Trippin in the Whites with Dude and 'Pet e

“Trippin? in the Whites: Report #1

Personnel: Walkindude, SirPete, Jerbear, Jerry (friend of Pete?s), this humble scribe

Our trip lurched off course at the beginning. On TT, Jerbear posted early Monday morning that he was hitting the road. I hadn?t received my site # yet and called first thing that morning to get it, but I had no way to convey the info to Jer. I posted promptly asking for his email address (he didn?t have one listed with his member info), but it was too late. He only knew my trial name, so I worried about him finding the right site. The Dude helped out by giving me a good description of bear and his jeep. I figured I would get to the camp site early and wait for bear there, but I ran into an array of delays getting out of town, including dealing with botched textbook order at work, collecting some borrowed gear which had not returned home in timely fashion and picking up a solo tent. Express, my 15 year old son who hiked with us in June was sick and he decided he should stay home. I had been pondering solo tents for a while, but the prospect of carrying my SD clip flashlight 3 alone inspired me to pick up something quick. I found a reasonably priced Zoid on the way up. I also tried on some lighter weight packs including the MountainSmith Ghost as replacements for the cheapo bomb proof Low Alpine Contour IV which I have carried for the last 5 years. The straps on the Ghost seemed way too thin for the 18 pounds of gear food and water I planned on carrying and it just didn?t sit comfortably with 20 pounds in it. Nothing else in the low weight division impressed me, I?m still waiting for a chance to try out the MountainSmith Auspex, or the Osprey light weight packs.

The campsite was on Route 302 in Crawford notch, not far from the trailhead where the AT follows the Webster cliff trail up to Mts. Webster and Jackson. All the sites had been reserved weeks in advance. With the traffic, I didn?t make it up to the campsite until almost 9PM. I had printed out a photo of a PedXing sign Violin had posted on the trip thread and I taped it up to the ?Welcome? sign at the campground and put down my site number. After touring the campgrounds looking for Jerbear, I set up my little solo tent and climbed in. My little Zoid looked pretty funny in this big clearing, especially compared to the palatial seven room tents, mobile homes and pop-up condos in the sites nearby. I was feeling a bit bummed about leaving my son behind for the weekend (he stayed with his brother and his Mom) and about Jerbear as well. Not long after I settled into my tent, the predicted storm front began to roll in. It started off with strong winds, big bursts of lighting and very loud rumbling thunder echoing across the notch. This awesome display was exactly what I was out here for.
I was awakened at about 3:30 AM. Hoping it was Jerbear and that he had read the sign, I popped out of my tent into the rain to see SirPete?s truck. It was great to see Pete again and to meet Dude. Dude?s plane had been late getting in, and SirPete had wandered into Vermont one time too many on his way up. They wisely figured that since they hadn?t been able to find their camp ground yet it made sense for Dude to set up his bivy and tarp and Pete to put up his Eureka right there. When Dude got into his bivy he was so thrilled to be able to feel the raindrops pounding without getting wet that he called our praises to the Goddess Gortex. Later, he remarked that the fabric did not breathe quite as well as claimed by the most ardent Gortex worshippers.

As we slowly pulled ourselves together in the morning, SirPete went out in search of JerBear? and returned with him before long. JerBear had come early in the afternoon and had set up camp at an overflow site nearby. After we performed the drawn out ritual of packing and re-packing, we made our plans. I really enjoyed these 3 guys. If the trail was waiting for us, I?d have been happy to hang out for hours just shooting the breeze.
I would leave my car at the AT trailhead in Crawford Notch. Jer, Dude and Pete would leave food in my car to re-supply in several days. Then we headed out to Appalachia parking lot, just north of the presidentials. The weather was cool and very overcast. There was a good chance of it clearing by mid-afternoon.


Next Installment: Stormy Weather; Personnel Change.”

“So far so good! Hurry up and get the rest of it written!LOL”

“Hey PedXing, you guys didn't have anything to do with that missing radio personality who disappeared on a hike in the Whites over the weekend, did you?”

