Paralympic Flashback

My post for August 6th in the White Mountains was titled More Of Same. Here's the whole post, reproduced for you:

Not much to note today really, except that I dodged two rainfalls by hanging out in huts where I met lots of nice families. Unfortunately, I left my map at the last one so I'm now mapless until Hanover.

That's it. I didn't get into any details, even though, in many ways, this was one of the most interesting days on the trail.

I think I was just too tired to get into details.

But today, a year and a half later, I'm going to fill one of those details in.

What I didn't mention is that one of the families I met and chatted with at length at one of the huts was Dannelle Umstead's. Her kids were wearing Australia green and gold caps, and when I asked about it they explained that it's because their mom travels a lot.

She travels a lot because she's a visually impaired Paralympic skier. She skied for the US Paralympic Team in Vancouver and Sochi and has three paralympic medals to show for it.

And today, she skis again representing the US at the Pyeongchang Paralympic Winter Games.

So I've decided to revisit that blog post just to say how cool it is that I met a paralympian. As much as I love the Olympics, I find the Paralympics about 10 times more inspiring. All olympic and paralympic athletes achieve levels of athleticism that most of us can only dream of - but paralympic athletes do it toiling in relative obscurity and with a tiny fraction of the financial support that other olympians get.

So I'll be watching the Paralympics again this year, and though I'll obviously be cheering for the Canadian athletes first - I'm also looking forward to seeing Danelle at work.

And just because I didn't include a photo last time, here's one I took that day:

Days 45 and 46 - Hanover your gear! (15-16/8/2016)

I arrived in Hanover, went to the post office and discovered that my bounce box is missing. My bounce box holds the next map I need, most of my guide for the trail, cables and such for charging my watch and camera, clothes for town, one of my notebooks, and some other stuff that I'd really prefer to have.

So the last two days have been mostly preoccupied with food and finding my mailbox. So far, no one has any idea where the mail might be. I will say, though, that the USPS staff have been extremely generous with their time and energy. With any luck, it'll turn up soon.

Hanover, NH is easily the most hiker friendly town I've ever been too. One pizza place gives every thru-hiker a free slice of pizza, another bakery gives us a free donut or muffin. There's a community centre that will let you store your pack for the day, and offers cheap showers and laundry. There aren't many hostels, but the local college keeps a list of people who are willing to host hikers (trail angels). It's a busy time, so it took me a while to find someone with space but last night I stayed with the priest at an episcopal church just across the state line in Norwich, Vermont. This means that I've officially passed the 20% mark!

The minister also has a puppy, who woke me up this morning by a) licking my face, and b) stealing my cheese. I got up, had coffee, and joined the minister and her puppy on their morning park visit. God I love dogs.

My attempt to hold my feet together...

There's also some very good options for outfitters, so I've been able to replace my shoes, buy a new shirt, get a map to replace the one in my bounce box, and replace Pouch's rain cover!

I wasn't planning to zero here, but since I'm waiting on news about my mail I'll have to. I could do worse - there are some really nice places for food and drink here, and I haven't had time to try them all yet.

Start: um. Mile 425 or so.
End: Norwich, VT (though to be fair, I took a bus from Hanover to Norwich)
Distance: 18.3 miles

Day 43 - I'm wet! I'm wet and I'm hysterical! (13/8/2016)

The sugar shack was fun, it was nice to be sheltered from the torrential rains that hit in the early evening, and Pete had a pretty cool life story but in the end I probably should have skipped it in favour of some miles. I was (once again) reminded that I don't like shared sleeping arrangements. Late revellers, a couple "caring about each other deeply", and repeated intrusions by people looking for space to set up for the night meant that I didn't get much sleep.

As usual, that meant I was cranky when I woke. A situation not improved by the discovery that both the water and electricity were knocked out by the storms, so there would be no eggs and pancakes for breakfast.

The situation was further not improved by the thunderstorms that came while I was walking. Camping wet probably has some charms, but I have trouble seeing them today. Fortunately I'm not far from Hanover where it will be time for some serious gear shopping - my t-shirt is torn in several places, and my shoes have finally given up.

On a more positive note, the terrain has gotten friendlier making bigger miles easier. Also, the maté tea that my parents sent was amazing! I can't wait to make more.

Start: NH25A (near mile 408.5)
End: Around the 425 mile mark
Distance: 16.5 miles

Days 41 and 42 - Xmas in August (11-12/8/2016)

I hadn't thought I'd have much to talk about these last couple of days, but how wrong I was!

