Day 80: New Shelter to Hexacuba Shelter (17.4 miles)

July 31, 2004 - After my last 2 night hikes I didn’t get up till 8 so I got a late start. I was ahead of schedule since I had planned on staying a shelter back so I wasn’t sure where to go. So I planned on 25. I knew I had a few big climbs on the day so I packed up as fast as I could. First steep climb was Holts Mt, which took awhile. Then at the bottom I met a professor from Dartmouth who told me about the next mountain which he said was an easy climb. He lied to me; I need to stop believing people. Smart Mt was one of the hardest climbs I’ve had so far. At the top was a fire tower and a cabin so I took a long lunch break. After my break it didn’t look like I would make that 25 so I decided to go to the next shelter. I could have made it to the one after but it would have been another night hike. Good thing I decided to stop early because while I was filling up on water at the shelter it started to rain hard. This is such a cool shelter. It’s called Hexacuba Shelter and it’s shaped like a hexagon on Cube Mt. 17.7 miles on the day. I hate doing less than 20.

View of New Hampshire mountains