Day 88: Carter Notch Hut to The Barn Hostel (15.2 miles)

August 8, 2004 - Got an early start in hopes of a 20+ mile day, been awhile since I’ve done that. Had to start the day with climbing out of the notch and up Carter Dome, a 1500 foot climb over 1.2 miles. I made it up a lot faster than I thought. Once I got up Carter Dome I knew I would have an easy hike down to Gorham to re-supply. After the Dome I went down to Zeta Pass then back up and down over all 3 Carters, South, Middle, and North, which were some tough climbs. Then up and over Mt. Moriah and 4 miles to the shelter right before Gorham. By the time I got to the shelter it started to rain but it didn’t last long. It was 1.7 miles to the road so I ran hoping to beat the next rain storm that was rolling in. I made it down in 25 minutes. At the road there was a nice old couple that asked me where I was going and told them I was looking for a hitch to town. They said they could help me out and when I got in the car they had brownies, cookies, and drinks for me. They had driven 80 miles to feed hikers. So I got a nice treat while driving the 5 miles into town. They took me to the supermarket and said that they would wait for me and take me anywhere I wanted to go. After I finished shopping they took me to Mr. Pizza where I got some great pizza. The nice couple went back to the trail to feed more hikers and said they would come back later and take me back to the trail. Just as I was paying my bill they came back and took me to the hostel that was in town and paid me for to stay because they didn’t want me to go hiking in the storm that was coming in. They were the nicest people I’ve met while on the trail, other than Ben. Had a great time at the hostel eating my leftovers and watching 3 movies, the Matrix, Tomb Raider, and Romeo Must Die. It’s getting late so I better get to bed so I can get an early start tomorrow since I didn’t get as far today as I had planned, 15.2 miles on the day.

Looking back at the White Mountains