The 48 Direttissima - in progress update

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Day 10. Sunday 9/9
Madison, Adams and Jefferson
Miles?
Vertical feet?

Pretty wet in the woods when waking up. The food supply is a lot smaller now than in the beginning. Forecast is for showers today but so far it's just cloudy. Again trying to shake off as much dew as possible before packing the tent which the last couple of days has fit inside the pack. Breakfast warmed me up good.....filling up the bladder before taking off down the remainder of Rocky Branch to route 16. Maybe 3 miles on the asphalt before hitting Dolly Copp cutoff. No rain so far.....talked to the lady at the gate briefly before continuing through the campground. Got rid of my trash in a dumpster and drank some water from a waterstation. Thought I had enough water in my bladder to Madison Hut. Daniel Webster trail head showed up soon and I wondered how the trail was going to be since I never been on it before. A little over 4,000 vertical feet to the summit of Madison.

After about 20 minutes it started raining and I stopped and put on the raingear. Met two hikers on the way down.....they hadn't been very far up the trail they said. They turned back when the rain came. After today only two more peaks.....up we go.....at around 3,000 feet the slurpetislurp sound from the bladder came which means it's close to empty.....sweating more when having the raingear on......at least it prevents hypothermia.......found some water coming down a ledge........would suffice for now....drank a few cups and continued........enetered the alpine zone and the boulder fields......a couple of times I lost my bearing in the fog but found the string of cairns. Lots of good ripe lingonberries along the trail........it got windier to closer to the ridge I got.......finally up on the ridge at around 4,800 feet.....some more PUD's later I saw the sign on the summit.....nr 44.....now I just had to get down to the hut and get water.....it was 2:02pm by now....I wondered where I would meet hamtero. Met a hiker coming up from the hut.....he seemed to enjoy the rainy weather. Two other hikers at the hut.......took 20 minutes to resock my feet and then headed off towards Thunderstorm Junction. A hiker told me that Hamtero had turned back after Adams when he didn't see me. DOn't blame him.....no fun to hang out out up here in fog and rain......and I told him yesterday that I was aiming for Osgood tentsite for last overnight......and I was at least three hours behind that schedule. It was super nice of Hamtero to make it up on the Northern peaks in this weather to cheer me on.....also considering his upcoming foot surgery.....I owe him a few frosty tall ones next time I see him....

On towards Thunderstorm Junction where I left my pack and did the roundtrip to Adams for the pushups and photos......just one more peak today :) On with the diminished bertha (my backpack) (although a bit heavier since soggy with rain). Had to be very careful with stepping on the slick rocks as usual. Met five hikers with ripped to pieces PVC rain gear on.....they weren't too happy when I told them how far it was to Madison Hut.....their first time on the Pressies. Down at Edmands Col I left the pack again after a short break for hydration and snacks.....elated to take care of the last peak of the day I made the roundtrip in about 45 minutes......came back and took a few looks at the map to make sure I took the right trail down Castle Ravine.....had some hopes to catch up with Hamtero.....but my pace slowed down considerably when I got to the steep boulder section where I had to excercise extreme caution.......eyed the next cairn for my short-term goal.....for every cairn I reached it seemed five more showed up. I was hoping to make it down the steep alpine section before it got dark at least....rain stopped and the fog dissapeared for a moment and I could se the beautiful valley below.....some more trees appeared.....mor bushes.....some dirt actually showed up on the trail for traction......boulders became larger and sometimes tricky.......I was in the woods! It got a lot darker in the woods and I had to resort to the headlamp although just 7pm. Plenty of water down here.....trail got less steep and became pleasant actually.....the trail seemed to enjoy crossing the creek numerous times.....
I could speed up the pace a bit......one drawback was that the headlamp had accidentally been turned on in the backpack during the day and the light wasn't so bright anymore.......put my second headlamp on as well......seemed to work well......last river crossing and I came to the trailhead in Bowman........no car there....went up on route 2 and started to hike westward.....9:20pm.......I'm soaked and don't know where to camp next....feet are hurting......semis keep passing closeby stiring up a foggy mist. Suddenly I see a house on my right.....with a sign which says something about bed and breakfast.......sounds like a good idea at his point.....can't eat there though since it is an unsupported hike......but a dry place.......honestly a dry garage would be more suitableso I don't have to be careful with rugs etc........I knocked on the door and after a while a surprised very gentle man welcomes me and takes me in......I apologize for stinking and being dirty.....he just smiles......he shows me my room and then goes back to his boyfriend in the sofa to continue watch TV. I spread out the available towels on the carpet in the room to prevent soiling it. no cell phone reception......goes back to the living room where he sits in a sofa and cuddles with his partner. He gives me a phone with unlimited long distance and I can call a few people.....I get hold of giggy actually.....
Never seen my feet so wrinkled up before.....fired up the jetboil in the bathroom to prevent the firealarm in the bedroom to go off.....the bed had 16 pillows.....seems overkill......but I'm in a dry place at least......i can hear the rain hammering the metal roof outside.....glad to be here.....trying to dry things as best as I can.........feels weird to be in a bed......falling asleep anyway......
 