I'd planned to collect a bit of mail in Glencliff, only to discover that a "bit of mail" was:

2 t-shirts
2 tensor bandages
Some safety pins
2 bags of Nibs
4 boxes of smarties
An SHDC adapter for my camera
A USB cable
2 letters from Russia
A bag of maté tea
A rittersport candy bar
Electrolytes
A pound of Italian speck
A pound of Italian parmesan

I took a bit longer to get organised than I'd expected, but last night I had a speck and parm pasta dinner that could rival any Italian restaurant. All I needed was a nice Pinot Grigio.

This morning I set out to do 16-18 miles. I made it 3. A group of hikers waved me over to the truck that had just dropped them off. Indicating the driver, one said "This is Pete. You should go hang out with him for the day."

I paused. I'd just promised friends I'd be in NY in 3 weeks, which already meant 16 mile days.

Then I remembered a decision I made early on: since getting to Georgia wasn't the most important thing on my list, I would take advantage of any opportunities that could prove interesting. This seemed like one of those.

Pete, it turns out, is the son of a former state Governor who runs a sugar shack. For decades he has had hikers sleep in his shack in the summer, giving them free coffee, pancakes and maple syrup. Let me repeat that: pancakes and maple syrup, from the very shack I'm sleeping in, are FREE!

So here I sit, on the porch of a sugar shack, stuffed with pancakes and sipping beer, having completed only 13 miles in 2 days.

Life is good.

MacGruber, Sweetfeet, & Trotter at the sugar shack

Start: Mooselaucke peak
End: Mt Cube Farm
Distance: 13.5 miles

Day 40 - Eerie Silence (10/8/2016)

After all the meet ups yesterday, today I met a new hiker, Cookie Monster, who is another academic in the field of music. It's always good to commiserate with other academics and discover that our frustrations are cross-disciplinary.

More importantly, I summited Mooselaucke, which is the last mountain in the Whites, and the last 4,000' peak we'll see for a long time. All day was rain and clouds, but just as I was climbing to the top, the weather cleared. I was happy that I'd get some views as my days in the whites came to an end. Strangely, as I approached the peak, I could see th at it was in clouds. I was in the bright sunshine, and only a few hundred yards away it was clearly cloud covered. The light was an eerie orange-yellow because the sun was so close by, and yet visibility was limited.

The strangest moment came as I started to descend from the top. I was walking along a track between some short pines (still above the tree line) when I noticed an eerie silence. I stopped, an there was nothing to hear but ny own breathing and moving. No birds, no insects. Not even the rustling of leaves in a breeze, or the whistling of wind currents. This strange silence in the clouds felt really ominous. Luckily there was never more than the sense of strangeness, but it was a eemarkable.thing to experience.

Start: mid North & South Kinsman Peaks
End: 1 mile past Mooselaucke peak.
Distance: 15 miles

Days 38 & 39 - (8-9/8/2016)

Two interesting days. First, my plan had been to pop into Lincoln, do a quick resupply/laundry/library blog update, get some food, and move on. That plan died almost as soon as I arrived. I loved this little town. A woman with her baby in the passenger seat of her pickup let me ride in the box and took me to North Woodstock where  I had a wamlette for breakfast (an omelette served on top of a waffle). Then I headed to the Lincoln library where I spent 2 hrs on the computer updating the blog and uploading photos. [Can I just throw a quick shout out to Public Libraries everywhere? Support yours.]

Then I met Brendan. Brendan is a heavy drinking, middle-aged businessman who struck up a conversation with me at a brewpub that, strangely, did not serve any of its own beers. It turns out that Brendan was a high-flying "Wolf of Wall Street" type real-estate mogul who was adapting to small town life and missing his power-brokering, deal-making days. He drew a stark contrast to the way that I live my life, and while he seemed on the one hand jealous of me, I couldn't help but think that he'd probably hate living the way I do. He liked his Porsche, million dollar mansion [large enough to drunkenly land a helicopter in the yard, if needed, which he had at one point], and expensive watch. As much as I'd like some of those things too, I'm not sure the lifestyle would suit me anymore than my lifestyle would have suited Brendan. It's good to meet peopl who live differently sometimes to help you see why you make the choices you do.

That night, I decided I'd had enough of hostels for now so I splurged on a "cheap" motel (it's peak season in Lincoln, so cheap was relative). Did I mention I liked this place? Even the next day, it took me almost 6 hours to finally leave town.

Which, it turns out was lucky!

