Appalachian Trail: Pinkham Notch To US 2 (Gorham, NH)

🐻 x 6 🦌 x 1

UPDATED 12-05-2020

I've been wrestling with a decision for weeks.  I bet you know what that decision was.  The final decision clicked into place during this section of the Appalachian Trail (AT) and a choice became clear.

The fall colors in the White Mountains.

Day 175 - I was dropped off at Pinkham Notch and I started up the Wildcat Mountains.  I'd woken up a bit bummed this morning and I felt a bit emotional as I climbed the steep rocky trail.  I think it was running into George that did it.  I realized that everyone I met in the south and cared about were either forever ahead of me, had flip flopped and I'd met them going south (like Sista', Tarzan, and George), or had already quit the AT (Salamander, Ruckus, Day Glow, Lumberjack, Jug, Phoenix, Red Bush).  This made the trail feel incredibly lonely for me.  Combining this with the fact my body simply wasn't recovering every night like it did down south and I missed home, the pieces clicked into place and the choice was clear.  I was going to quit my AT thru-hike attempt.

I arrived at the Carter Notch Hut.  The Hut was transitioning from summer full service to winter self service.  They let me and a couple other thru-hikers sleep in the bunk room.

In better weather the colors would
have reflected in the pond.

Day 176 - I crossed the Carters - Carter Dome, Middle Carter, and North Carter mountains. Despite having over ten hours of sleep I had little energy. Every rock, every labored step reinforced my decision to quit.

There were few views today due to low clouds and fog but occasionally I got glimpses of the fall colors.  The reds, oranges, and yellows always made me smile despite how tired I felt.

I reached the Imp Shelter.  My goal was five or six miles farther ahead but I couldn't do it.  I stopped at Imp for the night.

Day 177 - I slipped three times on my last day on the trail.  After I crossed my last mountain, Mt Moriah, I was heading mostly down hill.  The trail went from rocky to not so bad dirt/rock/root mix.  It's these nicer trails that get me.  I lower my defenses as I push myself to move faster.

The early morning light on my last day on the AT.

The first two slips were minor.  A banged knee here.  An overextended knee there.  A few bruises.  The third was a bit more ironic.  I was rushing the last two miles because I wanted to beat the coming rain and be dry when I got to the hostel.  I reached a stream.  The bank was a broad smooth granite shelf.  I approached the edge intending to step down when my feet went out from under me.  I ended up sitting in six inches of cold water.  The only casualty was a smacked funny bone that numbed my left arm.   My pants sort of dried by the time I got to the hostel.

The slips and falls I've been having lately just reinforced to me that it was time to come home.

The AT gave me a parting gift though.  I heard a noise ahead and a large moose with a full rack came out on the trail ahead of me.  It moved away from me before turning off trail.  It paused to look at me before it went deeper into the woods.  Sadly, no pictures.  Also sadly there is no moose emoji so I had to use a deer head in the counter at the top of the post.

More about my leaving the AT in my next post.

Pictures can be found in my 2019 Appalachian Trail Google Photos album.

Total Distance: 1,893.7 Miles (3,047.6 km) Section Distance: 20.2 Miles (32.5 km) Section Elevation Up: 7,311 ft (2,228 m) Section Elevation Down: 8,164 ft (2,488 m)