I wake a little later than my usual at 5, and by the time I get packed, brush my teeth, collect the bear can from the bear box, and hike back up the side trail, I'm back on the Appalachian Trail at 7am, just as the sun breaks over the mountain ahead.
There's a chill in the air this morning; not surprising in the mountains of New England. I hike with my fleece on for a little while but I'm soon shedding layers as I start climbing up to Mount Moriah.
The sky is blue and clear and the sun is shiny brightly. There's a light breeze blowing just enough to stir the plants. It's promising to be an absolutely gorgeous day.
The climb up Moriah is steep over the next thousand feet, but it's usual by White Mountain standards. Along the way I stop to take in the breathtaking views. I can see The Northern Presidentials from Mount Washington to Mount Madison behind The Carters which I climbed yesterday. It's so amazing to look out and see what I've accomplished for the last two days.
I have cell service and I sit in the sun on a rock ledge to send pictures to my family chat, as well as to Buttercup and Martian. I hope they had views like this when they hiked through here. This is the last mountain of the Whites, and this is the perfect send off.
The descent down Mount Moriah is very steep. I will lose a total of 3,300 feet over the next six miles, but the bulk of that will be in the first two miles. Thankfully the rocks are nothing like coming down off Carter yesterday. I am able remain upright and step down on boulders most of the way, although it's really hard with one pole, so sometimes I have to reach down with my free hand to hold on to rocks or grab trees to prevent a fall.
I pass a woman with a day pack hiking up the trail towards me. She stops and asks me a lot of questions about my hike and she is curious as how old I am. When I tell her that I will be 57 in two weeks she tells me that I'm amazing and this is something that she wants to do and I'm an inspiration.
I continue down the mountain buoyed by her kind words. I have a couple of rocky stream crossings which are quite easy, and the trail becomes so much easier! I'm actually able to enjoy a walk through the woods instead of worrying constantly about about each step, something which I have done almost every minute of hiking for the last two weeks.
The woods are beautiful birch and beach and spruce. The ground under foot is soft with leaf litter and spruce needles, although there are still plenty of rocks to walk around. It's easy going and I send Dad a message that I should arrive by 1pm at US Route 2. This will be the only road crossing for the next 31 miles, so he is treating me to a town day and a room!
The trail crosses the Rattle River, which looks to be quite low judging by the huge smooth boulders in the river bed, but even at low water the river has a number of amazing pools that would be perfect for an afternoon dip on a hot day. The trail then walks directly up to the Rattle River Shelter; a standard no-frills forest service shelter, but it's well maintained with a fresh coat of paint.
The next two miles passes quickly on the very easy and almost level trail, and I am at the Rattle River Trailhead on time at 1 pm. Just before the parking lot I see a cooler with trail magic and a congratulatory sign for making 1,900 miles! Less than 300 to go!
Dad is waiting for me and he takes some pictures before I load up into his truck for the trip into town to take a shower and resupply for the next three days. He spreads towels on the seats for my dirty backpack and my dirtier body.
The drive into town is short and we go to lunch at a riverside restaurant where I eat an entire pizza and some chicken wings before going to his hotel room to shower while my electronics charge. I pack three days of food in the bear can before loading up and returning to the trail.
I am dropped off at the trail head parking area where he picked me up and we say goodbye. I am not sure where I will camp tonight, so I will hike until I find a suitable spot.
The trail is a road walk for the next mile and it's unseasonably hot in this part of New Hampshire. Loaded with 3 days of food and four liters of water, I am struggling with the weight of my pack in this heat.
Soon the trail enters the woods but the trail then goes straight up the mountain for a thousand feet over the next 2 miles. I have to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. I consider sitting in the shade for an hour or two for the heat to dissipate, but there are no boulder climbs, so I press on.
Three miles from where I hopped back on the trail I come to a flattish area in the woods that looks like it floods frequently, so it is relatively open. There is no rain in the forecast tonight so this looks like a great place to call it quits for the day.
I get set up and have a half hour to sit on the edge of my hammock and update my blog and played Sudoko, which for some weird reason tends to calm my mind for bed.
I am out 20 minutes after sunset.
Today's Stats: 10 miles, 2,200 feet gain
Trail Stats: 1,902 miles, 385K feet gain
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