[at-l] White Mountain Traverse Part 3

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Tuesday 7/18/00  Guyot Campsite

    It threatened rain all day today.  Frequent Thunderstorms developed but 
missed us.  We made it to Galehead Hut (AMC) by 11:00 AM.  Had some lemonade 
and talked with the croo.  It seems that the regular croo from all of the 
huts were at a party last night and the old timers were called in to cover 
for the current crew.  The Galehead hut has just been rebuilt.  The new hut 
is very bright with excellent lighting from the windows, windmills and solar 
panels provide electricity for lighting and radio communication.  Electric 
Powered composting toilets have vastly improved the way human waste is 
handled.  A large group of AMCers were doing a traverse using the Huts.  They 
left this hut around 8 AM this morning.  I was hoping to catch them because I 
met one of their group on Mt chocorua a week ago.  Maybe tomorrow.
    We were very concerned about exposer above tree line on South Twin 
Mountain and on Mt Guyot.  Howling winds and thunderstorms nearby made for a 
frightful hike.  We made it to camp safely and by 3 PM.  Had a nice dinner 
and met a young couple from Wisconsin who shared the shelter with us.  They 
had trouble with their whisperlite stove and had know idea how to repair it.  
I talked him through cleaning the jet (which didn’t help) and pulling the 
metal wick from the fuel line to clean the gunk out - (which did the trick).  
    The caretaker came down after dinner to socialize.  It turned out that he 
had gone to school with these kids from Wisconsin.  They had a number of 
friends in common.  Steve the caretaker is a classical music major.  His 
primary instrument is the Recorder.  As we talked I found out he graduated 
from Marblehead High School.  I graduated from the same high school 40 years 
ago.  My brother was living next door to his parents.  What an incredible 
coincidence.  
    A camp group arrived about 7:30 PM just as the rain began.  Two 
counselors and 8 boys underestimated the fuel they would need for a two day 
hike and ran out on the first day.  They asked permission to start a wood 
fire to cook their dinner.  It took them for ever to get a decent fire 
because the woods were soaking wet from so many days of rain and little 
sunshine.  They are still cooking at 9:30 PM.  They have a huge battery 
powered fluorescent lamp to help them see.  I don’t know who the sucker is 
that had to carry that lamp.

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