|
Aug
23 , 1983 Tuesday (360.6 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
Took
my time getting going this morning after the big breakfast. Most
guests had left by the time I got around to leaving. This was something
quite unprecedented. Usually I was one of the first ones out. The
trail woke me up with its three quarter mile steep climb up to South
Twin Mountain. The sky was still overcast in the wake of yesterdays
rainstorm, and there were no view to be had as I reached the summit.
Several people were there waiting for the skies to clear, and it
looked as thought it might. I told everyone up there that I wasn't
waiting around, and that if I left the weather would surely clear.
I headed on down the trail gradually descending toward Mt. Guyot
a few miles away. The weather did clear up later in the day, and
perhaps broke up a bit after I left, but I had to move on and was
rewarded with a terrific view of Whitewall Mountain from Zeacliff,
a mile or so before arriving at Zealand Falls Hut.
I reached the hut and decided to take a break, eat my lunch and
relax before moving on. I was still being nagged by that tiny pea
sized blister on the back of my Achilles tendon. I decided to pop
the blister, which was located right under the collar of my boot
and continued to be aggravated by the boot top on every step. I
don't really know what it was, a bug or spider bite maybe, but the
puss that came out of that little blister filled the air with the
most foul smelling odor that I had smelled in a long time - even
worse than "The Trailwalker." Now that the blister was
gone, the boot did not seem to touch as much and I now felt relief.
While at the Zealand Falls Hut, I met Bruce's wife and his other
gorgeous daughter! She was more my age, but the other was better
looking, although this one was no slouch. I picked up a tip at the
hut about a former thru-hiker named Dan Harty that puts up hikers
near Crawford Notch. This sounded interesting, so I said goodbye
to the ladies and continued on past Zealand Falls, down to the valley
floor, where along the base of Whitewall Mountain the trail followed
an old railroad bed beside Whitewall Brook. I stopped in at Ethan
Pond Shelter to check it out and read the register. The Shelter
was located directly beside a nice little pond and seemed like a
very nice place to stay. I discovered and studied some interesting
Amanita mushrooms growing nearby that had just come up.
From there I began the descent into Crawford Notch and route 302
laid at the lowest point. Once at the road, I hitched a ride to
a place where I could telephone the Harty's. I spoke to a female
who said that Don was not home, but someone would be by to pick
me up later. Don's father came and offered me a ride to Don's house.
To my surprise I had talked to Kathy,
who I had hiked with back near Damascus, Virginia! Along with her
was Ron,
who I also had met back then. A couple of new people I had not met
were there also: Claude
Griffith "The Maximus", Nick
Schmidt , and Susan
"Lan A.T. Hiker" Parsons sometimes known as Space
Kadet. I was able to shower up, and feel at home as we had a great
feast that night, and I took the opportunity to contact Pinkham
Notch Camp to cancelled my reservations for Mizpah hut this evening
that I had made earlier. I then scheduled a spot at Lake of the
Clouds Hut for tomorrow night. That night I heard about a black
thru-hiker named Winston Lumsdon, who was headed south on the trail.
He was described as quite a character, and was the first African-American
long distance hiker that I had ever heard of. Kathy had left her
camera at Madison Hut, a hut that I had not even reached yet. Apparently
they were not hiking in a "straight down the trail in one direction"
kind of hike. I guess that is how they ended up being ahead of me.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
|