While walking along the trail, thinking about the usual (food, where would I sleep, food, etc...) I came upon a speedy trail walker/runner who, from a distance, seemed familiar somehow. When he got closer, I recognized Jesse, an old friend from undergrad whom I hadn't seen more than once or twice in the 15 years since those days! He did a double take, we hugged, and then sat down had a good long chat. Jesse [Slacker] is a longtime ultra marathon and trail runner and just happened to be taking a summer break to visit and run some of the White Mountains. It was amazing to run into someone so randomly, here in the wilds of New Hampshire.

Me and Slacker

Shortly after, Timber and Legs showed up (they'd met Slacker the night before at a hostel). After days of no familiar faces, I was now surrounded by on and off trail friends again. All of this was made possible by my failing to leave Lincoln on time, twice.

So to Brendan: Thanks both for the beer, and making it too hard to leave Lincoln. Keep hiking.

Start: Liberty Spring
End: Between North and South Kinsman Peaks
Distance: 8.4 miles

Day 37 - A SOBO Sighting! (7/8/2016)

I'd noticed that it had been a while since I'd seen any of my SOBO buddies. Trout, Timber, Legs, Eskimo, Littlefoot, Wahoo, Pancakes, Silky Bear, Beef Jerky, Kangapard all seemed to be either ahead of or behind me, and not leaving any signs of themselves. To be honest, while I do enjoy solo travel, I was starting to miss familiar faces.

Today I crossed Franconia Ridge. You can find a vlog about it here (look for the video taken on August 7th), so I won't reiterate.

When I got to Liberty Springs tentsite (failing to find a good stealth site on the way), I stumbled across Beef Jerky! A familiar face! He didn't know where Kangapard was anymore, but it was nice to catch up. We hadn't crossed paths in weeks (last seen in Monson).

Tomorrow I head in to Lincoln for a quick resupply then back on the trail, I think.

Oh, and when I woke up this morning I discovered that I had also left my water bottle at the last hut, so I did in fact go back for it and my map.

Start: .5 miles from Galehead hut
End: Liberty Spring tentsite
Distance: 9.8 miles

Day 36 - More of same (6/8/2016)

Not much to note today really, except that I dodged two rainfalls by hanging out in huts where I met lots of nice families. Unfortunately, I left my map at the last one so I'm now mapless until Hanover.

Start: Ethan Pond
End: .5 miles past Galehead Hut (no, I'm not walking back a half mile just for a map)
Distance: 12.3 miles

Day 35 - Hut Life (remix) (5/8/2016)

I'm exhausted. Once again sharing sleeping quarters has meant virtually no sleep. I left too early to get leftover breakfast too, so I just summitted Mt Monroe for a bite to eat. It was a nice, quiet setting.

PB & J, summit style

I set out for Mispah hut for second breakfast leftovers only to find that they had done their jobs too well and there was nothing for me but a slice of bread, unbuttered. Life is hell. I then set out to stealth camp near Crawford Notch, only to find no camping available outside the official sites. $10 poorer, I'm finally in bed.

I'm cranky, but today wasn't all bad. Positives:

1. I met some more day hikers who were really impressed, incl. a group from Chicago who wanted photos.
2. I saw another moose! Ethan, who lives on Ethan Pond is the closest I've been to a moose that still allowed me to take photos.
3. I made an amazing tuna pesto pasta dish for dinner. Glad to add that to my menu.

Start: Lakes of the Clouds

End: Ethan Pond

Distance: 13.9 miles

Ethan the Bull Moose

Day 34 - Yes, Mr. Presidents (4/8/2016)

I take back what I said about the Whites. The NOBOs were right. The 2,800 foot climb to Mt Madison over 2.5 miles nearly destroyed me. I was way behind on my time, so I decided to forego summiting the other presidentials, and just stuck to the AT path. It turns out that first climb (over sharp, irregular rocks) was as bad as it got. Most of the traverse to Mt Washington was much friendlier. That said, it was still a slow slog.

But I made it!

Summit of Mt Washington

There were beautiful views, and I managed another 1.5 miles to Lakes of the Clouds. Despite the fear of crowding, only one other hiker had asked for work-for-stay so that's what I did. Some sweeping and dishes earned me a meal of enchiladas, pumpkin soup, and cream cheese brownies,

Start: 1 mile past Pinkham Notch

End: Lakes of the Clouds hut

Distance: 13.5 (very difficult) miles

Day 33 - Hut Life (3/8/2016)

A bunch of new and interesting experiences today. Now that I'm in the Whites for real, we have access to huts run by the Appalachian Mountain Club.  Guests at these huts pay $100 or more and get dinner and breakfast and a bunk. Hikers without money to burn can benefit from the huts in a couple of ways: 1) Most huts will allow a few hikers to do work-for-stay. You do some dishes and sweep, etc, and then you can have leftovers and sleep in the dining area. 2) Most of the time huts will have a lot of breakfast leftovers (and sometimes some dinner) which they leave out for hikers. They have to pack out whatever garbage there is, so eating leftovers is a bit of a symbiotic relationship. Today, I had leftover oatmeal and lasagna for second breakfast.

