Began today by lighting out of Mizpah Hut where I did work-for-stay. Chipping ice off the back of the freezers for an hour earned me an amazing meal and a spot on their floor to sleep.
The cliffs descending into Crawford Notch were beautiful (and steep). I hitched to the AMC Highland Centre with a man named Peter. He was retired, owned property in NH, and spent his summers hiking and riding any of his 5 motorcycles around the northeast and Canada.
I got to the food court, ordered a delicious, meat-filled sandwich and stacked a salad from the salad bar sky high on my plate. Peter happened to walk in while I was getting my food, and he paid for my lunch. Very nice!
Hitched back in a brand new Range Rover (unexpected, but sweet), and hiked up to Zealand Falls. I walked up to the AMC Hut there just in time for 30 drunken Québécois (sp?) to have me take their group picture. They were a fun and rowdy bunch – a group of families that rent out the entire hut on the same weekend each year. I weighed the pros (sleeping indoors, a hot meal, maybe they give me some beer) and cons (they might not respect the quiet hours) of doing work for stay instead of just pushing on, and eventually I decided to stay.
The Falls were beautiful, and while waiting for dinner I took an icy cold dip in one of the pools. This I instantly regretted because I knew my shorts wouldn’t dry before morning and it was starting to get cold. Sporting my skin-tight, far-too-revealing long johns, I walked into the hut full of Canadians to eat the leftovers from dinner.
The huts are managed by the Appalachian Mountain Club, and a single “Croo” of young employees will staff the hut for the summer. As you can imagine, they tend to form a close bond, and this so happened to be their last night together for the summer. They told me that they were going to throw a dance party until 9:30 (when quiet hours start), and that my only job in order to earn my stay and my meal was to “keep the hype going”.
So what did I do after hiking 15 miles down the cliffs and then up to the falls? I danced my (entirely too visible) ass off for an hour with 30 Canadians, 7 Croo members, and 1 Nobo work-for-stay.
66°F Mostly Cloudy
Zealand Notch, Lincoln, NH, United States
Trails And Travels 