The 48 Direttissima - in progress update

[albee]

Screw the hike - I'm just impressed that he did 480 push-ups!

Congrats on achieving a hard-earned goal, Mats.

 

[Chip]

Outstanding Accomplishment, Mats. Congratulations.
I look forward to a detailed trip report.

Is anyone aware of any media coverage that has or may occur around this ?

Where does this fall in the "Pantheon of Northeast Accomplishments." ?

Very fine accomplishment, which I predict will lead to some renewed interest in backpacking the NH4s.

That'd be awesome. Having grown up a packer I often feel I'm missing the best part of the experience when I day trip to peak bag.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

Congrats- fish in a barrel Mats, mountains are the fish the Whites are the barrel. And after 10 days of shortened food stores and random beers, what did the mouse say to you?

Where does this fall in the "Pantheon of Northeast Accomplishments." ?

Right after the Boston Tea Party will be:

Mats- 10 day deit plan.

 

[Cath]

We need this rain, but........

Wicked glad that Mats isn't out hiking in this today!!!!!!!!

I worked up in WV for 6 hours today, dressed in fleece and my New England Rainwear, and I kept quite dry. But that isn't any kind of exterior layer consideration for hiking.

Rest well Mats! Hopefully you don't have to get back to work before you've
rested and had time to eat, eat, and eat some more

 

[Artex]

Congrats Mats. Great accomplishment. You done good.

 

[kmac]

you're a hard act to follow!! great accomplishment!!! you should be very proud of yourself!! kmac

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 0 and part of 1

Thursday evening 8/30

Swamp arive to Lafayette Campground ahead of me and I was late as usual. Got a good site near thr TH to Lonesome Lake. Wilderness Man Swamp already had arranged a fire. AFter I set up the tent and got organized, we had some good conversation before hitting the hay at 11pm....got a good 4 hr of sleep before the alarm went off at 3:45am.

Packing everything together and taking off in Swamps truck toward Moosilauke.....misty drizzle going on....not raining though.....Icheated here a little by leaving my tent and sleeping bag/pad at the campground.......6.5 lbs weight saving plus more important the hassle of taking down and putting up.....Swamp and I were off and hiking at 4:47am from Beaver Brook TH and big surprise no other cars there.... Headlamps on....foggy.....a bit slippery on the rocks.......were able to turn off the headlamps a little after the steep section was done with......We had some views from the summit. I picked Beaver Brook because it's easy to drive to and I could leave the fat pack in Swamps truck while doing Moosilauke with my smaller pack (the drwback is that I had to carry the small pack in addition to the Atmos 50 with me all the way to Cabot). It started a rain a little going down Moosilauke and we actually met some people now. A busload of Dartmouth College students were waiting for a ride in the parking lot when we got down a little after 9am......repacked and tended to feet for 1/2 hour. Swamp decided to take the truck down to the campground and then hike up Cannon. I loaded "Fat Bertha" on my shoulders and stumbled across the road towards Kinsman Ridge Trail. After about 100 feet I had to take a break......realizing that this is going to be a long day. Light drizzle came and went most of the day. A few PUDS later as well as 3 hours I was up on Mount Wolf.......................to be continued.....my eyes are shutting down.....

 

[Adventurous]

Very cool trip Mats. Congrats on an incredible accomplishment!!! You've certainly earned bragging rights with this one. I look forward to reading about your future adventures and possibly joining you for part of them.

 

[--M.]

This was a fun one to stumble onto. Congratulations and please write those TRs! Good stuff!

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 1-3

Thursday evening 8/30

Swamp arive to Lafayette Campground ahead of me and I was late as usual. Got a good site near thr TH to Lonesome Lake. Wilderness Man Swamp already had arranged a fire. AFter I set up the tent and got organized, we had some good conversation before hitting the hay at 11pm....got a good 4 hr of sleep before the alarm went off at 3:45am.