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Day 11. Monday 9/10
Waumbeck, Cabot
Miles?
Vertical feet?

At 5am the rain is still pounding.......glad to be inside for the moment......the good news is that I have the last two peaks on the agenda and I will be sleping at home tonight.....knock on wood.......have some instant rice and chocolate mouse in case I need another night out. I retire my running shoes at the B&B.......drank a bunch and filled up my 1-liter bottle and 4-liter bladder. At 6:11am I leave the B&B with raingear on......it stops raining instantly......leave it on for another 20 minutes before I'm persuaded it might not start again soon......in the process I passed by a motel with "Vacancy"......darn it......could have saved some money here......
Oh well....I keep trucking along......I step off the asphalt every time I meet a vehicle (which is frequently) since it's not a pedestrian friendly road. Lots of semis on this route it seems. Henry Folsom had to turn down many offers for a ride back in 1971......I didn't have to turn down any......times are changing.......after an eternity I passed the fire tower clad in stone on the left....knew it wasn't too far to the 115 intersection.....whoohoo :) Then the looong straightaway where the 115 intersection is, came along.....jeeez....looks like a 3-mile straight section here.....it took 45 minutes to cover this one....passing by Six Gun City in the process.......finally done with it.....how many more turns before the Waumbeck trail head? I was amazed how many wild apple trees were lining the road. Maybe apples are good for an apple pie at least? I was well hydrated since I had to take many pit stops......no rain still.....passing by the chiropractor with the big house and driving range across the street. More turns.....finall the hiker sign tells me that it's time to turn right uphill....taking a break 10 minutes into the trail to communicate.....get a few text messages out and when I'm about to tell Fernanda wat trail head to pick me up at......the phone goes absolutely dead....cant rejuvenate it with charging anymore although I tried many times the rest of the day......frustrating.....maybe I'll meet a hiker with a cell......my frustration gives me an adrenalin boost and suddenly I'm above 3,000 feet......no rain but plenty of water coming off the vegetation and trees.....to make sure I don't stay dry.....when Henry Folsom did Cabot and Waumbeck, there was no trail along Kilkenny Ridge so he he went down Mt. Cabot trail and hiked the roads to the Waumbeck trail head.

Soon I'm up on Starr King.....still hydrated.....snacking away......want to make sure I have energy to power through Kilkenny Ridge......doing the dip before Waumbeck....nr 47......just one more :D :D :D But it's a long approach for next one.....next goal is South Weeks 2.5 miles away......trail is good.......lots of low vegetation to keep my legs and feet soaked......superwrinkled feet every time I air them out.......coming up on the first of the Weeks.....two more before the York Pond junction and Terrace Mtn. Middle Weeks is not bad.....took another fot care break....boots are so wet......not much to do about it........North Weeks is more of a long hauling effort......and going down the other side seems to take forever.....dropping 1,200 feet down to the York Pond Junction....also means I've done 6.2 miles since Waumbeck! Yiihaaa! :)

