Hiking the Good Hike

7/5 Day 124 Osgood Tent Site to Pinkham Notch (Gorham, NH) – 5.8 miles

     That’s no typo, we followed a ten mile day with a five mile day and we have no qualms. The sun was shining this morning and we were excited we would be going to town. I also had the excitement of knowing today would be the last day hiking in my worn and weathered shoes as my replacements were waiting at the post office. The hike to the AMC center at Pinkham notch was very easy. After browsing the overpriced gift shop we hit the road with our thumbs out. Hitchhiking was something I was a bit nervous about prior to this trip but it has become a very regular habit of ours and something I have come to enjoy. Nevertheless, hitching with four people is a bit more difficult; it seems two is the magic number. After a few minutes Giuseppe and Howbout were on their way and soon after we were picked up and on our way to town.

     Our first stop was the post office. I retrieved my new shoes with no problem and we hung out in the shade of a large tree with Giuseppe and Howbout while Wide Load made phone calls to book a hotel for the night. While we waited I was approached by a kid maybe seven years old who seems to be roaming alone. He casually asked, “Hitchhikers?” I answered, “No, just regular hikers.” He didn’t seem to believe me questioning, “You’re not hitchhikers?” “Well, I guess today we were hitchhikers, but most days we’re just plain hikers.” Seemingly appeased by this explanation, the boy began to demonstrate his fly catching method in which he spreads his fingers placing a drop of nectar in between and closing them quickly when a fly lands. He was very proud exclaiming, “I caught an entire jar, we don’t have flies in my house anymore.” And with that he was gone continuing on his path to who knows where. We were reunited with Kestrel and Sharpshin before making our way to Pizza Hut hoping for a lunch buffet. This particular Pizza Hut offered no buffet so we decided to try someplace else. We ended up at Mr. Pizza.

     After lunch we did our laundry and waited for our hotel room to come available. After finishing our laundry we checked in to our hotel. Gorham is a decent mountain town crawling with tourists but unfortunately the closest grocery store is a Walmart three miles away. After showering, Wide Load and I emptied our packs to make room for our groceries and hit the road. We were soon picked up and dropped off at Walmart. We acquired our usual staples as well as some snacks for the evening and were back on the road thumbing for the third time that day. In no time, we were picked up by a slightly shady but nice enough guy and were dropped off at the hotel. Though Kestrel and Sharpshin had planned on leaving town, we were able to coax them into staying. We had a great time that evening eating and relaxing. When the rain inevitably began, we were happy to remain dry in our hotel room.

7/6 Pinkham Notch to Imp Shelter – 13.1 miles

     It was difficult, as always, to get out of town this morning. We made a stop at McDonalds for breakfast where Kestrel and Sharpshin introduced us to the McDonalds big breakfast with hotcakes, a meal costing less than six dollars but offering nearly 1400 calories. At this point, we pretty much eat anything we can get our hands on so we were happy to have this calorie dense breakfast but what amazes me is that people other than thru hikers would eat this breakfast. After breakfast we were finally hitching again this time in groups of two. We were picked up by some college age guys trying with snowboards on a day where temperatures were already in the high 80s. They told us they hoped to find the last snow in Tuckerman’s Ravine, a 4^th of July tradition for them. They left us at Pinkham Notch where we began our last leg of the Whites.

     We were greeted with a relatively difficult climb of what is known as the Wildcats. We passed a few soutbounders and a few dayhikers before arriving at Wildcat peak D where tourists can pay for a gondola ride to the top of the mountain. We took a lunch break at a picnic table as tourists stared and watched us as if we were wild animals. After lunch we continued on our way to Imp campsite, a destination one day hiker told us we could never make before dark. I know people are trying to be helpful, but I get tired of day hikers and weekenders telling us what we are and aren’t able to do. We have been hiking everyday for the last four months, our pace and distance is not likely equal to someone out for a day or two. Anyway, we made a stop at Carter Notch hut for water where a croo member graciously tossed me an entire loaf of bread. Consuming the majority of a freshly baked loaf of bread may have been the highlight of my day. We hiked on looking for stealth sites just short of Imp Shelter hoping to avoid paying to camp. We were unable to find a suitable tent site so we ended up at the Imp shelter where we would pay to sleep. This would be our last night in the Whites.