Day 1. Friday 8/31
Moosilauke, Kinsmanns and Cannon
25.1 miles
10,000 vertical feet?
Packing everything together and taking off in Swamps truck toward Moosilauke.....misty drizzle going on....not raining though.....Icheated here a little by leaving my tent and sleeping bag/pad at the campground.......6.5 lbs weight saving plus more important the hassle of taking down and putting up.....Swamp and I were off and hiking at 4:47am from Beaver Brook TH and big surprise no other cars there.... Headlamps on....foggy.....a bit slippery on the rocks.......were able to turn off the headlamps a little after the steep section was done with......We had some views from the summit. I picked Beaver Brook because it's easy to drive to and I could leave the fat pack in Swamps truck while doing Moosilauke with my smaller pack (the drwback is that I had to carry the small pack in addition to the Atmos 50 with me all the way to Cabot). It started a rain a little going down Moosilauke and we actually met some people now. A busload of Dartmouth College students were waiting for a ride in the parking lot when we got down a little after 9am......repacked and tended to feet for 1/2 hour. Swamp decided to take the truck down to the campground and then hike up Cannon.

I loaded "Fat Bertha" on my shoulders and stumbled across the road towards Kinsman Ridge Trail. After about 100 feet I had to take a break......realizing that this is going to be a long day. Light drizzle came and went most of the day. A few PUDS later as well as 3 hours I was up on Mount Wolf..............everything pretty soggy and slow going. Stopped to switch socks and apply some more Sportslick on my feet. Met a couple of hikers before Eliza Brook shelter and a couple after. Refilled the bladder by the shelter. Cath Goodwin told me it was good water here. Then started the slow uphill towards the Kinsmans…….light drizzle continued…..slick rocks….wet everything….foggy and no views……Harrington Pond shows up after an eternity it seemed…more slick rocks and some steeper obstacles further up…sometime after 4pm the open area of South Kinsman finally appears. Zero visibility and onward toward North Kinsman after the push-up session.
It’s after 5 when I leave North Kinsmann behind me and move on toward The Cannonballs.

First Cannonball went pretty quick. On the way up the second one the sun actually started to peak through occasionally. Took a break for foot maintenance and cliffshots. Steep down after the second one and I was relived to only have one left…….more uphill and to my disappointment I soon realized there was a fourth one…..oh well…..just gotta keep going……extended the trekking poles for the last downhill towards the Lonesome Lake Trail junction. Dipped down a tad further before the steep blocky section began. I told myself it would be the last uphill for the day. Finallycoming up to High Cannon cut-off where I dumped my pack and continued to the summit a lot lighter. Up the tower for the last set of pushups for the day. Took some pictures in the fading evening light. It was around 7:20 now…..hurried back to the backpack and made a slow descent down High Cannon…….backwards down the stairs……heard a big rockfall in the dark….glad I wasn’t close to it……legs and feet were very happy when the sound of campers at Lafayette came closer and closer....and when arriving at our campsite Dr. D was there with a beer bottle for me……it was around 9:20pm or so now.…very much appreciated! What is better than a cold beer after a long hike? I had some pepperoni and flatbread in my pack I pulled out and ate with the beer. What a musical trio for the buds! My dollar bills didn’t work in the coin-operated shower and swamp helped out here….and again after I schampoed my hair and the time ran out……Jen Gross also showed up from Vermont and we had a good time by the fire……they stood up and I sat. Four done…..44 to go……


Day 2. Saturday 9/1
Franconia Ridge to the base of Owl’s Head
15 miles appr.
6,400 vertical feet?
Thank you very much Jen and swamp for being patient when I was trying to cram everything into the 50-liter pack and we got off to a late start which had some consequences. Several football teams of French-Canadiens were heading up Falling Waters Trail to Little Haystack……sometimes English was heard…..and we had good weather today! It was slow going and swamp and Jen were 20 minutes or so ahead of me to the top of Little Haystack. The last half mile I came behind a long-haired dude with a 4,000-footer badge on his pack and a dog. I followed his comfortable pace to the top. He had a dog. He had been hiking the Whites for 27 years he told me. At Little Haystack he introduced himself as mtnmagic. We snacked a bit and swamp decided to guard our belongings while Jen and I headed for Liberty and Flume. We would have broken 2 ½ hours roundtrip if we hadn’t run into cruddytoes. Artex and a woman I forgot the name of (sorry….). They were on the homestretch on a Pemi-loop. We re-saddled and headed for Lincoln. Pushups in company of a female LaCrosse team……not bad. Lingonberries along the trail also slowed me down a bit.

