Day 108 Out of the Whites

Today we finished the White Mountains and had views for pretty much the whole day. 

I slept very well last night. Being clean and dry inside was amazing. I slept until about 5:30 then snoozed for a little longer. We ate breakfast at 6. Lori made us homemade biscuits, potatoes, corned beef hash, and strawberries. Breakfast was fantastic. Then she dropped us off at the trail by 7:30. We were planning on hiking 20 difficult miles so the earlier start helped. 

Our first climb for the day sent us straight up Wildcat’s D peak. The ascent was slow and technical with a lot of hand over foot sections. 

On the ascent we could see across the valley to Washington and Madison which were shrouded in clouds. 

We also passed beside a couple caves that were just wide enough for one person. 

After the difficult ascent we reached the top of Wildcat ridge. The first peak we hit was Wildcat D peak, which is a ski mountain. 

The top of the peak had a wooden viewing platform, but it was fogged in by the time we got there. 

After moving on past Wildcat D we had views of the Carter ridge which we would hike later. 

The main summit of Wildcat didn’t have much for views but we could see into Tuckerman’s ravine at the base of Washington. 

We then dropped a very steep mile down to the Cozy Carter hut. It was the smallest hut I’ve seen and it was rather cozy, nestled between the Carters and the Wildcats. 

Then we climbed up to the Carter ridge. The first third of a mile was incredibly steep. We had a good view on the way up. 

The last mile up was less steep but still difficult. We reached the top of Carter Dome and had good views of the valley to the east and looking forward to the rest of the Carter Peaks. 

After Carter Dome we hiked down to Mt Height, which isn’t a 4000 footer, but had the best views of the day. 

From Mt Height we climbed over to South Carter Mountain. The fog had rolled in so we didn’t have much visibility. But we could see some of Carter Dome behind us through the fog. 

We then hiked the ridge to Middle Carter. The peak itself didn’t have views but we had some cool views on the ridge. 

Then we hit North Carter, which doesn’t have the prominence to be a 4000 footer, and we didn’t have much of a view through the fog. 

After North Carter was the steepest descent of the day. There were some very technical rock slabs. Which basically means we had to slide on our butts down some wet rocks. I felt very safe and controlled the whole time, but the rock slabs added to our fatigue. We had some decent views on the way down North Carter. 

After North Carter we began the descent out of the White Mountains. Before dropping all of the way down we hit the last 4000 footer in the Whites in the AT, Mt Moriah. 

The summit of Moriah had great views of the Carters behind us. 

At the top, there was a lady who was trying to hike all the 4000 footers in NH and take a picture at the top with a dinosaur costume on. This was so strange that we had to get a picture with her.

After Moriah, we descended about 3000 feet to leave the Whites.  On the way down we could see a rainbow. 

Finishing the Whites on an AT thru hike is the accomplishment of a life long dream. I can hardly believe what happened over the last week. Not only did we successfully finish the Whites, the hardest and most technical section of the AT, but we had perfect weather and outstanding views pretty much the entire time. I am so grateful for the experience and how well everything went. 

We made it down to Lori by 7:05. We were definitely exhausted. The Whites beat us up. I have no injuries but my leg muscles are tired and my knees are very stiff from all the steep descents. Lori cooked us fajitas for dinner and a berry crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Tonight we will sleep inside the and get a later start tomorrow. 

We plan to be hiking by 9:15. We will hike 17 easier miles, cross the 1,900 mile marker, and enter the state of Maine. I can’t believe we have made it this far. I don’t want the hike to end, but I’m also very excited for my life after the AT. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from the trail so far, and have been changed for the better. Just because the hike will end in two weeks doesn’t mean that I have to stop approaching life as a journey. 

Goodnight,

Walker