With less than eight AT miles left in New Hampshire and the White Mountains, I decided to try to finish them before the weather turned sour. This was easier said than done, however, because the Carter-Moriah section I still had to hike has three peaks higher than 4000 feet and no connecting trails that are less than 3.5 miles... I was up by 0500, finished packing and ate light breakfast. Got on the road by 0615 and drove north on I-91. Used VT/NH-25, River Road, NH-10 and US-302 to reach Littleton. Got a gas fill-up (and free drink reward) at Cumberland Farms (0745) and then continued north. Used NH-116 to reach US-2. Picked up breakfast at McDonalds in Gorham (0845) and then continued south on NH-16. I managed to reach the trailhead for the Stony Brook Trail by 0900 this morning and headed into the woods. The temps were good (low 60s) and the sky was clear - perfect conditions! My climb to the ridge went pretty well (I’ve used this trail before) and I passed two groups of hikers (including a group of young ladies from Proctor Academy) with smiles on their faces because of the nice weather. I turned SOBO when I reached the white blazes (about two hours after I’d left my car) and immediately started passing NOBO Thru hikers and LASHers - I enjoyed a few brief conversations with them about their journeys. For a while, though, I was all alone on the trail. Soon after I passed the side trail to the Imp Campsite, I started a long, steep climb up the side of North Carter Mountain. Though it is taller than 4000 feet, it isn’t considered one of the 48 4K Peaks because it is too close to Middle Carter Mountain. Regardless, the climb was just as bad as any of the other huge climbs I’ve done in the Whites. Near the top, I met two guys going the same direction as I was and we joined up for the next several miles. Tim and Ryan were lifelong friends from Florida who were on their annual Fall Hike together. This time, they were tackling the wilderness area east of the Carters and only got on the AT to connect two other trails. We had a great time talking about college football, engineering jobs we’d had, Patagonia and general hiking stories. This, along with the great weather and views, made the hike seem to go faster. In reality, though, their pace was much slower than mine usually is and we stopped for several long breaks. As a result, I realized too late that it would be very hard to backtrack as I’d planned. I started looking at trying to reach Zeta Pass and descending via the Carter Dome and Nineteen Mile Brook Trails. This would require as much as a five mile road walk but I figured it would allow me to come back later to easily finish the section without having to climb extra mountains. I was convinced this was a good plan as soon as I saw the imposing profiles of Mount Hight and Carter Dome in the distance... So, I continued with Tim and Ryan across Middle Carter (4610') and South Carter (4430') peaks (both on the list of 48) and descended into Zeta Pass. Saying goodbye to those guys, I started down the side trail - only 3.6 miles to the road! About a mile later, I met a dad (Eric) and his son (Theo) and sheepishly asked if I could get a ride from them back to my car. Amazingly, they said yes! By this time, it was 1700 and we still had a while to walk. We went pretty fast (more good conversation) and managed to reach the parking lot just after 1900. Another guy was waiting there too - he also needed a ride... Eric and Theo graciously took us to our vehicles and saved me hours of walking. My pedometer said I walked 15 miles today - am glad I didn’t have to make it 20! I quickly changed into dry clothes and drove north on NH-16. Stopped for dinner at Dynasty Buffet in Gorham (done at 2030) and then continued north on NH-16 (through Berlin) until I reached the town of Milan. I took NH-110B to the entrance to Milan Hill State Park (arrived by 2115). The park office was closed but I had made a reservation (fortunately!). In pitch black conditions, I managed to find my campsite and set up my car (folded down back seat) for the night. Spent the rest of the evening reading and then went to bed at 2200. Only 2.7 AT miles left in NH now - maybe I can get it done tomorrow... AT Today = 5.1 miles / Grand Total AT = 2047.9 miles / NH 4000 Footers #21 and #22 of 48
