June 7
End: Rattle River Shelter
Miles: 27.0
Total: 3746.4
I succeeded in staying warm all night despite the frigid atmosphere in the dining room. In the morning I didn’t waste too much time at the hut. I was out the door soon enough and back out on the rocks.
My morning had me hopping rocks up Mt. Madison, which was quite cool and a bit misty. The difficult terrain continued for a few miles, and then I descended down and found my way to Pinkham Notch, which felt almost like civilization. I didn’t stop for anything, preferring to keep on hiking in an attempt to exit the White Mountains.
I was trying to keep track of where I was and how far I had to go, but it was a bit difficult. Stopping to take some time to sort out my food plans for almost the rest of the whole AT, I lost some time but was determined to stick with my original plan for the day. I resigned myself to keep plowing away on the steep climb up Wildcat. On the way I passed yet another ski lift, but was dismayed by my slow pace.
Finally I descended to Carter Notch Hut, where I grabbed water, talked briefly with the staff, and then moved on. I did yet another climb up to Carter Dome. I was getting a little tired, but thankfully the trail to Mt. Moriah was just a little bit of going up and down.
I attempted to get down off of the mountain rapidly, but the descent was hairy and involved many large drops off of rock slabs which took considerable time. I was forced to go slowly to avoid an injury, and darkness started creeping towards me. I got down from most of the rocks, but still had a ways to go to the shelter I was attempting to reach.
The trail was wet and muddy, and I really didn’t want to get my feet wet. They had been wet every day for at least a week and they needed to dry out badly. I had to get my headlamp out eventually, and I kept on going. The trail crossed water twice, forcing me to hop rocks across a roaring brook a couple of times, guided by only my headlamp. Hitting a straight section, I charged ahead only to find myself walking down a stream where the trail was supposed to be.
I attempted to avoid getting my feet wet, but it was inevitable. Soon enough I stepped in a nice deep mud section and had to just continue on. My only hope was to somehow get to the shelter. It seemed to be taking forever, but I did get there sometime after nine in the evening. I met a section hiker there, and cooked dinner before going to bed. I had finally left the miserable White Mountains.
