Day 129, miles today - 6.8, total - 1,832.6

July 25, 2013

Galehead Hut to Zealand Falls Hut.

This morning I got up at 6:00. I had slept on the floor of the dinning area. I got my gear together to make way for the guest to eat breakfast at 7:00. B-Rocket and I were given something to eat soon after the guest had finished. After all of the guests had ate and left the hut, we swept the dinning room and bunk rooms. It was around 9:00 by the time we were able to leave. 

It was a clear and sunny morning. It was in the low 40's.

After a short distance we reached the top of South Twin Mountain at nearly 5,000 ft. There was a beautiful 360 degree view, we stayed there for over one hour enjoying it. We saw a couple dozen dayhikers while we were sitting there. We both took several pictures.

 

 

We stopped near the Zeacliff Ridge for a lunch break. We were sitting on a large rock area in the sun. From where we were sitting we had a little bit of a view. After eating, our lunch break turned into a nap break. It was 3:00 by the time we were hiking again.

The trail was very easy today and there were many great views. It was a little cool which is great for hiking. We continued to see a lot of dayhikers on trail.

While we were hiking we talked about our experience at the Galehead Hut. We both liked it overall. The staff seemed nice, but not overly friendly or welcoming. 

As we were nearing the Zealand Falls Hut I jokingly told B-Rocket that I thought it would be funny if we stopped at the Zealand Falls Hut and they were super friendly and they asked us to do a work-for-stay. Little did I know that that was exactly what would happen.

We reached the Zealand Falls Hut at 4:00 pm.  We went inside to use the restroom. The hut worker asked if we were thru-hikers. When we said yes, he asked if we would like to do work-for-stay. He told us what was for dinner. We had planned to hike another eight miles, but after talking it over we decided to stay. Getting free food, and being able to sleep on the dinning room floor would be a treat. Experiencing the work for stay at the huts is part of being a thru-hiker in the White's. It will mean a longer day of hiking tomorrow though. Less than 50 yards from the hut was Zealand Falls, it was really more of a cascade. It was very pretty. There were a dozen of more people sitting on the rocks enjoying the view and the sound of the rushing water.

The Zealand Falls Hut staff asked B-Rocket and me to give a talk about our thru-hike to any guest that were interested. There were only five people that showed up. We talked to them for about 50 minutes. They asked a lot of questions. It was fun!