Week 22 begins today.
After a restful night at the hut we awoke to a nice breakfast but outside we were still socked on with dense fog.
After breakfast, as we were getting ready to head out, Guardian broke the news about suspending his hike and going home. Both me and Buffalo Bobby were very surprised and tried to make him change his mind but he was serious. We'll both miss him very much but I think me especially since he was always protecting my back and giving sound advice not to mention keeping us on the trail. Now I'm going to have to learn to pay much more attention and stop daydreaming so much. Guardian we miss you! See you when we get back home.
So...just Buffalo Bobby and I headed out in the fog for our 1.1 mile hike up to the AT. It was a miserable morning and conditions back on the mountain top were a repeat of yesterday. Eventually we got off the ridge into protection below tree line and were able to warm up a bit. Then we started the climb up Mt. Garfield and the sun finally came out and warmed us up enough that we were able to take off our raincoats and hike in our shirt sleeves. Today was another mile an hour hike up and down, what my Grandsons would call, "poopy head terrain". The clear weather meant we had some nice views for a change.
Since we didn't have Guardian to show us the error of our ways, sure enough both Buffalo Bobby and I missed a key intersection and hiked the wrong trail for a while. I won't go into details but suffice it to say we were very frustrated with our error and knew it never would have happened if Guardian was with us.
So...we got to Galehead Hut just as it was getting dark. Dinner was long over but the "Croo" heated up leftovers for us and served us soup, salad, bread & Butter, chicken & vegetables as well as drinks, cookies and brownies. Boy, did that taste good. We had hoped to get to the next shelter which is another 3.3 miles but this worked out much better since we were well fed and updated on the storm heading here on Sunday.
For the first time ever all the Huts and their headquarters in Crawford Notch will be evacuated and closed at 6:00 PM tomorrow, Saturday, and all trails will be closed including the AT. (Not sure how you close a trail)
So, as was our original plan and on the advice of the Hut Manager we'll hike 14 miles to Crawford Notch and get a shuttle to shelter from the storm. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day and we were told the trail to Crawford Notch is relatively easy. (We are a bit skeptical given what we've gone over these last 5 days, but that seems like the best option).
We will take all precautions and lay low until it's safe to hike again. Unfortunately this likely means even more mud on the trails.
One last thing. I understand some folks aren't getting SPOT updates, but Beth assured me that the blog has gotten updates. (didn't get around to putting it out tonight).
More news on the storm saga and our situation tomorrow.
Goodnight all,
Trolley Stop
 |
| View from Mt. Garfield |
 |
| Peaks of Mt. Garfield |
:( Until we meet again, Guardian!
ReplyDelete