me, and I write my haikus in logbook signing them Pretty Toes because they're for Camp SHOES who likes to call me that.

P.P.S the wedding was great, and civilization is shell shocking because there are too many people and things and people stay awake past sundown and sleep past sunup. Fortunately, it turns out having a giant unkempt beard and smelling like you haven't showered for a week and only own one pair of clothing is fairly good protection against random people trying to interact with you. From intermittent texting, I have determined that Moose, Camp Shoes, Double Dip, and Peaches have all passed Pinkham Notch (where I'll be starting). I dropped some weight from my pack and am ready to start catching up to them in two days (once my flight to Chicago, flight to Boston, bus to Gorham, shuttle to a hostel, then shuttle to the trailhead are finished).