“From Appalachia, we headed up the Valley Way trail to Madison Hut (3.8) miles. Our plan was to meet up with Pete?s friend Jerry at the hut, and then hike with him to the top of Madison, and then go to the Perch (a shelter and tent site at 4300 feet) via the Peak of Mt. Adams. This would involve about 6.5 miles of hiking and over 4,000 feet of elevation gain. The climb was fairly steep, but there was very little scrambling to do. It is the easiest and best protected route to Madison Hut. Pete had led the way up to the hut as he was eager to meet up with his friend Gerry. I was amazed at how much energy Pete and Dude showed after getting less than 3 hours of sleep. Dude stopped early on to apply moleskin to some emerging hotspots on his feet. We weren?t far from the hut when we passed the famous sign warning of the worst weather in the USA. Soon afterwards, we got a brief taste of the cold harsh winds that prevailed that day. As we got close to Madison hut, we passed a lot of day hikers heading down offering warnings and complaints about the cold and wind up at the hut. Many had waited at the hut for the peak to clear, but it never did. I was wearing short pants and a short sleeve shirt and started feeling cold just before reaching the hut, but saw no point in changing until I got there. When I got up to the hut, Pete and his friend Gerry were already there drinking soup. The soup wasn?t very good, but it was hot and nourishing and a good deal for 2 dollars for a bottomless bowl. I had went back for seconds. I thought I?d get warm waiting there, but the winds were gusting up to about 60 miles an hour and it was about 40 degrees out. The longer I stayed, the colder I got. JerBear did some good natured joking about the climb when he arrived. ?Hey man where is the flat at!!! I keep hopin? I can hike a few steps of flat space, but I don?t see none.? When several of us indicated that we were ready to move on, because we were getting cold sitting around and worried about finding space at the Perch, Jerbear got a little more serious. He said he wasn?t having much fun and was worried that he?d be holding the rest of us up. He was going to head back. We tried to change his mind, but he wouldn?t budge. He didn?t like the prospect of the 10+ mile hike he?d face in the morning, with its big ups and downs. We suggested that he could drive up and meet us at the peak of Mt. Washington at noon the next day and then meet us at Nauman tent site which was only a couple miles from the nearest roadside trail head.

The wind was fierce and visibility was almost nil, so we decided to skip the peaks of Madison and Adams and follow the AT to thunderstorm junction where we could get the Israel ridge trail down to the Perch. Gusts at 60 miles an hour were registered at Mt. Washington that day and we felt gusts close to that as we climbed along the north face of Adams near the peak. We had several miles of very exposed hiking across stones and boulders well above tree line. The paths at Thunderstorm junction were not laid out well?. we conferred with some other confused hikers headed for the Perch and a helpful thru-hiker with a guide book and got ourselves sorted out. Gerry proved to be a very strong hiker who knew the Whites very well and he led the way through most of our trip. We were all feeling pretty worn down by the weather and the steep difficult terrain. While it was a bit of a relief to head down below tree line and out of the harsh cold wind, we were none to pleased with the prospect of hiking back up from the Perch in morning. The Perch was full. About a dozen people showed up looking for space while I pumped water and got ready to look for alternate space. We managed to find appropriate space without too much extra hiking and settled in for the night. It was starting to clear and being on the northwest side of the mountain, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. We all agreed that the 6 ½ miles we had done took a lot more out of us than hikes well over twice the distance.”

“Pekka he was hiking near Diana's baths (where AmyG went... she had pictures of it linked to the "White's Rule" trip report thread). For those with maps, he was in the area bounded by Kancamagus highway, Rt. 16, Rt. 302 and bear Notch Road. We hiked on the other side of 302 so there is no way our paths would cross. We had nothing to do with his dissappearance and don't know anything about the secret 6 million dollar ransom demand.

Seriously though, I listen to his radio reports and used to see him on the TV news. I saw him interview a friend of mine once. He is one of those rare anchors who really is a reporter too. He seemed like a nice guy. I'm hoping that he's OK. The weather was great Sunday and Monday so his chances seem pretty good if he is just lost.”

“null”

“They found him.

Which is as good for me as it is for him. When the news came of the guy who they found dead last week, my wife said "see".”

