Wow. What a range of ups and downs. Literally with the terrain as well as my emotional state. These mountains have provided the hardest mental and physical challenge yet on the trail. The steep ascents and descents challenged my body and the inclimate weather throughout most of my time in here challenged my mind. Like my previous post said, a whole lot of my time hiking these majestic peaks was done in the clouds and later in the rain. I climbed Mt. Washington in 35 degree, 30mph, driving rain and received no views. While unfortunate, I really felt like a mountaineer, braving the elements to reach the summit.
After another bad day descending into Pinkham Notch (my FB friends probably saw my post whining about my day) I needed a break. I hitched about 14 miles to a hostel in Gorham where I could clean and dry my clothes/shoes, take a shower, and sleep in a warm bed. That nero day did me wonders and sure enough, the rest of the time in the whites, I had fantastic weather. I'm talking about perfect, fall hiking weather. Really a 180 degree change from the prior week and it really aided in my mental state. The weather out here really affects my mood, much more so than in the real world. Probably because I'm outside 100% of the time.
Anyway, the last couple days have been fantastic. Met some more cool thru hikers going north, hung out with some awesome hut workers in Cartner Notch, and caught some fantastic vistas of the surrounding area while atop Wildcat. Oh and I loved the climbing at Wildcat. Ascending from Pinkahm Notch provided some fantastic hand over hand climbing.
So now through the White Mountains and heading onto Maine. No more state crossings after this one. Except to go back home. WooHoo!
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