Day 113 - Sunday, July 25, 2021

Day 3 - We woke up to rain and gusting winds. Weather report forecasted 30-40 mph winds gusting to 60+ mph. The weatherman was “right” again. Getting off the President’s is going to be an adventure for sure. 

We had breakfast, packed our gear and hit the trail at 8:00 am. We can’t get off this mountain quick enough… we took our daily pic inside to stay dry for 40 seconds longer 🙄. 

We are hiking down off the President’s from Madison Spring Hut (1865.9 NoBo) to Pinkham Notch, NH 16 (1873.7 NoBo) totaling 7.8 miles.  

Turtle Power rock hops faster than I do as he has 2 good, or 2 better, legs. It was extremely windy, again the forecast was right predicting gust to 60+ mph,  and foggy along the ridge coming off the mountain. Due to the fog, I lost sight of Turtle Power and the cairns and followed the wrong cairns taking me temporarily off the AT. I looked backed up the mountain behind me when it partially cleared and saw the larger trail cairns that I should have followed. If I didn’t see them it sure would have been a whole different hike to say the least 🙄. It took me nearly 45 minutes to go back up and resume hiking on the AT. 



Yes, I’m having a terrific time, can’t you tell? 🙄




This is actually a clear look back over the ridge, notice the cairns running along the ridge and on the peak…it didn’t last long. 

I finally made it back into the tree line. It’s a whole different world…  

We made it to Pinkham Notch at 2:30 pm … never happier for a hike to end.

I wouldn’t say that today’s hike was treacherous or insane 🙄😵‍💫🤭 or even mentally and physically draining 🤔;  and as much as I do not agree with Niki’s  social and political opinions and boycott their products, “Just Do It!”was the definitely the theme of the day. 

We are taking a “Zero” tomorrow to dry things out and move our “Platinum Slack Packing Flip-Flop-Flip Thru Hike” to a new base location. We are going to the Rattle River Lodge & Hostel in Shelburne, NH to get ready for our next hike - a 21 mile slack pack over Wildcat Mountain. 

I do believe that this post gets me caught up to date but we’re heading “off the grid” again so I’m not sure when I’ll post next - it may be a few days but I still have you all in my thoughts 😉.

Oh and btw, with yesterday’s hike we broke 1300 trail miles 🎉 … 1315.1 miles to date but who’s counting?


Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 

😋


“Acts of generosity in this wild and primitive setting…where basic amenities…are intentionally absent–are often received in a heightened sense of wonder and gratitude by hikers. These acts of generosity are referred to as “trail magic.”

                     (Appalachian Trail Conservancy)







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