gorham, nh

this entry actually covers July 9&10. it will probablybe long and I will ramble a bit. quit now, if you want.
I left galehead hut at 5:00 AM to get an early start to what was planned to be a 21 mile day. long compared to others recently. the first 1/2 mile was straight up south twin mtn - 4902 ft - and then the next 7 mile were downhill. I flew. it was cloudy but not too wet. I got to the next hut in time for their breakfast leftovers. yummy pancakes with lots of syrup. then the next 8 miles were a combo of flat with no rocks (yea!) and downhill. again, I flew.
after that, it was back up. up to mt webster, mt jackson, (wow, that's weird. didn't michael jackson like that little kid from the show webster?). then I got to the next hut. it was still early and I was still moving at a good clip, but it began to rain. I needed to get over mt pierce and mt franklin to get to the next hut. it was very dark and rainy...and I fell on a big boulder. it's a little hard to describe. my feet both flew out from under me and I landed on my side, sliding down the boulder about 50 feet. when I got controll of everything I noticed my hands were bloody. I cut the heel of each palm, the outside of my right hand under the pinky, and the big one - my right ring finger was missing a whole lot of skin from just under the nail to the first knuckle. it was the one bleeding significantly. I cleaned up everything and took off for the last shelter; still about 2 miles away. when I got there the bandage in my finger was very bloody and the hut master thought I should have somebody look at it. so we cleaned and bandaged it again, and I set of for the top of mt washington - about 1.5 miles away. I hiked with two others who were already planning on going there. got there and a nurse looked at my boo-boos and bandaged them all up. no stitches needed but the cut goes almost to the bone. cool. also, my entire shoulder is bruised, I have cuts/scrapes from my elbow to my wrist, and a cut and lump between my eyes - where my glasses slammed into my pretty little face.
anyway - it turned out to be a 27 mile day. somehow. then...there's nowhere to stay on mt washington and it was late, so I had somebody drive me to a hostel in gorham.
I stayed at the hostel and decided to slack pack on the 10th to just get the whites done and over with. the hostel gave me a small pack and I only carried a tarp, emergency bivy, rain jacket, snacks, and water. it was less than 8 pounds. the hostel held the rest of my stuff and gave me a ride to and from the trail. I did 2 sections. one in the morning from 5 to 11 and one in the afternoon from 12:30 to 8. that's one heck of a double shift. I got a total of 34+ miles done during the day - carrying very little and moving quickly with no rain; although, it was still overcast with low clouds so I couldn't see any of the mountains. ugh.
that leaves me at 1880.4 miles total with 297.9 to go!!!

I think that's all for now.


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