“Now going on a hike without your glasses is taking this ultralight thing just a bit too far. Bet he has some suggestions about marking and maintaining that little used trail.”

“I think jeans and sandals are a bit silly too. The AMC estimated the trail at 11 hours.

Course we've all done stupid things so I'll withhold judgement. Tolerance is important. You never know when you're the one being tolerated.”

“He's an NPR anchor -- so when he came to estimating his hiking time, he had trouble being conservative, LOL.”

“We woke up fairly early Sunday morning. Sunrise was splendid? lakes, clouds and mountain peaks soaking in the pink/orange glow of dawn. The air was cold and clear. Dude and I were out first. I didn?t have a stove, and he didn?t have a tent, so we both had one less step to complete before heading out. I got very chilly just standing around and was eager to go. (It was dumb of me to forget to stretch out before starting. Over the past few years, if I backpack when I haven?t stretch out, I pay for it. I ended up having to favor a sore and tight calf for the rest of the day.) We were refreshed and invigorated. The path felt easier going up than it did coming down. We took Israel ridge and the Randolph path back to the AT at Edmands Col. Pete and Gerry caught up to us pretty quickly. The views of Jefferson ahead, Adams and Madison behind us and the Valley to our right were awesome. Yesterday, we?d seen and felt the harshness of this region and this morning we witnessed the awesome beauty and splendor of it. Dude was most pleased to have been able to experience both faces of the Presidentials. We were among the very first people up and about, so we had the ridges to ourselves for a while. It was a quick 1.4 miles 1400 feet to the top of Jefferson. I didn?t even think to take off my pack when leaving the trail to scale the very peak. The 360 degree panorama was truly inspiring. We sat around for a while blissing out at the peak, looking at the Mount Washington Hotel, the cog railway, the cars winding up the auto road and the splendid peaks and valleys around us. The next day, Pete said, ?you can describe what we saw up there, or even post a picture? but there is no way to show what it was really like just to be in the middle of it.? Having had harsh weather the day before, we could appreciate how wonderful this day was. Another 2.6 miles brought us over the top of Mt. Clay and then to the top of Mt. Washington.. Once we rejoined the AT on the way down from Mt. Clay, we started to run into the infamous Mt. Washington crowds. Lots of people would walk out along the trail for a short hike after taking the road or the railway up to the top. Up top, we could see the Atlantic ocean. At 6:30 AM visibility was officially 100 miles. I think we could see even farther than that as a little haze had burnt off. The views were wonderful, despite the crowds and the smell of the coal burnt on the cog railway. To our disappointment, Jerbear was nowhere to be found. Because the Perch filled up so early, and because Nauman was even more popular than the Perch, we had decided not to go to Nauman that day and had hoped to alert Jerbear to our new destination. Since Nauman was a long haul, we couldn?t both wait for Jerbear and make it to Nauman. We decided to wait for him, since it looked as if the drive up Mt. Washington took a long time and there might be a line or some other kind of delay. After a couple of leisurely hours at the summit, we moved on. We stopped again briefly at the Lake of the Clouds Hut (about 1 ½ downhill miles from Mt. Washington). The hut is gorgeous and set near two mountain ponds. The view from the cafeteria is gorgeous. The path from the hut to Mt. Washington was also very crowded and seemed to be full of people hiking to and from the summit parking lot. We decided to head over the peaks of Mt. Monroe and Mt. Franklin and a crest that we christened ?Mt. Dude.? The trip across the peaks entailed about 2 miles of mostly easy ridge walking and then we descended down the Mt. Eishenhower trail towards dry river and our intended camp ground for the night. The Eisenhower trail plunges down into a moss and heavily forested area. It was a wonderful change of pace from the ascent and from the time spent above tree-line. Gerry had picked out the area, and the camping was great. We had the roar of the not so dry river to accompany us through the night. We hung out and talked until well after dark. We spoke fondly of TT?ers from other hikes. Pete and I wished Mad, Amy and my son (who came to the Whites with us in June) were with us. Dude and I toasted Sunshine and Amy. Dude?s feet were killing him and he was thinking about cutting short the next days hike. He had bathed them in the river and made sure they aired for a few hours that night. Nonetheless, all of us, including Dude, were extremely happy campers.