20 minute break before continuing up Terrace Mtn....it's only 900 feet up though......one step at a time.....there are actually three Terrace summits.....sun peaked through here once actually.....was able to see Cabot.....the last one! Seemed very far though......the final downhill to Bunnell Notch starts. I decide to bing the pack up on the last one......why not.....maybe there are people there parked at Mill Brook.....my tentative plan in case i don't find people is to head down Mt. Cabot trail and ask for a phone in one of the houses there. I start up Mt. Cabot and I'm a little tired now......although excited to head up the last one......still foggy.......no rain......looking at my altimeter a hundred times or so on the way up....hitting 4,000 feet and soon the forest service cabin shows up.....should I use the outhouse.....naeh......no need......no wasting of time at the viewpoint since foggy......on toward the summit....halfway a moose sits on the trail......I'm guessing no hikers here for a while....the mouse continues up the trail then waits for me......continues a little more.....the waits.....he passes the summit slightly ahead of me.....he skipped the pushups though......felt a bit nostalgic to reach nr 48......although a bit worried about how o get picked up......on with the pack and down toward Mt. Cabot trailhead.....drank some water in the creek with the sign "last good water". Then the relatively flat section starts......trail has seen some good usage lately.......I kep going...it's after 6pm now.....been on the trail for over 12 hours.....figure out I passed the 20-mile mark some time ago.....down below 2,000 feet........I see a hiker with a dog in front of me.......I keep going hoping he's not the dude with the shot gun.......1/4 mile before the trail head I catch up with him.....we talk a bit.....he's friendly and offer me to come to his house since he lives around the corner. When he figures I just did the 48 in one hike he invites me for fordty tall ones and dinner. His wife is cooking up a storm while I sit in a leather chair with a cold corona in a glass.......jeez.......suddenly I'm in heaven......I'm able to find Fernanda and she's on the way. Having a god time with Pan and his wife. He's a doctor at Lancaster Hospital. His wife used to be his nurse. Very nice couple. He's from Netherlands and she's from Wales.....and I'm Swedish......so here are three Europeans sitting eating by Mt. Cabot trailhead.....their dog and cat takes a liking in me....I presume because of my interesting smells......after dinner ad a few cold ones......his wife pulls out some delicious homemade ice cream.....by now it's dark since long ago.....Pan drives me to downtown Lancaster where Fernanda meets me and the trip back to Boston starts......met JasonPatrik and his girlfriend in Laconia. The weirdest thing was to get used traveling faster than 2 mph......I was a bit scared in the car at first......40 mph semed like lightning speed.....oh well.....By the time we reached MA, I was used to it.....

Thanks everyone for your support in this unsupported hike ;)

mtnpa, Dr. D, swamp, Jen, Frodo, Cath, Tim, skimom, etc.......I will follow up with a story littered with photographs and more mileage and elevation charts etc....stay tuned.......

10 days 12 hours and 7 minutes was to the summit of Cabot...it took another hr 55 min to Mt Cabot trailhead which gives the TH to TH time of 10 days, 14 hours and 2 minutes.....

Stay tuned for a fancy version....not as good as Tim Seaver would have done it......but improvement from this :D
 
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Mats Roing said:
...Stay tuned for a fancy version....not as good as Tim Seaver would have done it......but improvement from this :D

Mats, I think I can speak for lots and lots of people when I say, "No improvement needed".

If I ran an outdoors magazine, I would ask you for a few pictures, more details of the female lacrosse team (and less details of the olive-oil soaked anchovies :) ) and I would without hesitation make this the cover story.
 
Great recounting of an amazing trip!! I'm glad you put it up in installments though because I needed a breather in between. :eek:
 
Just wanted to thank swamp for putting up with me for three days without ever have met me before. Jen deserves kudos as well although I have had some great climbing and hiking experiences with her from earlier this spring and summer.

pix to come soon :)
 
The pleasure was all mine Mats. I thoroughly enjoyed hiking with you and Jen and hope to do a small fraction of your next adventure.
 
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