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Aug
19 , 1983 Friday (413.8 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
I became
aware this morning that the descent from Smarts Mountain, and the
descent from Mt Cube are probably what the rest of the whites would
be like: steep and rocky, no switchbacks, just down. Or up as the
case might be. Mt. Cube's descent was worse than Smarts, being a
little longer in the steep part. As I began hiking more towards
the base I ran across many rubber tubes strung from tree to tree.
It looked like surgical tubing, and it might very well have been,
but this web of rubber was the highway leading to the vats of maple
sap that the folks at the Mt Cube Maple Syrup Farm collected each
spring to boil and produce Pure Maple Syrup. At route 25a, I made
a detour to the right to visit the restaurant at the farm where
the wife of the ex-governor (Mel Thompson) of the state of New Hampshire
was known to serve some of the best pancakes in the world - with
real maple syrup of course. I arrived at the Cube House before eight,
and had to wait a while before being served. As I waited, I talked
with an old gentleman whom I thought was a counselor at Camp Moosilauke,
just down the road. He asked me if I had ever considered being a
camp counselor. I responded that I would like to be, but I really
thought that only those with recreation majors were chosen for that.
He assured me that was not true, and that if I could do something
in particular, such as hiking, I could get a job. I took a name
and address and tucked it away in my pack for later use to try for
a job. I must have looked hungry as I received five rather than
the four pancakes that I ordered. The rumors were correct, these
are the best pancakes on the trail. I managed to consume a piece
of homemade pie and ice cream as well after my pancake breakfast.
A good stop.
I walked back up the road one quarter of a mile to the trailhead
and turned right into the woods and continued to make a gradual
descent toward Upper Baker Pond a few miles north. I remember this
particular section as being the most mosquito infested area along
the entire trail! I hiked as fast as I could and still the little
buggers were able to land on the exposed parts of my body and suck
my blood. I had never seen anything like it, and hoped that I never
would again. I drew a mosquito on my map of the area so I would
never forget where it was. For the remainder of the day the trail
rambled through the woods mostly, with gradual ups and downs and
no real climbing. I passed Walt Witman boys camp as I traveled on
one of the back roads that the trail followed. I reached Glencliff
post office on route 25 before two o'clock. Post offices along the
trail in small towns are amazing and unpredictable. Because I had
gotten there when I did I had to wait until they opened! I met a
couple of other hikers named Ray and Lyle at the post office while
we waited for it to open. They informed me that they intended to
hike on to Beaver Brook Shelter, while I chose to move on only to
Jeffers Brook shelter. I had already traveled 17 miles by the time
I arrived at the shelter, and moving on to the next shelter would
include climbing up Mt Moosilauke, and going down the other side,
adding another 7.6 miles and a big climb at the end of the day.
I was in no hurry, I saw the profile of Mt Moosilauke - the altitude
change involved 3000 feet practically straight up! Welcome to the
White Mountains of New Hampshire!
While at the shelter I read an entry stating that anyone was welcome
to walk down the trail a bit, follow a road off the trail for a
short distance and visit Appalachian Al, a burly, plump fellow who
had a great interest in hiking and particularly the area around
Mt. Moosilauke. I visited with Al for a while, after all he had
the same name as I, before returning to the Jeffers Brook Shelter
for the night. Four southbound hikers spent the night at the shelter
with me. Jeffers Brook shelter had one of the weirdest outhouses
that I had seen so far. Almost like an obstacle course, the user
had to open the door, walk up two or three steps, then down two
or three steps, and then turn around and sit on the ledge. Interesting.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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