In the morning, I woke up feeling like I was coming down with the flu that kept my son off the trail. I hadn?t slept much and was coughing through the morning. I started off the hike with long sleeves and long pants as I felt very sensitive to the chill. Before long, I was way too hot and had to stop and change. Somehow, with the heat and exertion, I began to feel better. I was definitely the slowest off the mark that morning, but the philosophy I?ve developed is that when there is no deadline I will walk at a pace that feels comfortable and restful to me. That way, I can keep the pace up for as long as I need to ? and I won?t need to stop and rest as much as others. Dude?s feet were feeling much better and he was enthusiastically leading the rest of us out of the forest. As he felt better, he began suggesting a change of plan. Instead of hiking out to the highway and hitch-hiking, why didn?t we just take a longer route and hike back to my car? And, instead of taking a slow day, he suggested that he and Pete could just keep hiking towards Franconia notch. It was almost 7 miles out, but we covered it that morning. It was another gorgeous day. Pete and Dude got their supplies out of my car and I shuttled Pete over to get some easy water and a trail map for the section between Crawford and Franconia. After a round of good-byes, I took off to drive Gerry back to his truck at Pinkham notch. I wish I was hiking with Pete and Dude these next few days, but I know they will have a great time. I?m looking forward to hiking with them both again. I was also very pleased to meet Gerry and hope to see a bit more of Jerbear some time. I hope he?s having a fine old time as I write this. I wanna thank Dude, Pete, Gerry and Jerbear for making this a fantastic trip. I also wanna thank all the people who read through this whole trip report. I think you are both really kewl!”

“Nice job on the report, Ped. Hope the flu never got a grip on you.”

“I hope you guys get 100 mile views.
-
Violin
1:33:33 PM
8/29/01

Great report! Sounds very memorable.”

“I read it all and it was great. I like "blissing out"”

“Would that I could have been there!!


Your reports were just great! Isn't the walk from the summit of Monroe across the opening rolling ridgeline just fantastic! After the boulder fields of the Northern Presidentials and summit of Washington it is wonderful to stretch your legs and let gravity pull you along.

Am sorry that the summits of Madison and Adams got away from you.

Have seen the summit of Madison in all it forms (except the depth of winter). Last year was cloudy and exceptionally windy; time before that was beautful autumn day at the Appalachia, and blowing 40 with ice and fog at the top. The wind driven rime ice on the summit marker had formed horizontal icicals. Have never actually had a clear day on Madison.

Your second day sounded great. Glad you got the views, clear skies. It is fun to roll along that ridge in good weather. So very different from bad. Many years ago did the traverse from Lakes of the Clouds to Madison in 40 degree rain and wind. Skirted all the peaks and was hypothermic athe Madison hut (wrapped in wool blankets, hot soup etc). Last year did the reverse trek in gorgeous sunny weather hit all the peaks.

What route did you follow out to your car? Back up onto the ridge and out the Crawford Path?”

“Pekka, Violin, Mary Phyl and Lee: Thanks so much for the comments and feedback. I was wondering if I was wasting my time and other people's writing the report, and you've made me glad that I did.

Lee: We went almost all the way out on the Dry River Trail and then up the Sacco River trail which sort of parallels Route 302 (it's a blue blazed trail that doesn't show up on all the maps, and isn't in my 25th edition of the AMC guide).”

“You write an excellent trip report, felt like I was there. Thank you.”

“Great report! Makes me wish I was living back in NH! Glad you got the views, my backpack trip up Washington greeted me with horizontal sleet and snow during the last weekend in May.”

“it was beautiful report! felt like i was along...even felt cold! also, the comment about not being able to convey what it is like to BE there......even thru pictures and words..very true...........but you brought it very close in your description...
thanks for sharing......”

“Ped, wonderful narrative on the Whites. Your use of form and prose is truly awe inspiring!

You were missed on here as well as ICQ. WELCOME BACK!!”

