The Unpolished Princess

I slept incredibly well in my hotel bed.. they seem to be getting more and more comfortable, which may not be such a good thing, hahaha!

I was originally, pre Lyme’s Disease issues, planning to double zero here instead of the zero in Hanover. However, because of that blip, I don’t get to double zero now. The goal was to get the rental car early this morning and then slack pack over the last 17 miles to have me all caught up to the spot where Andrea and I will start the White Mountains together. I’m guessing this slack pack is going to take me anywhere from 10-12 hours, because of the terrain difficultly.

I got up and called the rental place first thing this morning. Actually, that’s a lie, I did it from the bed.. there was no “getting up” involved. I was told I couldn’t get the car any earlier (aka now) because the compact car they plan to rent me hasn’t been returned and cleaned yet. But it would be by 10am, like my reservation says. Ugh.
So, then I got up-and went and did my laundry (that I was supposed to do last night but got too tired after that dinner and margarita). I ate the free continental breakfast while my clothes washed, and decided today will be the zero. My new goal is to do all the things I need to do today, and then get up super dang early in the morning, and be on the trail by 5am for this crazy slack pack hike. There are 3 peaks I have to cross in that 17 miles.. it should be fun. Ha. Then, sometime before I finish I’ll message Cholula my timing.. when I get to the trailhead, she’ll pick me up and drive me back to the car. Depending on how long it takes me, I may get to go shower and change clothes before I drive down to pick up Andrea.. or I may have to haul ass and go straight there. Her flight comes in late-which is the only way this is even possible. So, it all works out.

After my laundry was done I put on my rain clothes and walked (under my umbrella) to the rental car place. It was pouring today, so maybe it was a blessing that my car wasn’t ready. I got there and the man tells me the compact car still isn’t there, but because of that, if I didn’t want to wait any longer, I could have the large SUV for the same price as the compact car. He put me in a Nissan Armada. It is a boat, so it makes sense that it was raining all day! Ha. That thing is HUGE, and I haven’t driven in months. It took me a little bit to get readjusted to vehicle life.. especially such a large one. I was happy about it though, I’d rather this than a dinky little car anyway.

So, I got the car and drove back to the hotel. I had a little bit of online stuff to do for mom to make sure her flights were right and whatnot.. she’s officially coming to Maine when I get there!! I’m super excited to see her! I miss her so much. Once we got all that squared away, I went to the post office to get a package she sent me. It went to a different business, but the post office manager was so kind to walk with me to make sure I got it without issue. Such sweet people up here in Littleton!

I had mom send me my birth control, the ground cloth from my old tent (I really don’t like the piece of plastic the new one has), my thicker weight rain jacket (for wind protection too in the Whites), and a compactor trash bag for Andrea’s pack. We can’t have her sleeping bag and sleep clothes getting wet! And these bags are like cents compared to $50-60 for a dry bag the size of your pack. Ridiculous.

With my goodies in tow, I drove to the hotel TBird and that crew was at.. I picked up DoubleDecker and Smiles and the three of us went to the shoe outfitter. They didn’t have a single pair of shoes that fit me well.. they were either too big, too small, smooshed my toes, or my heels slipped out when walking upstairs. Good God it shouldn’t be this hard to find comfortable shoes!

DoubleDecker got what she needed, socks and whatnot, and then we headed to another store for Smiles. He ran in and we sat in the car. I called REI when I found a store “close” by.. aka a little over an hour away. The lady said she had the shoes I wanted in my size and that she’d hold them for me! Alright alright alright!

We ran through McDonald’s and got all of us food.. $65 later, we were sitting on their hotel room beds about to eat, when we realized everything was there but my Big Mac. Haha. Of course. I hung out a few anyway, and ate my fries. TownLegs has been having shoe trouble too, and was planning to go with me to REI. She called them though and sadly they didn’t have her size in store. So, she ordered them and had them sent ahead.. but she’s still stuck in shoes over a size and a half too big! She was working on finagling them to get her though this next bit until she can get the new ones.

