Smart Mountain tent site to Hiker Welcome site - 20.0 miles hiked today - 1794.2 total AT miles hiked to date
Today was a long but productive day. Trail conditions were the best in weeks, although mud was still sporadic throughout the day. The terrain was less challenging and the climbs were more moderate. First thing this morning, as we hiked out of our campsite, we reached a fire tower at the top of Smart mountain with views for miles in every direction.
Doc was hiking with Pinot and I again today, as we planned to complete a minimum of 15 miles. Our morning took us up and over the Eastman Ledges and the Quartzite Ledges before cresting Mt. Cube at 2900 feet. There were lots of section and day hikers at each of these spots. We had lunch on the top of Mt. Cube.
In the afternoon we pushed hard through the mixed terrain, skirting mud, and negotiating tricky creek crossings, but generally making good time. By 6pm, we had made our destination for the night, had dinner, and settled in.
Tomorrow the three of us will be picked up by a shuttle in the morning to slackpack Mt. Moosilacke, the first of the 4000 ft peaks at the south end of the range leading to the Whites. This will be my first test of true rock scrambles and boulder climbs since breaking my wrist, so I’m doing it with a very light pack to test my capabilities. Tomorrow night we’ll stay at a hostel and resupply there after the 10 mile slack.
Until next time…
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