“sounds like I missed a great trip! wow, guys...way to go! I am sooo happy for you I could just cry.

sigh...sniff..sniff

;o)”

“Is Jerbear still missing?”

“PedXing - Sounds like a wonderful time. There was a lot to the Whites I didn't get to see when I was there a couple weeks ago. Your report helped me to feel like I had experienced it myself!”

“Thanks so much for the report, Ped. Happy that you guys had a great time!”

“Good report Ped. Glad you guys got to experience both of the weathers.”

“Golly, I'd a liked to been there, sounds like fun.”

“Great trip report!

I hope jerbear turns up, we're supposed to go backpacking in BSP next week !”

“I'm sorry I missed the trip, but my wife and I had other plans that weekend that involved relatives. We did do Mt Tom, Mt Field, and Mt Willey on Sunday when the weather was gorgeous. As I stood on Mt Willey looking at Mt Washington and the Northern and Southern Presidentials I was a tad envious of your trip. Sunday was such a perfect day to be on the Presidential ridge. With the lack of rain this year in NH, Washington has been cloud free an unprecedented amount of days this summer. Your timing on Sunday was perfect.”

“Awesome report. Wished I coulda, woulda, shoulda been there!”

“Thanks Chuck, Reptiles, Om, Tex, AmyG, tarabull, bp, baume, Mad, Buddur, UK and twig for the kind feedback.

BacPac and Twig: We all figured Jerbear went on his way. Dude and Pete, who knew him best were confident of that. The trip down from Madison is very very well traveled and very safe.
Twig: Jer may end up wanting to rethink Katahdin. Please do say "hi" to him for me, and tell him he is welcome to stop in Cambridge if he'd like.”

“I just got a chance to read your report. Good stuff, Pedxing!”

“I'm sure jerbear is fine - I'd continue on with my own thing in that situation as well. I know he'd planned on doing Katahdin, but not with me.”

“I think jerbear was nuts for going on a trip with pedxing anyway. Oops, I gotta stop thinking out loud. LOL”

“Doesn't posting on TT automatically qualify us all as nuts?”

“a big can o' mixed nuts”

“jerbear is on his way to Calais and New Brunswick.”

“Great trip report there Ped,..Thank you for sharing it with us!

You do paint pretty with your words!”

“Yo' Ped!

Thanks for being so prolific and comprehensive in your reports. Because of your clear and interesting presentation, one really gathers an understanding about your trip. The storm in the campground sounded great.”

“I AM OUDA HERE!!! tomorrow is the Garfield trail to Garfield, and then the Garfield ridge tothe Galehead hut. Sunday up South Twin, North Twin and down!!

Weather looks good!”

“Yo bear! Thanks Twig for settin em straight. I am in nova scotia and havin a blast. I too got the flu but am on the back side of it. I went to naumen and camped out great place. I also climed the crawford path to Mt Washington Ouch! My knees have seen better days but am lookin forward to more hikes next week.I found many hikes in the whites that do not compromise safty or injuries! Poor dude, New boot and no breakin! Tried to warn him! Trip got compressed and the splittin up at the hut got to me and it was in MY best interest to ABORT and do my own thing. Good meeting ped and gerry.Did not see your names in the book at mt washington? Naumen I had a double and a single for ya all, but no show?Kewl, I logged 36milesin and camped out 6nights in the whites.FAB time. Then headed to Acadia, beautitful!Met a gal from New Brun and she showed me a route to take, and so far its workin. On to Fundy NP, camped and headed out this am for Atlantic coast.Will be in BaxterSP on the 14th. Katadin on the 12thKnife edge! After my BP trip I think I will be headin north up into maine and do some REAL wilderness ISO Grizzley!
One last thought, Poor decision to break the chain, but we learn as we live! Yo!”

“How bout getting a job ya bum :-) Good report jb. It sounds like you made some good decisions.”

“Bummer on missing you at Nauman Jerbear.... even if we'd known, it mighta kilt Dude's feet to push on through the rocky ups and downs. I don't think any of us did sign in at Washington.

Yo Bear! Lemme know if there is somewhere I can send yer tabacky! Ifn ya come through Boston, I can give it to ya directly and take ya ta dinner.”