At the Lincoln Slide cut-off we left the big mama packs and ran up Lafayette for another 10 pushups. 8 done and 48 to go. The next two weren’t going to be that easy I knew. Back to the packs and swamp found a good way to the north prong of the slide. Quickly down to the base and into the creek……I started to have problems here keeping up with the antelopes swamp and Jen. After an hour of struggle we reached a pot-smoking couple by the creek who recommended us to go up on the right side…..we did that for a while but it wasn’t exactly easy so we went to the left where the terrain was easier……and we finally crossed the Lincoln Brook and onto the trail…..went all the way to the Owl’s Head cut-off where we decided to set camp and climb the Owl in the morning……it was 6:30pm already and we were not psyched to come down that slide in the dark……one slide was enough for today. I took a bath in the creek and then we all ate dinner……no mosquitos. A drawback was that my cellphone was inadvertently left on overnight searching for service……I was now dependent on the portable charge running on a single AA.


Day 3. Sunday 9/2
Owl’s Head, Garfield, Galehead, South Twin, North Twin
18 miles
7,900 vertical feet?
Overslept a little again but were off to Owl’s Head by 6:40am. Lovely weather again and we completed the roundtrip in 1hr40min. It was 9:50am again before heading off after breakfast. I was last to hit the trail again. Met lots of people on the way to 13 Falls. One of them was a barefoot hiker. He told me he actually wears shoes in the winter. I found Jen and swamp basking in the sunshine by the ledges by 13 Falls. I took my shoes off also and wondered if it would be possible to do the Direttissima barefoot? Didn’t struck me as too appealing.

Jen and swamp were waiting for me again by the Garfield Ridge Trail. Left our packs and sprinted up Garfield. The summit resembled a Japanese subway station in rush hour. Eventually found space for pushups. I stopped by the waterhole at the tent site cut-off on the way down and Jen and swamp disappeared quickly down the trail. Lots of people on the trail but very few at Galehead Hut for some reason. Took a long break here before taking off to Galehead……forgot to bring the camera for the summit shot……but didn’t cry too long about it. At this point Jen and swamp decided to go down to 13 Falls for the night so they won’t have a monsterday tomorrow before work starts on Tuesday. We bid farewell and it was great to have company by them in the early stages. Thank you so much swamp and Jen! Now I was on my own for a while. I knew tentatively mtnpa and Dr. D planned to meet me at the base of Hancock’s later the next day. I had barely tied up my shoes when none other than Frodo shows up! Nice surprise! Got some great coaching up South Twin before we parted ways. I headed to North Twin and he went over the Bonds with his three headlamps. Beautiful evening sun over both Twins.

Headed down North Twin Trail to see how far I could get before I had to turn on my headlamp. Refilled water at around 2,800 feet when it got dark….around 7:30 again.
Crossed the river without incident and started to look for a good spot for the night. Hiked down about a mile and found a lovely spot just south of the Old Fire Warden cutoff. Another splash in the creek and some more freeze-dried for dinner. I was psyched that tomorrow I will be done with the pemi-loop and be heading south.
The only issue was that I had planned to be at Guyot campsite tonight…..oh well……my abnormally high optimistic coefficient had struck again. My solution as usually was to get up extra early…..yeah right…..also figured alkaline batteries doesn’t work with the charger…..had to borrow the Lithium batteries from the camera to get a couple of minutes worth of charge.

More tomorrow.......Mats


.

 

[Sir Edmund]

Way to Go!!

Great monster hike, Mats!!

Hope to see you on the trails,

Jeff

 

[Rejean]

Congrats Matt's. What the next challenge!

 

[Mats Roing]

Days 4 and 5

OK, this seems to take a while to write this......next week I should have the full story on-line with photos as well....in the mean-time....

