Aug 8, 2021

On the eve of returning to the Trail, we are at a motel in New York state. We will be arriving back to Jackson, NH tomorrow, our taking off point to hit the Trail on August 10.
I am apprehensive, not about the hike, but about my right foot that has been giving me problems all summer. I have seen numerous doctors and specialists, X-rays, and MRIs and blood tests and two cortisone shots. Still achiness, arthritis in the foot. All I can do is go out there and see what happens. My old feet have bothered me throughout this, whether neuropathy or blisters or pains of various sorts.
Well, we’ll just have to see maybe my new Keen boots will save me.

Aug 10. Mile 1860-1866
Back on the AT in New Hampshire! Oh my gosh the rocks! So we got back to the area yesterday staying the old Eagle Mountain Inn, very nearby.
After we packed up the backpacks, for a two day outing, my Sweety drove us up the top of Mt Washington as she also did in 2019. Driving up a black bear scampered across the road in front of us! Don’t really want to see bears while hiking, but from the car ok. The weather on top was perfect. No wind, warm and no rain. In fact cloudless for a time. They typically have very bad weather so we were very fortunate. Our goal today was to hike 6 miles down to the Madison Springs Hut, which gets us about half way off the   
Mountain. Mt Washington is huge and has many peaks called the Presidential Range. Even though we are hiking “down” the mountain, there are numerous back ups to get over around the mountains named for Presidents-like today’s Jefferson and Adams, to name a couple.
But the rocks! 6 miles normally any where else would be a pleasant entry hiking day. For me it was grueling. 

This certainly was one of the hardest days I have ever had hiking. Probably cause I had no prep, and every step of the way was over big rocks. Really, no kidding! No nice sandy trail! I was exhausted by the time we finished at 6:00 pm after hiking since 9:30 am. So 8.5 hours to hike 6 miles? Never so slow! I am in my bunk in the Hut at 8:00 pm. Hopefully I’ll be good tomorrow for the 7.0 mile hike down to the highway to be picked up. I sure hope those rocks end soon.
Every story needs a villain and in this story it’s the rocks!

Paul