Left minutes before check out as usual and headed out. No hitch, just walked back down the road to the trail.
Waterfall not too far into my hike along with a board walk on its north end.
The folks that took my photo by the waterfall had tons of questions so I took the time to answer them. They were the basic ones you’d usually hear. When did you start? Are you alone? How are you doing food? The great thing about having a blog at least in my opinion is that you can give them your blog in case they have more questions and turn a long conversation into a short one. I am always down to talk about the trail, but at times when I am on the move or vice versa, it is handy.
Ran into some very eager south bounders at the next shelter…as well as a chipmunk, which I finally got the chance to get a picture of!
They gave some tips for the up and coming Whites. I learned about the huts here. Huts in which you can work for stay. As well as how expensive they are to stay in for the night. To reserve one of these for the nights, it will set one back about $100. Not entirely a bad idea since breakfast and dinner are included for anyone besides thru-hikers. For thru-hikers, I would rather work for stay. Stealthing in the White Mountains apparently is not an option, illegal.
Another unique part of the trail:


Yak stopped here with another guy for dinner and a long weed break. I thought they were going to stay, but instead broke out the LSD, cut them up, took a micro-dose, and went on their way after dark. Met another south bounder. She had quite the interesting background. She purposefully carried non-down material with her, the extra weight because how the down used in coats and sleeping bags were plucked from ducks in a harmful way. I do not remember her trail name, but we connected on Facebook after the trail. Her name is trail name is Mama Duck and it is quite funny how we reconnected. A close friend of mine shared this article and then I reached out. It is crazy how the trail connects people.
Had service here and called David Madison (family) that I will either be arriving tomorrow night or the next day around noon. They live near the trail and offered a place to stay when I come through. I am very happy that I will be arriving on a weekend to see David and Suzie Madison. Not completely sure, but I think David is my second cousin and if you have been following the blog early on, they sent me two packages of snacks for the trail. First one on Day 30 and the next on Day 58.