Day 17 - Wednesday, June 29

Linda

We were on the trail by 5:40 this morning - a new record! Went slowly, but surely to the top of North Crocker Mountain and got there at 8:40. We had a strange day of weather. The sky was red when we got up, and the sun was out, but a strong wind came up on the mountain, and the top was completely fogged in. It was an eerie sensation, but not unpleasant. We went on to South Crocker, then down over a million steep rocks to Crocker Cirque for lunch. What a knee killer! Continued on down to where we crossed a large stream, then up to Sugarloaf. By that time, a serious fog bank had set in and the wind was fierce. We had to climb almost straight up over the rocks on the cirque. The whole back side of the mountain must be subject to frequent high winds. The vegetation all along here was gnarled and stunted, and seemed to cling to the rocks with a sense of urgency.

When we were on Sugarloaf the winds were so high, they almost blew us over. We finally got up to the side trail to the top, and were surprised to find it very boggy across the summit. We hadn't expected bogs at that elevation. Between Sugarloaf and Spaulding Mountains we met a guy named Andy Carter who started the AT in Georgia in February. He gave us some information on the trail further down. He told us he was fogged in the White Mountains, but it was clear at Franconia, and the views were gorgeous there. We continued on up the mountain, then down to the lean-to. The last mile seemed like 2 or 3. Our feet were beat and it had finally started to rain.

We arrived at Spaulding Lean-to at 4:00 after a good 12.5 mile day. We dried off and warmed up with some of the bullion we found. Sure tasted good. Richard came in about 5:30, soaking wet. After he changed clothes, we fried up the two remaining cans of Spam with a peach Jell-O glaze. Sounds gross, and again, not something we would even think of eating at home, but out here it was a delicacy. Monty Python would be proud. "Spam, Spam, Spam, marvelous spam …"

About 8:15 Ray came up the trail to the lean-to, hollering at the top of his lungs to announce his arrival. We were sure glad to see him. We've become quite fond of him in the last two weeks. He's a big gawky kid with a quick wit and delightfully off-beat sense of humor. Despite his constant grumbling and complaining about the trail, and threats to chuck it in and go home, he's really dedicated to finishing what he started. He has aspirations of being a mountain man a la Robert Redford in "Jeremiah Johnson" his favorite movie. In fact, we frequently catch him humming the haunting theme song from the movie. He had spent the night in a motel in Stratton working on his foot and trying to convince himself to hop on a bus back to Waukegon. He even called his parents to convince them, but they told him to snap out of it and keep going. After two hot showers, and a six-pack of Pepsi he decided to give it another shot. Today had been an extra long day for him, because he had to walk from Stratton back to the trail, then the 12.5 miles to Spaulding Lean-to. He was exhausted, but otherwise doing well.

We snuggled in our bags and talked for quite a while before going to sleep. It was quite a contrast from yesterday's sweltering heat. Only have 7 miles to go tomorrow to Poplar Ridge Lean-to. We've heard rumors of wild strawberries along a stream down toward the bottom of the hill. Hope they turn out to be more than rumors.

Ron

We made excellent mileage today. We left the shelter at 5:40 this morning an had evaluation gains of over 5000 feet. The climb up the Crockers wasn't bad, but the decent was straight down. Unfortunately there were no views as fog covered the mountains. We descended Crocker Mountain to Crocker Cirque for lunch. We continued up the steep climb up Sugarloaf. On the climbs we practiced the rest step. I had read about it in a climbing magazine sometime ago. Step, breathe, step, breathe in a constant rhythm. I'm not sure we would have made it with out the step.

The wind picked up as we climbed the exposed cirque. It made for nervous hiking. The strong wind literally blew us up the mountain. We were nearing Spaulding Mountain. when we met through hiker from Georgia. We stopped for a bit to learn about the trail ahead. After a good day of hiking, the last mile to the lean-to felt more like three miles. A half hour after arriving at Spaulding Mountain Lean-to, the rain began to pour.

My feet feel really beat after all of the rock hopping. When I first took off my boots my feet were in real pain. I lay in pain on my sleeping bag for forty five minutes before I could put pressure on my feet again. Now that I've had some time to rest, they're beginning to feel better now. I know that when I put the boots back on in the morning, it will take and hour of hiking before my feet are numb to the pain.

Fortunately we only plan to hike seven miles to Popular Ridge Lean-to tomorrow. Ray caught up with us a little while ago. We were hoping he wouldn't quit. For dinner tonight we cooked two cans of our cache Spam in a Jell-O glaze. It's good to be in a warm sleeping bag watching it rain.

(12.5 Miles - 200.4 Total)