July 17 - 15.9 / 1,797.6

I am starting to reach the White Mountains. This means big mountains with some pretty intense terrain. Miles are going to be cut down, and my miles per hour will be greatly reduced.

The morning took us up and over Mt. Moosilauke. This is the first mountain at alpine and above treeline. I actually got some good trail magic just as I started my climb. A group was about to start their ascent when I crossed their path. They offered me two ice cream sandwiches and a beer. Again, I gladly accepted. I packed the beer for the top. The climb up was a good one, but didn't seem too bad. I think a lot had to do with the fact I knew I was going to get an awesome view. It took some time to make it up to the top. Inferno was the first up as Sam and I stopped to talk with some SOBO's.

When we got to the top, we were met by Samurai's dad. He had hiked up the other side. Him and Samurai had hiked the mountain before. We stayed at the top for some time until it started to get too crowded with day hikers. The decent was tougher than the climb. The rocks were extra slick, and I felt like I was going straight down.

Sam's dad treated us to some trail magic in the parking lot at the base: drinks, pb&j, cookies, snickers, and other goodness. We sat there for some time. I even took a nap right on the asphalt.

We had to say our goodbyes before it got too late. We had around 7 miles to go. The terrain didn't look too bad on the map. I was about an hour and a half in and feeling good when I made it to a trail junction. I looked at the sign and realized I had only hiked 3.5 miles. Two miles an hour was not what I expected.

I finally arrived at the shelter. It was crowded, but the three of us were able to set up our tents in the group camping area. We discussed leaving early the next morning. Only if we knew what was about to come...