You'd think an eight mile town day would be leisurely, but there's always so much to do in town, plus, you want as much time as possible to relax. So, we were still up and out early. The only major obstacle of the day was Mt. Moriah, plus a couple other bumps in the trail to make things interesting. Mt. Moriah was another in a long string of rock ledges and bog bridges, with a steep descent coming off the north side.

Part way down a particularly rocky section, Rareback and Honeybear came flying by. Their hiking poles clicked cheerily as they bounced down the rocks and disappeared into the boulders ahead. Sure wish I could do that! We reflected that they were a lot like us 20 years ago. It's days like this that I feel like I'm in my 80's, not my 40's. This prompted a long conversation about how we probably should have trained more by cycling, or using a stairstepper (ugh!) to prepare us for the big rocks. I have no trouble walking a steep trail up or down, and I don't get winded. The six months of treadmill and day hiking, plus substantial weight loss, took care of that. It's the rocks that are killing us.

The conversation then turned to what our next adventure should be. There's the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide, the East-West Discovery Trail, or cycling across the US. I still have a dream of one day doing a long cycling trip. That would take a lot of training, but a more reasonable goal would be to try for the week-long Cycle Oregon trek by next September. Reality check! Guess we'd better concentrate on one adventure at a time.

Flights of whimsy took over to keep our minds off the trail, and Ronald came up with yet another suggestion as a way to see the countryside. For those less athletic types, he proposed "The Couch Potato Oregon." Participants would comfortably lounge in overstuffed couches or Lazy Boys affixed to a flat-bed trucks or trailers. Every favorite snack and amenity would be conveniently placed at their fingertips. The procession would travel the high-roads and by-roads at a leisurely pace, for maximum enjoyment of the scenery, and to ensure that the snacks aren't blown away. An automatic roof could be moved into place in case of rain or too much sun. And, of course, each night there would be deluxe accommodations, and gourmet dinners. Needs more work, but it's just an idea…

We cruised the last several miles, which were a gentle downhill, mostly on an old road bed. We passed Rattle River Shelter, which didn't look a bit different that it did 20 years ago. We had spent almost an entire day there in '77 in the rain, while Ronald tried to shake a cold. That day we were crammed into the shelter with a group of kids from Camp Chewanki (a.k.a. Chewankites), who entertained themselves by telling jokes and singing every hokey old camp song every written. Chewankites still roam these mountains -- maybe the children of some we met all those years ago. However, today was warm and sunny, and we weren't stopping here, but I could almost hear echoes of those camp songs as we passed by.

We came to Hwy 2, leading to Gorham by 11:00. Minty Fresh was already there in the parking lot. In a few minutes we all got a ride from a guy who took us as far as the first hostel at the edge of town. Gorham only has one main street, but it is very long, and Hiker's Paradise is at the far end of town, about two miles further. As we walked through town, we stopped at the Post Office to check on the mail. Our supply box had already been picked up, but several more letters had come since then, so we had news from the home front to read during lunch at Burger King.

Walked the last mile to Hiker's Paradise and checked in. This place is certainly true to its name. It's run by Bruno and Mary Ann Janicki (and their precocious 12 year old son, Adam), with the assistance of a friend, Bruce. Bruno emigrated from Poland in the mid 60's and was a civil engineer for years, working all over the world. He still has a very pronounced accent, and possesses a razor sharp wit. Bruce is a big bear of a man with a full bushy beard and a deep laugh. He handles the shuttles and the barbecue for hiker dinners, and is the general answer man for all manner of trail questions. Mary Ann manages the housekeeping staff, keeps tabs on Adam, and generally keeps everyone in line. Bruno and Mary Ann opened the hostel at their little motel to hikers three years ago, and have become legendary in that short time. After staying here, it's easy to understand why. This place is a haven.

I wont' try to list all the hikers who were here tonight. I didn't even meet them all. The place was packed to the gills. We were on the 3^rd floor with Easy, Whispering Pine, and Rareback and Honeybear. Hikers continued drifting in until dinnertime. Ronald and I laughed that there were more thru-hikers here today, than completed the AT in 1977. What a difference in 20 years!

Spent the afternoon with the usual drill: showers, laundry, groceries, etc. Because the town is so spread out, Bruno came up with the idea of keeping a fleet of old bikes which they will "sell" you for $1. This relieves them of any liability, while making it easy to get around. We each got a bike and went in opposite directions to accomplish our appointed tasks. They also have a special $5 hiker dinner each night with several barbecued items, plus salad and veggies. Sounded like a good deal, but Ronald was in the mood for Chinese, so we rode down to the Golden Maple for their buffet. In retrospect, we should have stayed for the barbecue, because the buffet was mediocre at best, but oh well.