I drove back to McDonald’s and got my Big Mac, the girl was practically waiting for me lol she knew it got left! Once I devoured it, I set the GPS to REI! An hour later, over gorgeous mountain passes with no service, I was in another cute ski town with a huge REI. This has to feel the same way that people feel when they get to heaven and see the pearly gates. Those big wooden handles on the doors just reassure you that you’re about to be saved. From foot pain that is..

The lady had my shoes, still Altras (wide toe box) but the style with more cushion.. I tried the 9 and it was still too big, but the 8.5 were perfect! I walked around the store and actually got so excited I hugged the lady. I know, I’m too much sometimes. But you know what? She said that was the best part of her day.. and mine too! Haha
I also got some stuff to spray on my rain gear to make them more repellent. I got Andrea her fuel (kinda can’t fly with that), and a water resistant pouch that hooks to my pack strap for my phone. Because I guess buying new shoes wasn’t enough.. I miss shopping! Lol

Driving back took an hour and 20 minutes. I was going to go meet Cholula, Curmy, and Derby for dinner, but I was wiped out after all that driving and doing all day, and I still had more to get done. Zeros are supposed to be relaxing, laid up, not moving. I definitely did not do that. Oh well.
I ran by subway and got a sub for tomorrow’s lunch on the mountain. I ate Taco Bell for dinner. Then ran into Walmart and a grocery store to get my resupply for the first 3 days that Andrea is with me. When I got back to the hotel, I sprayed my rain stuff outside (luckily the rain has stopped, for now), then brought it all in and hung it up in the bathroom.

I set to work organizing my gear, food, and stuff for the slack pack. I have a little pile of things for Andrea, stuff she wanted and stuff I hope she wants because I don’t wanna carry it or throw it away. By the time I went though everything, the stuff in the bathroom was mostly dry, so I laid the ground cloth out over a chair and hung the jacket and pack cover in the closet with the door open. I washed out the shower and then took one. I was aiming to take a bath, since I have the tub and I bought some epsom salt for sore muscles.. but sadly the water didn’t feel hot when it was filling up the tub, so I just drained it back out. I can’t sit in lukewarm water. I barely like baths as it is.
Now I’m clean, my stuff is laid out for tomorrow, and everything else is clean and organized so Andrea won’t have to walk into a disaster zone. I have an early early morning, and I’m nervous about it all. I pray it goes well and fast. The quicker I get done, the longer I have to relax before Andrea arrives. I don’t like the idea of rushing and being late to get her.

Anyway, thanks for following along, y’all. Sorry I didn’t take pictures today. I just didn’t think about it. Goodnight! When you’re reading this, I’ll probably be hiking over those mountains.. so, say a quick prayer for me 😉

Start: Hikers Welcome Hostel (AT mi 1794.2). Stop: Slack pack over Mount Moosilauke (AT mi 1803.7) Today’s miles: 9.5 miles. Total AT mileage: 779 miles

I think today has to go down as one of my favorite trail days.. top 5 for certain. Although, I didn’t sleep well-we’ll stay it’s because of nerves. Haha

It started raining around dusk last night and didn’t stop. Normally I sleep better with the rain, but I couldn’t shut my brain off. I got up before my watch alarm vibrated.. at a lovely 5:35am. I could have “slept” for 20 more minutes, but I was too anxious. So, I got up, grabbed all my stuff as quietly as possible, and tiptoed out the door and down the stairs. I used the outdoor bathroom, literally a toilet and a shower and a sink separated by curtains with a tarp roof lol.. and then I got to work on repacking my stuff so I could slack pack today.

I put absolutely everything inside the white compactor trash bag that I use as a liner (in my pack) to keep my stuff dry. The only things I carried on the slack pack was the pack itself with its rain cover on, my sandwich and chips from the deli, one full liter of water, a Gatorade, some skittles, my bug net and bug spray, my rain jacket, toilet paper, my wallet, a headlamp, and my garmin GPS tracker for emergencies. Everything else was in the trash bag, left on Cholula’s car.