Day 4. Monday 9/3
Hale, Zealand, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff to Hancock Trail cutoff
23.8 miles
7,700 vertical feet?
Off to a relatively early start……6:20am. Getting better at it
The Old Fire Warden Trail was in great shape as usual. Slow steady pace with little water in my pack……planned to fill up by Zealand Hut or it’s vincinity. On top of Hale a little after 8….sun shining……met just a couple of people on the way down to Zealand Hut. Found a good spring before the trail cutoff to Twinway. Once on the Twinway the hiker traffic intensified. Took a break on the ledges once back on the ridge again and aired out the feet. Then on to Zealand. Still great weather. At Galehead Hut they said possible afternoon T-storms…….skies looked good though.
By the Zealand summit cut-off there were six hikers gathered – admiring a woman’s bracelets which had insects encased in glass. I took a photo of it before heading in for the pushups. By 1pm I was over the crest to the Bond trail cutoff…...got delayed again because the plentiful lingonberry patches.
Put the pack down and went off to West Bond……..summit nr 16……..one third done!
Back and over Bond to Bondcliff. Took a long break on Bondcliff enjoying being done with the Pemi summits. I was also trying to use the cellphone in vain. Felt bad for mtnpa and Dr. D which would be waiting for me by the Hancocks. I was also out of water now so I was looking forward to fill up by the creekcrossing at 3,080 feet appr. Sun still shining…….went down to next crossing 300 feet furtherdown…..also dry as dirt……down t0 2,200 feet where there were finally water. Took a good break here and shoes off as well……long transportation session to the Hancocks next.

First time I took a left on the Wilderness Trail coming down from th Bonds……crossed the bridge with the old building on the right…..a little later crossed the Pemi River East onto the south side and took a right towards the Cedar Brook Trail. Old logging road……went a bit faster here than expected……also switched to my relief running shoes to give the feet a break on the easy terrain. After some switchbacks I made it to the saddle and was able to reach the Hancock cut-off before I needed the headlamp. Later learned that Dr. D had left less than 10 minutes earlier……oh well……I was going to see more of Dr. D later……

Setting up camp and going through the evening procedures went well and I slept well even if I wasn’t able to finish the whole freeze-dried meal……even with the help of Trader Joes flatbread. No cell connection tonight. I felt satisfied I made progress into the southern hemisphere of the 48.


Day 5. Tuesday 9/4
Hancocks, Osceolas, Tecumseh
Miles?
vertical feet?
Got an early start again and stashed the big pack while taking the smaller race pack and bladder towards the Hancocks……..pretty chilly this morning and it was windy….especially on the ridge itself. Went up clock-wise and it was nice to go light up this one. Unfortunately I dropped the camera on the summit rock and it initiated a funny inconsistent behavior the rest of the trip. Self-timer and shutter would only work occasionally etc. But at least it worked occasionally. On South Hancock the wind increased dramatically and the pushups went real fast before heading down the gravely trail back towards the junction. It would have been nice to hike with mtnpa and Dr. D here but can’t rewind time now.

On with Big Bertha and I kept my running shoes on since it would be fairly flat until Osceola’s. Sun shining although not very warming in the cool morning hours. Reached Kancamagus Highway a bit before 11 and cruised down the paved mile to the Osceola TH. Saw some people for the first time since Bond yesterday. At the trailhead I took a break and switched shoes…..and had the best can of sardines ever….soaked in lovely olive oil which went down like silk. Decided to go light up Osceola so I didn’t top of my bladder…….this would have consequences further down the trail though……

The flat section to the cut-off went smooth and the looooong uphill started….one foot in front of the other…….it seemed like it took a couple of years to reach 3,000 feet. Sun was getting stronger now. Finally reaching the open slide section a few hundred feet below the ridge. And the ridge was a very welcoming sight although there is still some uphill before reaching the first summit. This was summit nr 21…..27 to go……..sounded a lot better than after the first day 

