Well, here I am in Lincoln taking another zero, much earlier than I had planned, but it seemed like a good thing to do with severe thunder storms forecasted. It payed off, we did end up with some thunderstorms and rather than on an exposed ridge line, I was sitting happily inside a Dunkin Doughnuts. I’m staying at the Notch Hostel, a very comfortable place much like the Green Mountain House in Mancester Center. They also have a full kitchen here, but I didn’t take full advantage of it because it’s difficult to cook for just one. Golly is ahead I believe, her brother came out to hike the Whites with her. Bumble Bee had to take another zero in Hanover due to shin splints, so I don’t know where she is. Lt Dan also zeroed in Lincoln, but he ended up staying someplace else. I’m sure I’ll run into them all again.
The Whites are definitely no joke. I expected the worst, and that didn’t quite prepare me. The best analogy I can think of is this: for the last 5 months I’ve developed a super power. I can hike like nobody’s business. Three miles an hour for an entire day, alright. 22 miles, sounds good. Now it’s hard to get a 1.5 mile an hour pace. It’s like the Whites are made of kryptonite. The fix is going to be a combination of less miles per day, and twice as much chocolate. It’s definitely going to take all I got to make this happen.
Since my last update, I’ve watched a sunset and moonrise in a fire tower, almost got stuck in a gas station, and saw a moose! A lot more has happened, but I don’t have a ton of time, sorry. The sunset and moonrise was atop smarts mountain. I got there just in the nick of time, and it was spectacular! It was the first view of the White’s, and the clouds made for a quite dramatic scene. The fire tower was my final destination for the day, there was a small shelter right near the base. I’m not a shelter person, but it was nice to have a place to crash without having to deal with my tent.
The moose was sighted at the top of Mt Moosilauke, how fitting. Unfortunately the moose was injured somehow, I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason why I saw him. He was just about 10 ft off the trail, and at first I wasn’t sure what to do. After standing there for about 10 min talking to her, I just walked by. She just stood there, but I didn’t want to bother her and left. I did get some good photos though.
The getting stuck at the gas station story was just bad luck with hitching. Eventually I got a ride, but it was pretty late in the evening. I almost considered road walking at one point.
Tomorrow I’ll be going over Kinsman Ridge, which I am very excited about. Equally exciting is that good weather is forecasted. It should make for some spectacular scenery. Hopefully I’ll be able to do another update in Gorham NH, at the end of the Whites. Expect lots of amazing photos!
-Orion
Beautiful sunset.
If you see a ranger you should ask if your moose’s behavior is typical. Her ears are back, so she doesn’t look too happy.
Stay safe.
Mom
I live in NH. That’s typical moose behavior. Give them a wide berth. Not sure what made you think it was injured, moose can be in the trail all the time. Sometimes they will run off, sometimes they will just watch you pass.
I was just surprised she was okay with us being so close.