Let's see. Where were we? (rifles through pages)
That's right.
The Whites.
When I left you last, my cousins were coming to spend a few days with me.
We stayed at a campsite and ate smores, hobo pockets, cheese balls until the cheese balls were all gone. Dimples, the youngest of the three, is hiking pretty well now and Outbreak, Scoutmaster and I enjoyed watching her find dogs and appreciate rocks in ways I don't think I ever will.
You want to talk about trail names for a second? Okay.
They're culture, part of the reinvention process, but also bear in mind that 90% of the trail is a white male born between '50-'96. They're all named Jim, Matt, and Chris. They're all tall and have beards. If someone is hurt or lost?
Jim!!! He has a white beard! He carries a black pack!!! Jim!!!
And thus, trail names.
After a wonderful evening, the crew dropped me back off at the trailhead. I bade goodbye to my family (to which Dimples replied, "dog!") and headed into...
The Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center.
There, I met my first multi-day hiking partner, Six Slash. He's a flip-flopper. No one will re-elect him. HAHAHAHA just a little ballot box humor there for ya, little lady. No. A flip-flopper starts the trail in one direction and switches at the halfway point, usually because of time or weather.
Six Slash actively hates both the trail and hiking. Woof, is he done with it. I'd see him coming over a hill behind me-
Toastface! This is awful! This sucks!
But he won't get off the trail. Every day, he is filled with a deeper and deeper resentment towards his surroundings and chosen situation, but he will not quit it.
First day back, I went up Madison. The forecast actually read, "in a cloud." In a cloud was right, and a windy, windy cloud at that. I got blown over, literally. To the rocks on the ground, where I crawled on all fours for several moments.
But those huts, guys. The weird huts. They have hot chocolate, and the hostile, post-adolescent staff will serve you soup. It saved my sanity several times.
Okay, that's enough for now.
"One more, one more!"
No, you must wait until Hanover. I need to use the beautiful days I have! And today is stunning.
MORE TOMORROW.
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