Down to the saddle and I avoided the chimney by going to the right. Soon Mt. Osceola’s open view area near the summit opened up….did my pushups here instead of by the big cairn a little further in. Beautiful views and a few photos were taken. No one on top…..mid-week hiking at it’s best! Headed down the other way and soon the water ran dry. South side trail like to treat you with many tilted ledges…….good ankle training I was looking for water somewhere but nothing. The sun was strong here as well…….and I started to wonder how those beers mtnpa and Dr. D would have tasted if I made it to Hancocks on time. Met a father and son close to the trailhead and I finally reached Tripoli Road. Key decision here…..I was out of water and hadn’t seen any water for a long time….if I go west on Tripoli to the Mt. Tecumseh trailhead on Tripoli, there is a creek there…..but if it’s without water like many others……I’m screwed. I decided to head to Vista campground and set camp and then go up the trail to the right of the ski area. It didn’t look too far on the map and I started to get going…..throat was dry as dirt…….and I was getting really tired of the hard pavement soon…..maybe campground shows up after next turn……or next…..no…..not yet……a Jeep with a hottie by the steering wheel passes by…..and it stops. Another tourist looking for direction to some resort I guessed (two minutes earlier a Ford Crown Victoria with a not-so-tiny couple did exactly that). “Hey, you are going in the wrong direction, there’s a beautiful trailhead the other way to Tecumseh”, she says walking towards me. It’s Cath Goodwin! Great to finally meet this White Mountain legend! She thought it was water in the creek, but I had hiked for a while on the road and didn’t feel like turning back……She offered me one of them bottles with R.W. Knudsen’s Recharge drinks……oh boy…..was that ever good! Exactly what I needed……she earned her wings I think. She had an appointment in Lincoln to tend to I wanted to find that campground so we parted.

Rejuvenated I started hiking eastbound again…….it seemed to take a long time before I saw the sign for the campground….was just hoping it wouldn’t be a long road to get to it……it wasn’t too bad but I thought they placed it a bit far in anyway.
I was the only one there! Whohoo! Found a spot and set up my tent. The attendant drove by and asked a few things, then the sheriff drove by. They were puzzled I didn’t have a car. The attendant warned me that 80 college kids would arrive soon……so much for having the campground for myself! It was getting close to 5pm now so I put my racepack together and headed towards the ski area. Cath told me about this shortcut before the bridge…..I found it! Great! By 5:51pm I hit the trail by the ski area. My goal was to get up there by sunset……a few people hiked down while I went up. By 7:09pm I was on the summit and the sun was still up barely……got a few shots of the sunset before heading down….made it to the creek crossing before the headlamp became necessary. A bit before 9 I was back by the tent and two big buses were parked and college kids around campfires were everywhere. At least it’s good the college kids are out in the woods….they could be doing worse things. Went the half-mile to the water pump and then paid the $15 fee with two $10’s……nice tip.
The freeze-dried food tasted great after a long day……23 done….25 to go……was able to get a text message through. Condensation very abundant on the windless grass. Tomorrow I will be heading eastward and turn northward……

 

[NewHampshire]

Hey Mats,

You have an awesome ability (or is that super human endurance!? ), and what makes me so jealous....is how much fun you have with it!!!!!

Congrats!

Brian

 

[Cath]

obviously, Mats was severely dehydrated on day 5

 

[Tim Seaver]

