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Day 139 No Pond Tentsite to Mitzpah Spring Hut (8.7 miles) 1850.8 miles total
That was a hard 8.7 miles.

Walked along Webster Cliffs. Great views but wind was 40mph+.

I usually don’t get passed by too many people in a day. Young day hikers were flying by me. Probably passed by 20!

There was a lot of rock climbing today. Had to toss stick up ahead couple times because needed both hands. Lots of stretches like below and then, of course, you have to go down similar. I’ve learned to swallow my pride and scoot down on my butt at some points.

That little dot in center of pic is the Hut. Finally got there at 2:30.

Ran into Alexander (Big Foot) who took pic of family on day 1. Haven’t seen him since Hot Springs, NC. Long time ago!

View of dining area and kitchen behind.

Great dinner: bean soup, bread, salad, pulled pork, baked broccoli, and blueberry bars for dessert. I pigged out.

Weather tomorrow is supposed to be good. Almost 6 miles to Mt Washington. Hope to be there by noon. Hoping to make 15 miles total.

Happy trails!

Day 138 Mt Garfield Tentsite to No Pond Tentsite (15.5 miles) 1842.1 miles total

Long day but got myself 8.7 miles from Mitzpah Spring Hut. Hope to roll in there about 2PM tomorrow as a guest!

It was a short hike to Galehead Hut. Not as spacious as previous Hut. They did have soup (more like broth) and baked goods (burnt) and it was nice to sit and rest a bit.

This is my artistic impression of Hut. Retro Western saloon look with backpacks up front instead of horses.

They do have a pretty nice view from that front porch.

Scaled South Twin Mtn (4902′). You can see some relatively flat land in this direction.

 

Of course, I’m heading in this direction!

The muck from bog fall has pretty much worn into shirt. Have been able to rinse off a bit at Huts.

Below is an example of boggy muck. No boardwalk where I fell. Just imagine rocks that you hop/step from one to the next. Closest crap is like quicksand that is about 8″ deep. After that it’s a little more liquid and a couple inches deeper.

Stopped at Zealand Falls Hut later (4PM) in day. They were very busy with guests checking in, including about 30 Boy Scouts. Asked Croo if I could pay to fill one of my liter water bottles with lemonade. “Sure. Just leave what you think it’s worth in box.” Guessing to normal person would be worth about $5. To me, at that moment, about $20. I left $5.

 

5 miles from Hut to Ethan Pond Campsite where hoping to tent. First stretch in Whites where you could move relatively quickly.

Made it in less than 2 hours only to find all tentsites taken. They have a caretaker here and charge $8 per person to tent. I’ve just hiked 15+ miles through Whites (plus 1/4 to campsite) and I’m not happy! Caretaker told me about spot less than half mile up trail. Thus, I end up at No Pond Tentsite. Good, level spot at least.

Excited to spend tomorrow night at Mitzpah Spring Hut. Just have to cross Mt Webster and Mt Jackson to get there.

Happy trails!

Day 137 Lonesome Tentsite to Mt Garfield Tentsite (13.3 miles) 1826.6 miles total

Hard but really amazing day of hiking.

Stopped by Lonesome Lake Hut about 9AM. Talk about exceeding expectations. Amazing.

This is right on trail. Front door to kitchen/dining room. There were also 2 bunkhouses.

Below is dining area. During day they sell baked goods ($2), coffee, lemonade ($1) to hikers.

This is kitchen area. Hikers can also get water and there’s a bathroom. They also have bowls of soup for sale. I was a bit early for that.

I’ll be a guest at Mitzpah Spring Hut on Wed. Member of the Croo (full-time employee at Hut) told me a thru-hiker who stays as a guest has the ultimate time. “Get there early.”

This is Lonesome Lake. 50 yds from Hut with a dock and seating area. 2 older guys sitting there watching a family of ducks swim by. One guy says to other “I wonder what the lifespan of a duck is.” From behind I said “Where I come from it’s until they get shot.” These guys did not think funny! Gave me dirty stares. I thought it was hilarious!

The other good thing that happened at Hut is another Croo member told me that I’m through the worst of Whites. “There’s some as bad but nothing worse.” That put a little spring in my step!

This is from Little Haystack Mtn looking up to Mt Lincoln. Yeah, we’re going there.

 

Mt Lincoln looking up to Mt Lafayette. Going there too.

These last 3 peaks are all above tree line. Views are spectacular.

This is looking back to Lonesome Lake. 9.5 miles of tough but rewarding hiking.

This is view from Mt Garfield (tenting 20 yds from there) back at Mt Lafayette.

Tomorrow will cross South Twin Mtn (4902′) and Mt Guyot (4580′). Also will go by 2 Huts!

Happy trails!