June 26, 2018
Destination: Rattle River Hostel at Mile 1892.6
Today’s Miles: 20.70
Start Location: Stealth Campsite at Mile 1871.9
Trip Miles: 1892.60
Playing a little catch up here so I’ll keep this brief. I got up early and made it over Wildcat Mountain and to the last Hut at Carters Notch in 3hrs and 40 minutes.
Wildcat had some awesome views and a lot of bouldering to get up its peaks. There was a ski gondola along the trail as well, which reminded me of Vermont. I somehow managed to kill an hour and a half at the hut, eating breakfast leftovers and chatting with the staff. Zoom Zoom rolled in and I rolled out, keen to get going after I realized how long I’d been dawdling there.
I climbed up Carter Dome. At the top there was a cairn, and as I walked towards it, a grouse flew at me from behind it. It startled me, and then she flew at me again! I then saw her little chick toddling around on the ground nearby. I took a picture of the grouse, but didn’t get the chick as I needed to get out of their space. I climbed Mt. Hight after this, which had awesome 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, including Mt Washington and the Presidentials. Next were South, Middle and North Carter Mountains, and then Mt Moriah. It was a long day of ups and downs and steep ridge line scrambles! I had amazing weather and views and just kept on trucking, all the way down to Rattle River Hostel. I saw a lot of SOBO hikers, which was cool. There were also a ton of SOBO hikers at the hostel.
I was excited to get to the hostel so I could do laundry. I scrubbed myself and scrubbed, doing my best to remove the layers of filth. The water that flowed off of my body looked like water from the Ganges in India. Well, if at least looked like what I picture water from the Ganges to be. By the time I got washed and handed off my laundry to the hostel, it was just about 8pm. I ordered pizza from A place in nearby Gorham. They took forever to deliver it, but it was delicious when they did! It was a taco pizza, so it had all of the typical taco fixings but on a pizza pie. It was awesome! I feel like that’s a real Hungry Cat pizza. I ate an entire large pizza and a side salad with blue cheese dressing. By the time I was done with that, it was time for bed. I finally met Mumbles, a British NOBO I had been hearing about, and I saw Speedy again. I hadn’t seen him since Delaware Water Gap, although I actually bumped into him earlier in the day at the hut. Last, bit definitely not least, I met section hiker Diesel from NC. He approached me as he has been reading my journal, so it was cool to meet him as well, and flattering that he would read my daily digest. We talked about the Whites, of course, and their difficulty. Good luck on the rest of your hike Diesel!!
I was grateful for the hospitality at the hut today, the great weather and views, having a hostel to rest at, and many other things. Tomorrow I will sleep in (a little) and then resupply and hike out. After a giant waffle breakfast, of course…. 🙂
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