obviously, Mats was severely dehydrated on day 5

The Jeep Drivin' Hottie Speaks!
Good thing you were there to "refresh" Mats

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 6. Wednesday 9/5
Tripyramids, Whiteface, Passaconnaway
Miles?
Vertical feet?
Lots of dew this morning and I'm sure I woke up most of the college kids while shaking off the tent fly.........pretty cold this morning and I put my shells on while walking the road down to the trailhead. One good thing about the campground was that they had a dumpster so i could get rid of some trash. No shower though......the morning dew would have to suffice
The first few miles of the Livermore Trail is flat enough for a Lamborghini to drive on without getting scratched......this changes dramatically once turning right on the North Slide Trail......Henry Folsom said that the Passaconnaway-Pyramids loop was the hardest day all summer for him......no wonder - he went down the North Slide Although pack was a bit lighter than from the start, it wasn't a cakewalk getting up the slide. I bet the Scaur Ridge Trail would have been faster. The views are great all the way up though
Took a break on North Tripyramid celebrating the halfway mark - 24/24 Navigated over to Middle Tripyramid for nr 25......could have done all 48 in a day if the ticks came this close Over to South Tripyramid and down the steep south side. The slide came pretty quick and I continued down the slide looking for a sign for the Sleeper cut-off. Saw a funny-looking doublearrow in yellow painted on a ledge.....didn't think much of it in the scorching sun....continued down....and down.....and down......eventually the trail flattened out....but I didn't feel good about the trail went westward.......finally decided to pull out the map.......f*&^%$k!.....I missed the cut-off.....looked like it was at the top of the slide.........almost 1,000 vertical feet up! I soon was back up in the relentless sun going up the slide.....I was wondering if I would find water along Kate Sleeper....when I came back up to the funny looking painted arrow I realized that this was the cutoff! I got on it and came into the shade of the forest after a smaller open downhill slidetype area. Switched socks and shoes and reapplied vaseline.
I wonder who Kate Sleeper was? The trail is nice and gently rolling. Ran out of water as expected before I got to Whiteface. Right before Whiteface one of my trekking poles malfunctioned......fortunately it just needed some "tweaking". Did the pushups on nr 26 and I was eager to get to "Pass" and down the other side to find some H2O. A couple of bumps before getting down into the saddle......weather cooling off a bit fortunately.....but the reason is it's getting late in the day.....finally came to the Dicey's Mill cutoff and I took a left up the hill.......low and behold! The little creek before the last cutoff had water! figured it must be fresh springwater and drank a number of cups.....enough to get me up and over "Pass". It still seemed to take an eternity to get to the top. Took some pictures and went down the other side to Passaconnaway Cutoff to Oliverian Brook Trail. I had to go down below 2,000 feet before finding any drinkable water on the cutoff trail.....endulged immensely in this water session. It'sa fter 6pm now so it was time to figure out where to sleep for the night. Sawyer Pond would be out of the question since still 8 miles away or so. Found a lovely spot by a creek around 6:30pm.....decided to continue in the daylight a bit further though.....
A bit later I entered the Oliverian Brook Trail and continued north.....north! I was going north towards Crawford Notch! Very exciting....although still 30 miles away or so....but still....
Found an old established campsite a little ways from the trail and set up camp.....first I set up the tent......then empty the backpack and hang up stuff to dry on a string.....then I "shower" before food cooking process starts......altimeter shows 1,400 feet.....lowest altitude so far during the trip.....

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 7. Thursday 9/6
Carrigain
Miles?
Vertical feet?

Got going around 7 this morning.......I really enjoyed this campsite.....put my running shoes on since flat trail for a while.......crossed over Kancamagus again being psyched that I was going to be north of it the rest of the trip Unfortunately a log broke I stepped on crossing the river right after Sawyer Pond trail head. Both shoes soaked.....so switching time again......it was cloudy and I saw some dark clouds......may it not rain.....may it not rain.....it didn't other than a few droplets. Around 10am I was at Sawyer Pond and I was in awe of the beauty there......no campers......in fact I've only seen two hikers since Bond. Actually I saw a couple also cruising down Tecumseh. Here I missed the cutoff to Sawyer Pond Road and continued on a trail going around the Pond until it got so small I realized I had to turn back. Oh well....once on the main trail I met two heavily laden fishermen. One of them had a big cooler with him in addition to his giant pack. The other one was sitting on a log saying "I don't think I can make it". His pack sticking about two feet above his head. Saw their car by the trailhead later with a sticker "Give me that ol' time religion".
On the map here it looks like a road will make a shortcut to the Signal Ridge Trail.....I find the road and I'm very excited.....it seem like they made every attempt to make it impassable for vehicles though.....to begin with the bridge over Sawyer River is gone.....then they dug deep trenches every 1/8 mile or so across the road.....the road itself is wide and easy to hike on. I decide to switch to my heavy boots before getting on Signal Ridge Trail. here I get my first mosquito bite! Not bad...it took seven days
The road becomes smaller and a bit confusing which is the road since there are numerous logging truck tracks through the woods.....I took a wrong turn somewhere since what I'm on goes nowhere.....fortunately by heading eastward I get back on track and follow the remnants of the road (it's more like a trail now) until it intersects with Signal Ridge Trail. Refilling of water by the creek crossing before starting the long uphill towards Carrigain. At around 3,000 feet I meet a "bon jour" dude with a dress shirt and shorts. "Bon jour" is the only thing he says. My French is limited so my "how are you doing?" was my part of the conversation. At 1:40pm I reach the false summit and enjoy some lingonberries before a 20 minute hike to the tower. Doing the pushups on top of the tower thinking how the moonlight dance party would have turned out if we had one. I checked the well (1/4 mile from summit) on the way up and it was empty of water. Tower looked sturdy though.....maybe not for a live concert with a Swedish viking metal band though
Desolation Trail has some steep parts to it but in general it's very pleasant. Sometimes you see a discarded wire along the trail on the right when going downhill. Got sidetracked on Carrigain Notch Trail since there was a main trail going to a campsite......went back and found the main trail though....at Stillwater Junction I took the Shoal Pond Trail and crossed the creek five times before Shoal Pond shows up on the left. Met a large group of youngsters at one of the crossings. Ethan Pond trail came up shortly after Shoal Pond.....trying to decide whether to go over Willey, Field and Tom tonight or tomorrow morning.......I was pretty tired and decided to settle for Ethan Pond shelter/campsite......they had one platform left when I got there. Watersource was the pond so a little bit of a hike to resupply water.....went into the woods and took a shower with the help of my MSR dromlite. They have a designated dining area where I cocked my dinner together with a dozen high school kids. A pot-smoking young couple doing the AT occupied the shelter. They had been on the trail since mid-March. Tomorrow I would be on the Pressies! Very exciting!

