Zealand Falls Hut 1841.2 to Nauman Tentsite 1855.3 (14.1 miles, 829.9 total miles)
It was a little stuffy in our bunk room, even with a couple windows open, and I spent a lot of the night tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.
I had napped quite a lot the day before, so any sleep was good that I could get. Breakfast was at 7AM, but I was ready to get up at 5:30. The waterfall was calling to me.
I walked to the large rocks at the falls, and was surprised that no one else was already out there. I took off my crocs, and enjoyed the feeling of my bare feet making contact with the rocks.
It felt like a very spiritual location, and I stretched, meditated, and did yoga with the sun peaking up over the ridge ahead. Coastie came over for a few minutes as well, then went back to the hut for coffee.
After about an hour I got coffee, too, then went into the bunk room to check on Sunshine. Things kept going from bad to worse for her lately. Now on top of her dog dying at home and her leg being messed up, she also had a cold.
Sunshine’s voice sounded very hoarse, and I gave her a few ibuprofen for her leg inflammation. At 7AM, we sat down for breakfast.
Breakfast was amazing, and included oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a blueberry pancake crumb cake type of thing. I still felt full from all the food we had eaten the day before, but managed to pack in some calories.
Dev and Mariah, who were out for a few days, gave us some snacks that they didn’t need, but we certainly could use. They were out on a multi-day trip, and we’d hung out with them at the hut quite a bit.
We took our time packing up and getting ready to leave, reluctant for our stay to be over. Sunshine and Coasty left first, then I hiked out around 9AM, with Catchup still at the hut, talking with a few people.
Before I departed, a SOBO hiker named Twigs arrived. Her trail family was behind her, and as I hiked for the first half mile I passed the other eight of them going toward the hut.
They were all a young, cheerful bunch, and I was reminded of the Cult as I passed and greeted them. I found out later their trail family name is the Mob, funny enough, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for them down south.
The first hiking of the day was a 4 mile flat section, and at first I took my time, checking out the falls from other side trails, and saying hi to the Mob.
The trail opened up unexpectedly to the right, with a beautiful view into a valley full of sunshine. To my left, I finally saw plentiful blueberry bushes with ripe berries.
As I was picking a handful, Catchup walked up and ate some as well. We hiked together from there, along the flat section of the trail until it started descending down to the road.
The miles went quick with the conversations we were having, and we caught up to Coasty after a bit. On the descent, we saw Sunshine ahead.
We were all dismayed to find Sunshine was crying. She’d just spoken with her parents via her Garmin device, and found out they were going to have to put her dog down within the next 48 hours.
I felt so terrible and helpless, and we all tried to comfort her the best we could. Her dad was coming from Rhode Island to pick her up, and she had a difficult decision to make.
Mt Washington was only going to be 6 miles into our day tomorrow. Sunshine’s dad had offered to pick her up at Crawford Notch just .6 ahead, but she would miss Washington, which is a huge highlight for thru hikers.
He could also pick her up on the top of Washington. We considered just doing Washington today, but the auto road closes at 6PM and we wouldn’t be able to make it to the summit by then with our late start.
At the road, we stopped for a bit to snack and make a final decision, and the verdict was to stick with our original plan, and have Sunshine’s dad pick her up on the mountain. We’d get up early the next day and start hiking by 6.
We met Toasty and Hey Squirrel at the road. I’d met them at Hikers Welcome, but had met so many people there I knew their faces didn’t remember the names.
Toasty was getting picked up by her mom for a wedding, and they kindly took the trash from our packs with them, lightening us up a little. We stopped for water at Saco River, and I loaded up my pack with another two liters.
Going up the incline, I immediately felt that I was very tired. After a bit, I stopped to tighten my shoe laces and put some music on, as Catchup and Coasty hiked on.
I realized I felt lethargic, even after eating a Clif bar with caffeine, so I stopped again to drink a couple packets of Propel.
I felt better after that, and hiked up the 3.5 mile incline from the notch in better spirits. It was a long climb, though, and I took my time. How fast I’d hiked the day before had slowed me down today, which was normal for me.
I reached Webster Cliffs after a while, which opened up to an absolutely incredible view of several mountains, including the range we had climbed out of earlier in the day. I tried to see if I could spot the falls from there, but I don’t know if I actually did or not.
The trail followed along the side of the mountain, popping in and out of the tree line. As I got closer to the summit, the hiking got more technical, and I began throwing my trekking poles up the rocks, so I could four point climb without them in the way.
In the meantime, dark clouds started rolling in and things began looking sketchy. I was supposed to stop at Mt Webster for lunch, but it was cold and windy, so I scurried down below tree line to eat a tortilla, pepperoni, and cheese.
I didn’t stop for long, wanting to outrun the rain, and feeling a couple sprinkles coming down. As I was filtering my second liter of water, Sunshine and Hey Squirrel arrived.
Sunshine had more bad news. She’d hit her head on a fallen tree as she was climbing up the trail, and thought she had concussed herself.
She was going through such a hard time, but I couldn’t admire her more at this point. She just kept going and didn’t quit. I would do whatever I could to make sure she got to Katahdin.
As we climbed down and up to Mt Jackson, the sun came out and all the clouds went away. It was an amazing moment, because I had been sure we were about to be poured on.
At the summit of Jackson, we were treated to another fantastic view, this time of the presidential range and Mt Washington, only eight miles ahead. I couldn’t wait to get there tomorrow.
Sunshine, Coastie, and I hung out on the summit for a while, enjoying the sun and the views with a couple weekenders and a SOBO hiker.
The three of us hiked together the remaining 1.7 to camp, and I chatted with Coastie while Sunshine listened to music.
We got to Mizpah Hut at 4:30, where Catchup already was. He’d tried to get work for stay, but there had been a couple hikers who’d gotten there before him.
Snoopy, Long Story, Clean Machine, and several others were staying at Nauman Tentsite next door. Sunshine and I checked in as well, and got set up on one of the platforms.
We had dinner near the hut, and Sunshine turned in early to rest her head. We had a good chat before she did, and made a plan for Catchup and I to stay in Gorham an extra day and wait for her to get back on trail.
Even though I’d been so upset to take extra zeros in Lincoln, I found I was happy to take the time and wait for Sunshine. I wanted her to succeed in her hike more than anything, and that was worth it to me.
I lay on the ground after eating, staring up at the clouds and talking to Coastie about how happy the trail makes us, and how to keep that happiness after trail.
That had been a constant theme lately, with all the NOBOs leaving soon and me thinking about this as well.
I was equally dreading and anticipating Katahdin, already missing my friends that I’d be leaving behind to go back south.
I realized I couldn’t waste my time worrying about the future. I needed to savor these moments, and be fully present so I could enjoy this time completely. It wouldn’t last forever, but that was perhaps what made it so beautiful.