Yes, second breakfast is now really a thing that I do most days.

The other new thing today was summiting the Wildcat mountain range. Like the Mahoosuc area, I'd been hearing horror stories about the Wildcats for weeks. Like the Mahoosuc range, it wasn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be - or at least it wouldn't have been if I'd followed the trail. Instead, I did a short section of descent that could fairly be described as climbing down a rock climbing wall with boots instead of climbing shoes, and a 30lb pack on my back. It is the only time so far that I have been truly afraid. When I made it safely, I high-fived Pouch for not dragging me to my death and then noticed a suspiciously safe looking path just off to my left.

Where I descended

Where I was meant to descend

The rest of the descent was uneventful.

I also met a a nice guy named John who sort of collects Thru-Hikers. If you're reading this, John: Hi!

When I got to Pinkham Notch, I hung out at the Visitor Centre for a few minutes where I met Tim, from Allentown PA. We chatted about trail life and buddhism, and he sent me on my way with his contact info if I need help in PA, and bit of whiskey to hold me over for the next few days. I also tried his homemade chili-infused vodka and we talked about theatre, buddhism, and another trail in the south of Japan. The vodka was amazing, and I keep trying to imagine what Dave or Pete would do with it for a cocktail. It made me miss people off-trail a bit.

All in all a good day. The Whites have lost some of their power, though I have yet to hit the Presidential range, which is where things are supposed to really get tough.

Start: Middle/South Carter
End: 1 mile past Pinkham Notch
Distance: 10.5 Miles

Day 32 - Trail Wizardry (2/8/2016)

After a rest day in Gorham, it's time to hit the White Mountains. I don't know what to expect at all. NOBOs almost look shell-shocked when they talk about it, but all agree the views are spectacular. So far, though, I've found everything to be exaggerated: Nothing is as hard as people say, or as easy.

The toughest thing is the sleeping arrangements. There are many, many rules about camping in New Hampshire, and all official sites involve paying (and are often very crowded). There are huts, where one can do "work-for-stay." I guess I'll just have to figure it all out as I go along. Tonight I'm bedded down in the Wildcat range between two peaks.

The thing that worries me most is hitting the NOBO "Bubble" (a very large group - hundreds - of NOBOs all travelling within a few days of each other). It seems likely I'll hit them in the Whites, so I may take some time off in Lincoln, NH to see if I can let some of the crowd pass me by. The bubble also has a bit of a party reputation, which is not really what I'm after on this trek.

On the plus side, the day started with so much trail magic I'm beginning to think I'm a wizard: free breakfast from a guy who picked me up hitchhiking, pop/soda at the trail head, followed by beer and soda about a half-mile in.

Trail Magic

I also ran into Timber, Legs, Trout, Littlefoot, Eskimo and Papa Eskimo (E's parents are in town to celebrate his 18th birthday). All of them were slack packing the Wildcat range in reverse so I got lots of advice about what was to come. None of it consistent. As usual, I have no idea what's coming.

Day 30 - Moose of Haste (31/7/2016)

Today I had breakfast on Gentian Pond with a moose before racing 12 (relatively easy) miles into Gorham.

I'm not sure the day needs anything more said about it.

Start: Gentian Pond

End: Gorham, NH

Distance: 11.5 miles

Day 29 - out of the frying pan (30/7/2016)

This morning started with the discovery that the soft Platypus 1L container I'd been using to store my birthday whisky had sprung a leak. This left me with two choices: dump the whiskey, or... the thing I did instead.

As it turns out, being (mildly) drunk for most of a hard day makes it tough to cover 14+ miles. Still enjoyed the views though and... got through Maine! One state down, Thirteen to go.

At camp I met Bearfoot, a neurosurgeon who got his name when a small bear poked at his foot while he was sleeping, and his brother Klaus. I may see them again in a few days when they go do a section of the white mountains that they had to skip for weather. ‎

Start: Mahoosuc Notch South (Maine!)

End: Gentian Pond (New Hampshire!)

Distance 11.2 miles (not 15 miles)‎