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 8. Friday 9/7
Willey, Field, Tom, Jackson, Pierce, Ike, Monroe, Washington
Miles?
Vertical feet?

Very muggy this morning......rocks got slick because the muggy air......had to go downhill a bit on Ethan Pond Trail before taking a left up towards Willey....a loooong uphill it seemed....a few stairs to climb..... sun was shining.....got a textmessage to skimom....no luck calling Tim Seaver although using the same number he called me on.....oh well....
Onto Field and more pushups celebrating nr 30!......At Tom I met the first hikers for the day. 17 to go......down to Crawford Notch.....switched from my heavy boots to my running shoes. Took a long break. Actually bought a set of batteries for the camera so I could use the camera batteries exclusively for charging the cell phone. If I brought my wall charger I could have plugged it in at Crawford Notch.....oh well.....cleaned out the waterbladder which had gotten kind of slimy by now.....
Hot day and I started towards Jackson a little before noon. Met Dr. D again! Nice surprise, He told me about him and mtnpa waiting at Hancocks and realized I mjust missed De. D. by less than 10 minutes there......oh well....spilled milk....or should I say beer
Was good to drink water out of a clean bladder At Mizpah Spring Hut I met the pot-smoking young couple again......they were pretty stoned.....she was sleeping on a rock ledge in the scorching sun and he was talking with me slowly about a variety of things. I refilled my bladder and took care of my feet and moved up towards Pierce. 33 done 15 to go......Washington looked very far from here......and the sun was hot....on towards Ike.....at 3:45pm I stood on top of Eisenhower and spent 20 minutes sending a couple of textmessages....met some people asking if I had extra sunblock......I was almost out myself as well.....It was after 5 when I stood on Monroe for nr 35. Down to the hut to refill. Lots of people at the hut. Close to dinnertime I guess. Took the Tuckermann Crossover to Davis Path.....left the big pack there and went light up to Washington. Sun still shining but it's getting late in the day.....5:51pm now....oh so light to be without big pack.....pretty windy here......sun doesn't warm much any longer......by 6:22pm I'm doing pushups at 6,288 feet.....nr 36......3/4 done!
On my way down I meet two guys who tells me....."probably a bit late in the day to head up Washington"......commenting themselves.....by 6:40 I was down on Davis Path by the pack again. Eager to go as far as I could towards Isolation before darkness set in. Was able to get past Boott Spur and Glen Boulder Trail before darkness set in. My plan was to tag Isolation and then sleep at Rocky Branch shelter......that didn't happen.....my body started to shut down by the time it got dark....I was just below timberline on Davis Path....took a break and took care of feet. Turned on the headlamp......continued down....my eyes wanted to sleep.....the rest of me as well....at 4,300 feet I came across a rock with a campspot behind.....perfect.....set up camp and was happy to be in horizontal position....clear sky and surprisingly warm so I didn't set up the fly......gazed at the stars for about 7 seconds before passing out.