I ate a quick breakfast of peanut butter mini bagels.. I’m so sick of those bagels already. When I resupply I’ll have to try something new again. And at a beautiful 6:27am, Cholula pulled into the driveway. I grabbed my stuff and headed outside, man I was happy to see her! It had been too long!
Once I was inside, we drove 5 minutes up the road and picked up TBird, TownLegs, and TieDye. Then began the trek to the other side of the mountain. Today, we slack packed the AT south over Mount Moosilauke, which means we basically got driven ahead and hiked back to where we just were.

I was a ball of anxious energy on the way there. Excitement mixed with concern, because everyone we’ve recently talked to had said that Moosilauke is a beast and it’s dangerous when wet and the climbs and descents are super steep and not to be taken lightly. Even the sign once we started going warned hikers of this part’s difficultly. Good gracious.

Well, it started off mesmerizing. And while it did rain all night and everything was saturated and soaked, it wasn’t currently raining. And it was cooler. And the bugs were in hiding.. so we were off to a great start! The first mile and a half was uphill and while it was tricky and required careful consideration for foot placement, it was beautiful! There was a huge waterfall that just kept going and going, so it’s beauty easily distracted me from the difficulty of the climb.
It was purposefully cautiously slow going for the whole bit up the waterfall section. Some of the rock faces were so slick that the trail maintenance people put up wooden steps and rebar in areas to safely maneuver. Wood is very slippery when wet, if ya didn’t know lol. Somehow I made it without an all the way fall, although I did trip up a few times.

The four of us made it to the shelter that’s a mile and a half from the summit. We stopped in to have a privy and snack break. Once I was stopped, I got super cold. It was misty and chilly up there. So, I cut my break short and decided to head on up the rest of the way to get warm again. I knew I wasn’t ready to put my jacket on with more climbing to do, so best to keep it moving.

Once I got back on the trail, a hiker I met last night at the hostel, IceBear came barreling up. The man is FAST. When he came up on me he asked if he could hike behind me to help slow up his pace, lol, otherwise he’d “rush through the whole thing.” I made sure he realized that I wasn’t planning on picking up my pace any just because he was behind me, and told him to let me know when he was ready to pass me. He said that’s exactly what he was hoping for. Cool.

We chatted the whole way up. That’s how ya know I wasn’t carrying a full pack! I could talk while hiking uphill with rocks and boulders and mud to dodge, climb, and maneuver around. It was such a free feeling! To be able to move without any restrictions! At a sign we realized we were 0.4 miles from the summit.. and then maybe 0.1 miles later, the trees dropped off and we were on a gorgeous mountain top with fine grasses and a rocky path marked with cairns! It was stunning! I was so overjoyed that I literally felt a flutter of happiness rush up through my chest.

We were in the clouds though, so everything had a white fog around it. Through that dense fog I could see a hiker walking towards us.. the person was far away, but I could make out the thin frame and the trekking poles.. as they got closer, I just KNEW it was Lizard! I squealed a little and IceBear thought I was losing my mind with all the noise I had been making up to this point.. you know, the sounds you make from pure delight. I waited until I was sure before I screamed her name.. once she recognized me back, she screamed mine, and we attempted to “run” towards each other for a hug.. I say attempted because the rock path was anything but smooth.. lol

We stood on that mountain top catching up long enough to where both of us had chattering teeth, IceBear left me, and we dropped our packs to dig out our rain jackets for warmth. It was so worth it! We talked about our plans for the whites, as she has family coming to do the same section with her that Andrea is coming to do with me. And we’re going to start the same day! I hope we all run into each other out there 🙂 maybe we’ll even stay at the same shelter!

