[at-l] Pt 10 Pittsburgh is HIKING!!!

[kahley7 <kahley7@ptd.net>]

new england hike - day 10 - pinkham notch to carter notch hut

today was a short mileage day.  we had spent a comfortable night in gorham, so
we were in no hurry to start hiking.  we found a decent breakfast buffet and ate
heartily, then went back to the motel to get ready for hiking.  at 10:30am we
headed for pinkham notch...

it had been sprinkling in gorham, and the intensity of the rain increased as we
drove into the mountains.  it was an old fashioned thunderstorm by the time we
arrived at pinkham.  the rain became manageable by 11:30am, so we bid farewell
to timmy, shamrock, and double nickel as they hiked out...

in '97, eye had hiked some of the miles slated for today, so eye took a
different route to start my hike.  eye took the gondola (ski lift) to the top of
wildcat mountain peak 'd'.  this is what eye had done in '97 and hiked to
pinkham.  this year eye hiked the other direction to carter notch...

it is an exhausting 'puds' hike over the wildcat peaks, then a steep descent to
carter notch.  eye did not envy the other three hikers their extra miles, which
included a significant ascent to the wildcats...

eye arrived at the hut in due course, and got checked in , found my bunk, and
cleaned up a bit.  the hut is self-serve, meaning no food service.  there is a
fully stocked and operable kitchen, though.  double nickel arrived first, and
got situated.  the ladies then arrived and headed off to get situated.  eye
started cooking supper.  our first course was potato soup.  it came dehydrated,
and cooked up into something very delicious.  we were all pleased.  the main
course was mac'n'cheese, also delicious.  for desert we each had packed in a
pudding cup.  it was a marvelous meal...

we liked the atmosphere of this hut much better than the hustle/bustle of the
others.  there were very few people, and no schedule to keep...

pittsburgh


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