“Ped I have your poles.........need and address to ship.”

“OMG Pete! How'd that happen??
How the hell are ya anyways!!!

Hey Lee.. have a great trip!!!!”

“This is Dude

The rest of the trip was FANTASTIC!!!!
After yall left, We went up to Eathon Pond and got the Shelter. Took a bath and washed clothes in the lake there. Had some Thru-Hikers show up and stay too.
The next day we made tracks for Garfield Shelter. (about 15 miles). Easy path for about the first 5 miles. From Zeland Hut is goes straight up 1 mile and gains over 1000 ft elevation. Wonderful views from Zeacliff! From there it rolled along up & down. Started looking kinda gray about Mnt. Guyot. We pulled into Gailhead Hut. We were there about 5 mins when it started raining. While sitting in the Hut, I looked out the window and saw a Kangaroo. I'd never seen the elusive North Appalachian Kangaroo. I was laughed at and made fun of. Come to find out, It was just a big Jack Rabbit. The rain stopped before break was over so when we hit the trail. 2 1/2 miles and 1 1/2 hours later we got to Garfield Shelter. Even though we'd been told by this limp wristed fellow that it would take over 3 hours. After supper it began raining again.
The next morning the rain stopped but it was socked in with fog. No view from the top of Mnt. Garfield. Cruised up Mnt. Lafayette and put on the wind gear just before going into the Alpine zone. The wind was gusting 50 MPH and still limited visibility. Reashed the top and got a bite to eat. As we were starting to head down the path for Mnt. Lincoln, The fog started burning off and the views starting showing up. Down 500 ft & up 300 ft in .8 miles we were on Lincoln. The view was AWESOME!!!! Took about 30 mins to take in the view and shuffeled off to Little Haystack. Kewl! Headed down to camp at Liberty Springs Campsite. I took a short dayhike back up to bag Mnt. Liberty. It's tought to leave views like that.
The next morning morning we took the 3 1/2 mile walk the the parking lot at Franconia Notch.
We hopped the Shuddle bus and rode back to sirpete's truck. From there we drove to Pinkham Notch and took showers. We saw one of the Thru-hikers there that we had camped with at Ethan Pond. She didn't even recognive us cleaned up. HAHAHA!
BTW, my right foot got a blister the first day out. The second day, my toes were getting bashed up from all the down hill. About day 5 I was starting to feel a tendon near my right ankle getting pretty strained. My left foot is 100%.
With that in mind, I'll tell you more.
We headed into town to find a place to stay and hit a few gear shops. He niticed during putting our packs back in the truck that one boot was missing. It was the left boot. We drove ALL the way back to Pinkham Notch and the boot was found in the parking lot and turned in. That's when we realized that the letf boot was a good boot and the right boot is an EVIL boot! What else could explain why my right foot hurt and the left was fine. The EVIL boot threw the good boot out of the truck.

The whole trip was around 55 miles in 6 days.
GREAT PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!
SPECTACULAR MOUNTAINS!!!!!!!
GOOD TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sirpete has been a wonderful host during my stay here.
Ped is a great guy. It was a real treat to be able to meet & hike with him finally.
Jerbear. I wish you'd have continued to hike with us. We missed you on the rest of the trip.

Walkindude

PS Tommorrow I'm going to get to see the Statue of Liberty before I fly back home.”

“coolness.”

“I think I smell a Stephen King-ish story on "THE EVIL RIGHT BOOT"!!!!

Nice job all, sounds like fun!! Thanks for the first reports, Ped! (I don't care what they say about you and bacpac being one!! LOL!)”

“Great report Dude!!! Thanks for filling us in. I wish I was there for round 2.
Amazing story though.. the right shoe chose the left hand path! Or is it that the right shoe was the wrong shoe???

(LOL! Liz. Of course I'm not BacPac, at least not when I take my meds.)”

“Well I'm home now. The plane landed on time and Susan was there to meat me. Got to see the Statue of Liberty before getting on the plane.
THANKS AGAIN SIRPETE!!!!”

“So Ped? How are you feeling? I hope you didn't get the Flu!”