Day 20: White Mountains Part 1

Today's date is 8/12/14 for those who are keeping track.  Last night I stayed at the hostel and with this rain coming I decided to stay until Thursday morning.  The White Mountains Lodge & Hostel offers a slackpack option if you stay for two nights or more from Pinkham Notch back to Gorham which is a 21 mile hike through the White Mtns.  That section tackles the wildcat peaks as well as the Carter Dome peaks.  So I made the decision to lose my SOBO purity and be a NOBO for the day.  After an awesome breakfast that the hostel serves they shuttled me to Pinkham notch for free and I started at 8am.  For those that don't know slackpacking is where you take a day pack with just the food, water, and clothes you need for the day.  So I only had a few pounds of weight on my back which allows me to hike really fast.  Usually with slackpacking the hostel will drop you off further down the trail in the morning and you hike back to the hostel so that is why I had to be a NOBO for the day.  Whatever though all I care is that I hike every mile of the trail.  I am not too concerned if I go the wrong direction a few times.  I got dropped off at 8am and began hiking.  I was in a cloud all day so I didn't get any good pictures and never had a view.  I took my time enjoying myself on the easy terrain of the White's and talked to a ton of people.  My family/friends would be amazed at how much I talk to pure strangers out here.  The trail community is so nice for the most part that you can go up to anybody and just talk like you had been buddies for years.  I finished the 21 mile slackpack in just under 10 hours.  They were actually amazed to see me there that early because I guess the average thru hiker slackpacking that section takes way longer.  All the NOBO's I had spoke to said this section I had done was super hard and dangerous.  HA!  This was some of the easiest terrain I had seen since I began.  Yes I had a daypack but it just wasn't that difficult of terrain.  I never once felt like I was going to die if I fell which I felt like almost every day in Maine.  So good luck to the NOBO's when they get to Maine because they are going to be in for a shock.  The hostel was completely full when I got back so I am glad I reserved my bunk for tomorrow before I left because everybody has the same idea about getting out of the rain.  This storm coming tomorrow is supposed to be bad with flash floods so I am glad I will be inside.  The White mountains of New Hampshire are 100 miles long and have some of the worst weather in the U.S.  Until 2010, Mt. Washington in the White's held the record for the highest wind speed ever recorded on the surface of Earth with wind at 231 mph.  When I leave Thursday morning I will be entering the Presidential's of the White's so I am glad the weather is "supposed" to be better then.