Day 34 - Saturday, July 16

Linda

We were hiking by 6:00 this morning to climb Moosilauke. The trail was steep and rocky for the first 1.5 miles, but it followed the brook and its tumbling cascades all the way up. That made for a beautiful climb, so we hardly noticed the trail. We had gone the 3.2 miles by 8:30, then walked the 4+ miles to Glencliff - all downhill, by 11:00. Went on to Lake Wachapauka where we spent a glorious 3 hour break, eating a big lunch, lying in the sun and going for a dip in the warm, crystal clear water.

Left the lake at 3:30 and walked another 7 miles to camp at Twin Brooks. It was mostly flat road walking, and our feet seemed to sprout wings. We camped by the old hunting cabin that was accompanied by an outhouse, lined floor to ceiling in beer cans. Too classy for words! This was undoubtedly someone's work of artistic expression.

The surrounding area was pleasant, but the no-see-ums and mosquitoes were out the kill, so it was hard to properly enjoy. Talked to some people who told us about a relocation over Mt. Smarts, and gave us a map. Very nice of them. Did a whopping 18.1 today, our longest mileage so far.

Ron

Today was great, after 18 miles I still feel pretty good. We left at 6:00 this morning to give us plenty of time to climb Mt. Moosilauke. The climb up along the cascades was beautiful. The trail was steep but the conditions made it pretty easy to hike. Unfortunately when we got to the top it was still in clouds, killing all the views. It was a real shame, because Moosilauke is the last mountain on the trail that goes above timberline. I'm going to miss those high walks with extensive views. The walk down was really nice. After a short stretch with boulders there was a long clean downhill. It was a joy to fly down a mountain. At the bottom we encountered a road walk. It wasn't bad but I still hate roads.

From Glencliff, it was 2.5 miles to our lunch stop at Lake Wachipauka. We were eager to get to the lake but were delayed for a while when we took the wrong turn on and unmarked relocation. When we arrived at the lake we stopped for a three hour break. Since we had already completed eleven miles, we figured it best to stop and relax during the heat of the day.

During our break, I took a swim and spent a long time working on my cracked and rough feet. We ate our big meal at the break so we could walk late. Around 3:00 Les and Pete arrived, decided they'd had it for the day and made camp. We wanted to make at least 5 more miles, so we left around 3:30.

We ended up hiking 7 more miles and are camped tonight by a stream. It's a good thing we came this far. Earlier we met a couple who gave us a map showing the new relocation of the AT. That will sure save us a lot of time and trouble. Linda and I are really getting into condition. The long hike today was tiring but we both still feel good. We hope to burn some after Hanover to make up some time.

(18.1 Miles - 403.3 Total)