Anyway. After we decided it was too cold to stay up there standing still, she headed her way and I continued on to the actual summit.. which is where I ran into DoubleDecker and Smiles! They got a picture of me at the summit marker. We chatted a few minutes, and then went opposite directions, too! Then I was going downhill, and shortly after I reached the tree line I ran back into IceBear and another hiker he knew.

After that chatty session, IceBear followed me down the mountain.. talking the whole way! He’s quite an interesting guy, with a unique but fascinating way of living life in the moment. His girlfriend was back at the hostel we stayed at last night, she flew in to visit him once she was out of school (she’s a teacher in the Bahamas) but didn’t want to hike this crazy of a mountain today. I don’t blame her! They met while he was sailing.. he lives on a sailboat in Key West. The man had me utterly entertained.

I felt like I was slowing him way down, but I still took my time with my foot placement. We’re talking 5 miles of rocky descent. It was definitely way easier to manage it while being this light though, truly. Each downward step didn’t put tons of pressure on my knees the way it does with a full pack.

We talked and talked and then, out of no where we were coming to a field and then a road. Holy crap! I was basically done! We did the road walk to the shelter that we picked up my other slack packing friends from. I used the privy and said bye to IceBear, he headed on to the hostel.. and then I walked back to the main road. Mainly because the bugs were eating me up now that it was warmer and the sun was starting to shine, the other reason being to make up the missed mile from not walking to the shelter last night.

I was walking back when TBird showed up, she walked to the parking lot and then came back to the road I was at. She didn’t want to shorten her hike either lol. We ate our lunches sitting on the side of a road. Maybe 30 minutes later, TieDye and TownLegs appeared. We hung out a bit and waited for Cholula to come get us.

Cholula picked us up and kindly drove us to our destinations.. TownLegs and TBird had a motel right by the post office they were headed to. Then TieDye had a hotel his wife was meeting him at just down the road from there.. and then there was me. Cholula had to trek me almost 30 minutes north by highway to my hotel. Haha
I chose this hotel because I could book it for free with my Hilton points, and it is a close walk to the rental car place I have to go to in the morning. Win win for me and Andrea, not so much for the getting there part. I felt bad for having her drive so far out of the way, but I paid her for gas & time so I do feel a little better about it.

I checked into my hotel and promptly took a long shower. I love it when they have the good shampoos! And it has a tub, too. So I see a bath in my near future. Instead of doing that then, I got out and put on my sports bra and undies and headed directly to the jacuzzi, which happens to be across from my room! Success!

After soaking in there until the timer went off, I came back to the room, dried off, and headed to get some stuff done. Next door is a strip mall with a Tjmaxx and a store like Sports Authority. I don’t remember what it’s called, but you get the drift. I got a visor from Tjmaxx (I think it’ll be less constricting than a hat-it’s actually the same one TBird has, color and all-we’re twins now lol), and then a lightweight Under Armor long sleeve shirt to hike in that will protect my arms from the sun.. everyone says the White Mountains have so much sun exposure, so better to be safe than sorry. When I finished shopping, I went to the Applebee’s in the same shopping center. Talk about convenience!

I sat at the bar and had a margarita, steak, shrimp, potatoes, and broccoli. It was delicious! It’s amazing how incredible everything in town tastes after you’ve been eating tuna and ramen noodles for days. I updated the blog there, while I was just sitting and trying not to eves drop on the other patrons conversations.. little hard not to when you’re not distracted. I chatted with Andrea and we made sure she was good to go with everything she’ll need for the trip. I came back to the room and was in bed asleep before 8:30pm.

Gotta love it when you can fall right to sleep! Today was such a great day. Now, let’s just pray the next slack pack I do is just as successful!

