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Aug
23 , 1983 Tuesday (360.6 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
Took
my time getting going this morning after the big breakfast. Most
guests had left by the time I got around to leaving. This was something
quite unprecedented. Usually I was one of the first ones out. The
trail woke me up with its three quarter mile steep climb up to South
Twin Mountain. The sky was still overcast in the wake of yesterdays
rainstorm, and there were no view to be had as I reached the summit.
Several people were there waiting for the skies to clear, and it
looked as thought it might. I told everyone up there that I wasn't
waiting around, and that if I left the weather would surely clear.
I headed on down the trail gradually descending toward Mt. Guyot
a few miles away. The weather did clear up later in the day, and
perhaps broke up a bit after I left, but I had to move on and was
rewarded with a terrific view of Whitewall Mountain from Zeacliff,
a mile or so before arriving at Zealand Falls Hut.
I reached the hut and decided to take a break, eat my lunch and
relax before moving on. I was still being nagged by that tiny pea
sized blister on the back of my Achilles tendon that started just
before Vermont. I decided to pop the blister, which was located
right under the collar of my boot and continued to be aggravated
by the boot top on every step. I don't really know what it was,
a bug or spider bite maybe, but the puss that came out of that little
blister filled the air with the most foul smelling odor that I had
smelled in a long time - even worse than "The Trailwalker."
Now that the blister was gone, the boot did not seem to touch as
much and I now felt relief.
While at the Zealand Falls Hut, I met Bruce's wife and his other
gorgeous daughter! She was more my age, but it would have been difficult
to decide which was better looking. I picked up a tip at the hut
about a former thru-hiker named Dan Harty that puts up hikers near
Crawford Notch. This sounded interesting, so I said goodbye to the
ladies and continued on past Zealand Falls, down to the valley floor,
where along the base of Whitewall Mountain the trail followed an
old railroad bed beside Whitewall Brook. I stopped in at Ethan
Pond Shelter to check it out and read the register. The Shelter
was located directly beside a nice little pond and seemed like a
very nice place to stay. I discovered and studied some interesting
Amanita mushrooms growing nearby that had just come up.
From there I began the descent into Crawford Notch where route 302
lay at the lowest point. Once at the road, I hitched a ride to a
place where I could telephone the Harty's. I spoke to a female who
said that Don was not home, but someone would be by to pick me up
later. Don's father came and offered me a ride to Don's house. To
my surprise I had talked to Kathy,
who I had hiked with back near Damascus, Virginia! Along with her
was Ron,
who I also had met back then. A couple of new people I had not met
were there also: Claude
Griffith "The Maximus", Nick
Schmidt , and Susan
"Lan A.T. Hiker" Parsons sometimes known as "Space
Kadet". I was able to shower up, and feel at home as we had
a great feast that night, and I took the opportunity to contact
Pinkham Notch Camp to cancelled my reservations for Mizpah hut this
evening that I had made earlier. I then scheduled a spot at Lake
of the Clouds Hut for tomorrow night. That night I heard about a
black thru-hiker named Winston Lumsdon, who was headed south on
the trail. He was described as quite a character, and was the first
African-American long distance hiker that I had ever heard of. Kathy
had left her camera at Madison Hut, a hut that I had not even reached
yet. Apparently they were not hiking in a "straight down the
trail in one direction" kind of hike. I guess that is how they
ended up being ahead of me.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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