DATE: October 27-28
START: Pine Ellis Lodge, Andover
FINISH: Pinkham Notch
DISTANCE: 62 miles (99.8 km)
DAILY AVERAGE: 31 miles (49.9 km)
TOTAL DISTANCE: 318.7 miles (512.8 km)
With Hurricane Sandy almost upon me, I decided a couple of huge days were needed in order to get a few extra miles under my belt before a likely weather-induced break. The goal was to reach Pinkham Notch by Sunday night. Two days; 62 miles. Under normal conditions this wouldn’t be too much of a problem. However, Maine/New Hampshire in late October is no walk in the proverbial park. With knee-crunchingly steep ascents and descents, combined with a myriad of rocks and roots all of which are presently slipperier than a Swiss banker post 1945, the going is exceedingly slow. Two miles an hour in these conditions is verily flying! Nonetheless, with less than three hours sleep under my belt and more weary than a Cuban national who has listened to one of Fidel Castro’s marathon speeches (did he give any other type?), I shuffled into Pinkham Notch Sunday evening just in time for the AYCE dinner. A fitting (or is that filling?) reward for a very tough stretch.
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Hey Swami,
Glad to hear that you made it safely off Mt. Washington after your brief stopover at the Dungeon and that you endured Hurricane Sandy seemingly without issue. Checking out your website and blog is really inspiring! Good luck on the rest of your thru-hike, I’ll be sure to keep on checking out your blog! Peace,
Mac
Pinkham Notch Front Desk
Hey Mac
Great to hear from you! Thanks again for your’s and Mike’s advice during the hurricane. Much appreciated. I won’t be forgetting that day in the Whites any time soon! Hopefully I can make it back there one day when the weather is a little calmer……….it would be great to see more than just the inside of the “dungeon”!
Cheers
Swami
Hope Sandy’s not screwing up your weather too badly….glad to see you’re still out there and going strong.