 

[Mats Roing]

Day 9. Saturday 9/8
Isolation, Wildcats, Carters and Moriah
Miles?
Vertical feet?

Woke up at 2am due to strong winds......I was well protected behind the rock and the thick woods but it was noisy. I was thinking......maybe I take a leisurely stroll now at night to Isolation...come back here and break down camp and head back to Glen Boulder trail. I'm only 900 vertical feet below that cut-off and then I get straight onto the Wildcats. So I did.....not much water left but if i hike slowly it might work.......some PUD's later I was sitting on top of Isolation looking at the stars.......3:50am......back to camp......most effortless Isolation attempt ever I thought.....but that was just catch-up time......still up to Glen Boulder trail and down it before the big project of the day starts.....by 6:30 I was at Glen Boulder trail.....very windy......was happy to get off to the leeside......dark clouds had started to develop by now.....by Glen Boulder the raindrops started......but not for long fortunately. by the first creek crossing I refilled water.......met the father and daughter who carried the flag for Isolation today. I crossed under route 16 and went up a few hundred vertical feet before taking a break for breakfast. Aired the feet and started up the Wildcats.......the trail seemed to go on forever.......cloudy but no rain.....towards the top I met this older couple and the woman was carrying a cup of Starbucks coffee and complaine of the trail....I told her that this is the easy section and turning back would be a good idea.....they muttered something and continued.....three kids were making a fire on the trail by Wildcat D.......no flag on the summit yet.....it was around 11am now. Did some texting and an actual conversation with hamtero and continued....the Wildcats......more PUD's......I thought I was on top of Wildcat A and did pushups......turned out to be B......very foggy so difficult to see surroundings.....once arriving at A I did 10 more before descending the 1,100 feet to the hut....At Wildcat A I saw the only flag on top by the way......took a long break at the hut and refilled water, snacked, talked to some AT hikers. Changed to the light shoes going up Carter Dome......motivated to make it up this hurdle I moved on pretty good. At 2:20pm I was on top.....took a break before heading down to Zeta Pass.....and up to South Carter.....nr 41......getting closer......but I was also getting more tired.....kept moving towards Middle Carter and it looked far away once you could see it......wanted to be heading down Stony Brook before getting dark......on Middle Carter I left my OR hat......I think......nr 42 and only 6 to go......but the last price for the day was a few miles away still.....and had to go up and down North Carter first. Up wasn't bad.....down is more of a challenge on slippery wet rocks......somehow made it to the Imp campsite cutoff.....tempting.....but I was determined to get to Moriah today....I was getting plenty tired by now....trying to estimate how far to Stony Brook cut-off.....must be easily over a mile no matter what the maps say......felt that way at least. Finally came to the last up and down before the cutoff. Took my pack off and headed toward Moriah.....felt better without the pack....a little.....when I came to a ledge where i could see the Pressies I saw dark clouds forming....****! I forgot to cover my pack ! So I started to run up to Moriah.......didn't want to be caught in the rain either.....I was flying over ledges (which were pretty dry actually since south facing). Wasn't too sentimental once on top.....pushups.....photos and then down ......about halfway down I started to feel some sprinkles........one minute from the pack the heavy rain started.....the roundtrip took 52 minutes by the way....pulled pack and myself under a tree and covered us as good as we could.....after 20 minutes or so the rain almost stopped.....started to get dark now so with the headlamp on I headed down Stony Brook......slow going on the slick rocks........tiredness started to set in again.....thirst set in although everything was wet......wasn't going to make it to Osgood tonight.....oh well.......found a decent campspot by the first creekcrossing with water. Drank a bunch and decided to camp here.....sleeping bag wasn't wet at least....very close to fall asleep while eating dinner.....last big hurdle tomorrow over northern pressies......may it not rain......