8/15/01
Another day, another mountain to climb. Or more! We rolled out of the Osgood tentsite by 9 a.m. and hiked a relatively (keyword is relatively) easy five miles to Pinkham Notch where the AMC has their regional HQ and visitor's center. Since it was nearly lunch time when we arrived and the dining hall featured an AYCE buffet starting at 11:30 a.m., we decided to relax at the center for awhile, then fork out the cash for the buffet. I called Red Pepper to catch up on the home front, then milled around in the visitor's center until the buffet opened. Soon Redneck, Phantom, Finn and four other Nobos, as well as myself, were chowing down on self-made sandwiches and salads. After eating two full plates and two pieces of cheesecake, I didn't feel like hiking in the valley heat. Neither did any of the rest of the Fab 4! After relaxing for an hour and a half in the shade outside the visitor's center, I finally took the first step toward the trail and resumed the hike. Redneck caught up to me at Lost Pond, a mile from the visitor's center and we both took off our packs to sit and take in the magnificent scenery around the pond (with the Presidentials in the background). The serenity and peacefulness of the moment was broken when we resumed hiking and began an extremely steep climb up the initial peak of Wildcat Mtn. The first thousand feet up were covered in only a half mile, with many places along the way nearly vertical. Finally the angle of ascent lessened a little, but the trail was still rugged as we reached Peak E of Wildcat. Redneck and I spent the rest of the afternoon climbing up and over peaks D, C, B and A of Wildcat before Phantom and Finn caught up to us at Peak A. Exhausted, the four of us tackled the steep 1000' descent into Carter Notch where we decided to give the last AMC hut a try, since we had heard from Sobos that the staff was friendly to thru-hikers there.
Upon arrival we learned that only two of the four of us would have an opportunity to participate in the work for stay option, so we decided to backtrack a quarter mile to some campsites we saw along the way. Since water was going to be an issue tomorrow morning, we prepared and ate our dinners outside the hut, then reloaded on water before retracing our steps to find a flat spot in the woods. We had lots of company around us as other Nobos and Sobos and section hikers avoided the $18 bunk cost at the nearby hut as well. We got our shelter set up and the bear bag hung in time before darkness set in, then retreated to our bags in the cool crisp evening air. We only have one more day in the Whites which have really beat up our knees and feet. Even my young compatriots are finally complaining of knee pain from the rugged steep terrain. Here is a wildlife update. Redneck and I saw a spruce grouse up close this afternoon while traversing Wildcat. This species of grouse is endangered, so it was a thrill to finally see one. Other than chipmunks and squirrels, I've seen no major wildlife since the bull moose back in Vermont. I'm sure as we leave the popular Whites behind and enter Maine our encounters with big animals will return. We were treated to a show on Franconia Ridge by two hawks that were divebombing each other and frolicking on the air currents around the tops of the high exposed peaks. The journey is starting to wind down as the miles tick by and I'm ready for it to be over so I can go home. On the other hand, I don't want it to end because the adventure has been so much fun and the Maine woods beckon. It will be interesting to go through the gamut of emotions as Katahdin gets closer and closer. Here are today's stats: low 55, high 80. Sunny. Today's mileage: 10.7; cumulative mileage: 1855.0.
