Miles Hiked Today - 14.6
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1844.7/2,193 (84.12%)
Garfield Ridge Campsite (1830.1) to Ethan Pond Shelter (1844.7) - tent at Ethan Pond Shelter
Total ascent - 3,067’
Total descent - 4,434’
Total States Completed - 12/14
**Rain - Heavy rain during the hike today. Overcast all day.
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Hiking a full day in the Whites is absolutely exhausting. I started the day at 6:15am and got into camp around 5:30pm. 14.6 miles, 3,067’ vertical, 1 torrential downpour, and constant, steep, technical terrain.
It’s as mentally challenging as it is physically challenging - this is the reason I’m so wiped out at the end of the day. Everything is technical - and steep. You have to concentrate on every step. Where should I place this foot? Is that rock too slick to trust? Where are my hand holds to get up this rock face? You’re constantly thinking about the next move. It’s relentless.
Toward the end of the day - we actual had a 2 mile section that was smooth. Unbelievable! It felt so good just to walk normally. I haven’t done this since entering the Whites. You’re always staggering your steps and stopping to analyze the right line to descend/ascend.
I hiked a bit with Slider and Granger today - they’re a really nice couple. We met up at the Zealand Hut with 4.8 miles to go. We had a burrito and rested. We then walked together coming into the shelter. I’ve been walking independent of Sam the past 2 days. We still meet up and talk about the game plan at the shelter - but she has been coming in a couple hours after me each night. I’ve come to realize - it’s just too hard on me to stay out on the course longer than I have to. 2 additional hours of rest is huge for me. I’m able to have my tent setup, dinner completed, and I’m ready for bed once Sam has been getting to camp. She is super strong - I’m just a little faster on the ascents. It’s harder for me to go so slowly uphill. Having some momentum moving up the rocks can actually save energy (hopefully that makes sense - “an object in motion tends to stay in motion” - I’m thinking engineering comes into play here).
Today I climbed 3 additional 4,000’ peaks (Galehead - 4,024’), (South Twin - 4,902’), (Zealand - 4,260’). That gives me 10 out of the 48 - 4,000’ peaks in NH already. I should get 20/48 by the conclusion of the Whites. Note - I’m actually making a point to gain some of these peaks by going on a side (blue blaze) trail. For example - I had to take a 0.5 mile side trail to the peak of Galehead today. If you just stayed on the AT - you would not have gained this peak. So - I post that I hiked 14.6 miles - it was actually about 1.5 miles more than this because I had to blue blaze to the peak of Zealand as well. Did I mention I’m a goal-oriented guy. Maybe in the future I may decide to get all 48 peaks - why not get as many as I can on this journey. (Maybe 1 day I’ll share with you all my goals - there’s a bunch)
Tomorrow we start the Presidential range. This is a subset of the Whites. I’ll get Jackson tomorrow - then Washington, Pierce, and Madison on Saturday. Sort of a weird fact about the Whites - Lincoln and Garfield are not actually in the Presidential range. Mt Washington is the iconic peak in the Presidential range - it’s the highest of the 48 peaks. I’ll talk more about Washington on Saturday.
OK - got to get some sleep. No cell signal tonight - so I’ll try to post tomorrow on the mountain tops.
Goodnight from a tired, worn-out feller - in the middle of the Whites - 84.12% complete with my journey!
Nice terrain
Here’s what the path looked like after the rain today
I wish every climb had a ladder
A whole bundle of snakes
Neat pic of the clouds
Zealand Peak
Peak of South Twin
Zealand peak
No problems here
Galehead peak
The path was a small river
One of my favorites
0.1 mile blue blaze to Zealand Peak
A few views today
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