09/02

I have a lot to catch you up on. The time on trail is moving quick and I’m desperately trying to keep up. I promise I’ll eventually fill in the blanks. For now, enjoy tonight’s entry : My first day in the Whites.

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Ouch. They said the Whites would be hard and I think they undersold it. By far the most challenging 15 miles we’ve done on trail. At this point, I consider the previous 1,800 miles and 5 months “conditioning” for this moment. By moment, I of course mean the next 8 days. The White Mountain Range or “Whites” has been a far off bridge to cross for most of the trail. Something we knew was coming, like a hurricane forming out at sea. Now, we’ve made landfall. Crashing into 7000 ft + elevation days, giant boulders, and trails so steep they stapled rebar into the rocks for hand rails. A poor, inadequate offering of help, but I’ll take it. Mt. Moosilauke, standing at 4,780ish feet, was a beast. Reaching the summit after a 4mile climb, we were rewarded with one of the best, if not the best views we’ve had on trail. This one felt special. I was both in awe of the mountains laid out before me and terrified knowing I’d have to climb them. The descent proved to be the biggest obstacle of the day. Most of the trail ran beside a water fall. Beautiful yes, but also “deadly” as JukeBox put it. With sheer rock faces, coated in mud and riddled with roots, one wrong step and you’d find yourself tumbling down the cascading boulders below. Making it back to the base of the mountain was a small victory considering we had to go right back up and over the next. According to our map Wolf Mt. was supposed to be “easier” but I learned months ago that nothing on the A.T is easy. The path before us felt more like an obstacle course than a trail. If I’m honest, I’m surprised I made it to camp unscathed. Sure my body is sore, and I’m exhausted to the point of lunacy, but for all intents and purposes it wasn’t that bad… I guess. Lately on trail anytime I find myself thinking “my body doesn’t hurt right now” I knock on the nearest piece of wood. Fist bumping trees for the past few hundred miles must be doing something, and once again, I’ll take all the help I can get. Laying in my tent now sleepy and sore. Trying hard not to think about what tomorrow has in store.