Doesn’t Get Any Easier Than This
Day 181
Wednesday September 20, 2017
Time: 6:15am - 11:30am
Miles: 1836.8 - 1844.5. Completed: 7.7
Weather: Cloudy and warm, beautiful fall day
Tenting near mile 1844.5
Another bright and early start. A 5:00am wake up call is not really what Shortcake prefers but out here to accomplish our daily mileage goals we often have to do things we don’t necessarily want to do. Me, well, I love mornings! I can’t wait to see what the day has in store for me, whether it’s out here in the woods, home, or work. Pair a great morning with my hubby and nice weather, and the excitement grows.
Even if the night was filled with sleeplessness mornings are still a gift not to be wasted. Getting up early is just one way to get the most out of it. And today’s surprise was a trail that was gentle, smooth, and practically incline free. Even the final descent into Crawford Notch was nothing to complain about. It doesn’t get any easier than this in New Hampshire.
Lots of Planks today.
A gift from the trail Gods - smoothness.
Our early morning start and easy trail guaranteed an early arrival to our destination. This gave us time to hang out at the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) lodge to finalize our traverse of the Presidential range. It was a warm, beautiful, sunny day but we preferred the comforts of being inside sitting at a table.
Once our plans were finalized and reservations made for Madison Hut we left the coziness of the lodge’s lounge and headed back to the trail. One more quick stop at a gift shop just up the road to feast on ice cream. We never pass up an opportunity for such creamy treats. The best benefit besides the views of Long distance hiking is eating. Shortcake and myself, despite our small size can pack away the food.
The AMC and gift shop were only a short distance from the trail head. It wasn’t long and we were back to hiking mode. We decided instead of cranking out a few more miles we would stealth camp just off the road saving the climb of Webster Cliffs for the morning. Good weather was in the forecast and I knew from my 2015 hike a challenging trail with great views was ahead. We didn’t want to miss any of it due to a setting sun.
The only drawback of rising before the sun is we need to also set with it. Shortcake, Batman, and myself are all ready for bed just in time as the sun dips behind the mountain peak clothing is in darkness. Our headlamps guide our last chores as each one of us finishes our nightly routines.
Happy Hiking.