Now that's what I call hiking!

Hello from Gorham, NH and mile 1,879. Only 298 miles to go and only a days walk to the Maine border! We are heading into the last state tomorrow and are looking forward to some of the best terrain of the trip. A lot has happened since my last email, so here goes as quick as I can type(since I am paying a dollar/ 1/2 hour at the Gorham library).

So, New Hampshire is AMAZING. What a treat to hike its' beautiful mountains. After Hanover, we took a day off in Glencliff, NH at the Hikers Welcome Hostel to give Kris time to rest from her cold and heal my heel (wet socks and boots are not a good combination and my heel looked like someone took a potato peeler to it!) We got a free stay because it needed "a woman's touch" and we definitely gave it that. The hostel was owned by a guy named "Packrat" and, boy, did his name fit him well. Kris and I spent probably two hours alphabetizing his huge VHS and DVD collection. A lot of dusty work, but worth a free zero day and a nights stay with a bed and a hot shower.

The next day we entered the Whites and hiked Mt. Moosilauke (first time above tree line on the AT). I'm told it's a beautiful view, but we were completely socked in and fighting against the blowing winds on its' rocky summit. It was cold, wet and I couldn't even see Kris when she was right in front of me. The weather continued to kick our butts as we entered the Whites (notorious for crazy weather). One day after a night long rain storm, we finally crawled out of our soaking tents to face the day. Everything was flooded and we had to ford creeks that had grown to roaring rivers overnight. We spent the day climbing up the wet, slippery rock walls with waterfalls flowing under our every step. At one point we had to straddle a fallen tree to cross the raging water. What happened to good ole' bridges? We summited Kinsman mountain at 4 pm and with only 4 miles down (!!) we decided to call it a day and rest our tired bodies for what was ahead.

Luckily, the Whites and the Presidentials rewarded us for all our hard work. Mt. Washington has cloud cover 247 days out of the year and only 40 clear days total. We had 7 in a row. We hiked along Franconia Ridge (awesome), Mt. Lafayette and Mt. Garfield under blue skies and a warm sun. We could see Mt. Washington three days before we even summited. Unbelievable.

The next day we practically had the mountains to ourselves. After 3 pm we didn't see a soul and we felt like we were in a ghost town....on the moon. What a cool place to hike and have no one around. We traversed the rocky, exposed summits of the Presidentials by following rock cairns (piles of rocks to show you the way since there are no trees to paint blazes on) with Mt. Washington in perfect view in the distance ALL day. That night we watched a sunset all to ourselves and stayed in the Lakes of the Clouds Hut's "Dungeon". It's an emergency bunker that they can't close and even though the hut is boarded up for the winter we stayed in one of the coolest places in the Whites for FREE. It pretty much is the basement and someone said "well, I guess it's better than dying out here." It does kind of look like a dungeon and smells a little, but I've stayed in worse out here. It's definitely a thru-hiker tradition :)

The Whites offer a series of huts (glorified hostels that run 89$ a night/ per person) with a crew of collegians who cook and clean up after you. There are also tent sites for 8$ a night/ per person. We had a successful relatively cheap stay all the way through. Two campsites, one work-for-stay hut, three "stealth" tent sites and two huts that were closed for the season that we stayed on the grounds anyway.

The next morning we woke early, summited Mt. Washington before 9 am and didn't see anyone all morning....until the cog railway and the Mt. Washington Auto Road opened for the day. Pretty quickly it felt like Grand Central Station and we had to wait 10 minutes to take our picture next to the summit sign because everyone who drove up had formed a line. Back on the trail, we finished up the Presidentials, tackled the Wildcats and the Carters and headed into town for a much needed zero day. Last night and tonight we are staying at "The Barn at Libbys" in downtown Gorham. We are literally sleeping in the barn attached to the fancy B&B. It's big and old, but warm and cozy nonetheless.

Well, on to Maine. I'll be at my Dad's house in 3 days and heading on to the elusive Mt. Katahdin. I am almost sad to see this journey end. Hopefully, I can write one more time before I finish up...
Keep us in your thoughts.

All my love
Sarah

PS if you know anyone who might like to read these stories or you just want to see some funny pictures check out thesarahjones.blogspot.com. I finally updated it at the Hikers Welcome.