Start: Jacobs Brook Stealth Site (AT mi 1778.1). Stop: Hikers Welcome Hostel (AT mi 1794.2). Today’s miles: 16.1 miles. Total AT mileage: 769.5 miles

I didn’t sleep as well as I thought I should have..I had a couple nightmares about snakes which made no sense. I got up at 6:30 because I thought I heard rain drops. I packed so fast so my tent would stay dry, and then when I realized it wasn’t going to rain, I took my time eating breakfast. I some how didn’t leave camp until almost 7:30! Not sure how that happened, even now as I’m recounting what I did. Haha

The trail went right up immediately after leaving the brook. Mount Cube was the first ascent and it wasn’t terrible. Jola and a couple other hikers passed me early on, so much for yesterday’s success in that department lol. I met up with them on a gorgeous rocky out look half way up. They pointed out the fire tower on Smarts Mountain that we crossed yesterday. It was an impressive mountain from this view. An impressive mountain that I have already conquered. Boom.

The rest of the way up was more of the same, rocks and mud but also pine needles and moss. Stunning mixed with “what in the hell?” Before reaching the rock summit, I ended up walking back through the moss covered ground to dig a hole. Sorry Mother Nature, I couldn’t wait for a better place! Ya gotta go when ya gotta go!

At the top, I took pictures for a lady day hiking with her perfect golden retriever. Then I slowly made my way down the slippery slopes that are what we call the trail. Some how I did manage to keep my socks out of the mess today, but the ones from yesterday still stink. My shoes reek, too, FYI.

I crossed more boggy wetlands in between mountain, all with broken wooden planks.. and then more ups and downs but they were dramatically less daunting. I do remember thinking how sick of rock hopping over mud I am though.. and the sad thing is, I don’t think that changes any time soon. I ate lunch in one of the low spots today, after a road crossing, and knew it was a bad idea because once I stopped moving I was swarmed by bugs (it was definitely a bug net kinda day). I didn’t even finish eating because I was so annoyed with them.

I made it to a road crossing with 2 couples set up under a canopy.. giving out TRAIL MAGIC! It has been so long! Man, it was great. I sat down and they made me an excellent PB&J and I had a Mountain Dew, too! This totally made up for the crappy lunch I had. While I was chatting them up, they mentioned tomorrow’s “full rain” forecast. As they said it, I decided I was going to a hostel tonight instead of camping at the shelter I was originally aiming for. The hostel was only a mile before the shelter, and I could now slack pack tomorrow in the rain instead of hoofing over the “first mountain of the White’s” with all my gear.

I saw on the trail angel’s roster that a lot of my friends came through today.. Lizard, TBird, TownLegs, Smiles, DoubleDecker, and TieDye. So I sent out some texts to see if any of them were going to the hostel: they were ALL at the shelter I had originally been going for! Dang it! I already made my mind up to go to the hostel and be inside when the rain hits, but I did see if any of them were slackpacking.. TBird and TownLegs are! And.. one of my favorite people is doing their shuttling: Cholula! I messaged her, and she’s going to pick me up, too! Heck. Yes.

I made it to the hostel, and it’s super cute. I took a shower in the outdoor shower, and promptly picked a bottom bunk on the upstairs section of the “barn.” Then I hung out with everyone for awhile, mostly people I don’t know.. a SOBO, Doppler, gave me all the ins and outs of the whites and she looked over Andrea and my itinerary and agrees that it’s “more than doable.” She also seemed super impressed with our John Muir hike, especially when I told her how much weight we had to have been carrying back then.. we were backpacking babies. Oh, the things we learned!

Some of us got shuttled to a deli and I got stuff to eat for dinner tonight and then to carry tomorrow. Nice and easy. When we got back, I ate, paid for my stay, and retired upstairs to my bunk. It’s almost 10:30 now and it feels like 2am! Getting pictures to load is a task that requires patience.. something I seriously lack.

Now that I have yesterday’s post uploaded, I’ll save today’s post for some time tomorrow. Cholula is going to pick me up bright and early, And then I’ll get to slack pack southbound over Mount Moosilauke.. which should be an adventure in its own right, especially if it rains like they say it will. But-and this is the highlight here- I’ll be in a hotel tomorrow night!

Alright, phone is charged, lights are out, so it’s time for me to roll over and do the same. Goodnight y’all!