For the rest of the evening we hung out on the porch, enjoying the cool air and swapping stories with our fellow hikers. Brandon was really getting into being accepted as "one of the guys" by the thru-hikers. He's developed quite a bond with Easy 8, and Easy's been great to him. Brandon asks lots of questions about equipment and hiking, and isn't always too tactful about how he words his questions. But, he's holding his own each day with the hiking, so I think everyone gives him credit for doing so well. Lopey Lobo did accuse him of being a gear head after the millionth question about his equipment.

Went to bed after making sure the packs and food were all in order. We'll be heading out right after breakfast in the morning.

Today was our last official day in the Whites. Although we'll still be in New Hampshire tomorrow, we'll be entering the Mahoosuc range. I'd like to think that the terrain will be getting easier, but I know that's not the case. In fact the next few days will represent some of the hardest hiking on the whole trail. At least we have survived the Whites.

Dark threatening skies followed us from the shelter across Mt. Moriah. One dark ominous cloud looked more like the beginnings of a tornado than a rain cloud. Much to our relief the rain did not appear. This trail would have been significantly more difficult to travel in the rain. We were still in area where you spend equal time between bouldering and hiking. After a steep section on the north side of Mt. Moriah, the trail evens out as it follows the Rattle River down to the highway. Along this section we travel along an old road. This makes for a sharp contrast to hiking on the ridge.

After a reasonable wait we are able to secure a hitch into Gorham. The unfortunate part of the hitch was being dropped on the opposite side of town from our destination. The two-mile stroll through town gave us the opportunity to see the town. , We called Bruce at Hiker's Paradise from Pinkham to pick it up our package. We weren't sure we'd make it to town before the Post Office closed. Since it was early and they were still open, we decided to check anyway. When we arrived, we ran into Rareback and Honeybear picking up their package. They were riding their newly purchased bikes. So after a brief exchange, they rode of in the distance. It's a good thing we stopped because we did have a few letters to pickup.

Of course we couldn't pass a Burger King or McDonald's without stopping. Today's choice by Brandon was Burger King for lunch. Well fortified with rest and a big lunch and continued our trek to the Paradise. Upon arriving, we were issued our sheets and directed to the third for where we were told there would space available. We found a room with three empty beds. Easy 8 had laid claim to the fourth.

It's good to see him again and get updated. When we last saw him, he was leaving Madison Hut with Three Piece and Kicks to head down the Gulf Hagas Trail to Pinkham Notch. Three Piece had just hyperextend his knee on the decent into the hut and was in pain. Well the Gulf Hagas Trail turned out not to be the best choice. It was so steep that at different places they had to lower their packs. That's certainly not where I'd want to be if I was in pain.

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing town chores. I cycled into town to buy a set of maps for the trail in Maine. Linda and Brandon went two the store to pickup breakfasts and lunches that we didn't ship to ourselves. Again our supply box did not contain any slide film. We were stuck with buying print film. If you ever plan to take slides on the trail, make sure you purchase all of your film in advance. It is virtually impossible to find slide film in the small towns along the trail. I had decided to use slides because I wanted them available for Brandon to use for presentations to the scouts when he returned home. Plus I'd take the best pictures and have the transferred to Kodak Photo-CD.

After the worst Chinese dinner I've ever had (well this is the middle of nowhere). We spent the rest of this evening sitting around meeting other new hikers and getting updates on everyone's trip.

Today was a short day we got up and left early. We had some hard downs first thing in the morning then the trail began to level out and we started making good time. We got to the road into Gorham and started to hitch hike Minty was already there so we let him get a hitch first. The man that picked him up also had room for us so we road in with him. The ride dropped us at the opposite side of town than Hiker's Paradise. So we walked through the town and stopped at the Post Office for mail. We continued on but when we passed a Burger King we had to stop for lunch. After lunch we walked the rest of the way to the Hiker's Paradise. Once there we checked in and got our sheets then went upstairs and chose a room with four beds Easy 8 had claimed the other bed. A little later mom and I rode our rented bikes over to the store and bought some groceries then came back. The rest of the afternoon we sat around and talked and laughed with the thru-hikers. Then we went over to a Chinese place for dinner. The Chinese was very bad but I wasn’t very hungry though. We went back and talked more then we went to bed.