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[at-l] More White Mountains weekend reporting...



Went up to the Whites in search of Ma and Pa this weekend.

My workplace moved last weekend so my daily commute stinks but the trip to 
the Whites from work is now 30 minutes shorter.  Left work after 3:00 and 
was hiking by 6:00 after a couple of stops.  Just had a quick 2.6 miles to 
get to Ethan Pond shelter.  Met Albatross there making his way north.  He 
had apparently started this year's thruhike on Jan 1.  It is his third thru, 
I think.

I took a leasurely day in perfect weather on Saturday, hiking to Zealand 
Hut.  Saw a large Ribbon (?) Snake on the way.  I occupied the porch of the 
hut all day just reading.  Met Bald Eagle going south, his son with him now 
for a short segment.

After eating dinner on the porch of Zealand Hut, I hiked halfway back to 
Ethan Pond.  It was already after 8:00 when I stealth camped perhaps a bit 
too close to the trail.

Had a huge moose pass by on the trail early in the morning.  It must have 
caught my movement in the tent when I heard it and looked to watch.  It 
stopped, looked at the tent, looked at the other side of the trail, looked 
at the tent again, turned around and went back where it came from.

Had breakfast and hung out at Thoreau Falls for a few hours then made my way 
back to the trailhead.  Met a couple of thruhikers (Red Rover and Bill) at 
the side trail to the Ethan Pond shelter.  We walked out together.  Shortly 
before the parking lot, three others (Red, Skittles, and ???) caught up with 
us.

These guys had seen Ma and Pa at the campsite the night before so I now 
realized they were probably a day or two behind their original schedule and 
I was unlikely to see them this weekend.

The hikers made short work of all the munchies I had stashed in the car adn 
leftover in my pack.  I took Red Rover and Bill into town to go shopping, 
have lunch, and then shuttled them up to the hostel.  I went back to the 
trailhead to hang out for a while in case Ma and Pa decided to push for the 
trailhead.

It wasn't long before I was hoping they had already stopped and holed up 
somewhere.  Torrential rain, thunder and lightning were moving through on 
and off.  The cells were close enough to make me look around the trailhead 
lot to see if I should move my car away from deadwood.  During a lull, a 
truck pulled up to let out two hikers who had hitched back to the trailhead. 
  The driver, a local trail maintainer, told me that there was a severe 
storm warning in effect and a tornado watch in the area as well.

I'm glad I was dry in the car but I still would have rather been able to 
continue hiking.

I hate the drive back to Boston.

Mara
Stitches, GAME99


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