Day 134, miles today - 14.9, total - 1,887.6

July 30, 2013

Carter Notch Hut to US 2, Gorham, NC.

I woke up this morning at 6:00. After putting my gear into my backpack, I ate breakfast from my food bag. B-Rocket and I started hiking at 7:15. We didn't wait to eat food from the hut. It was a cool but sunny day.

To start our day we had an 1,800 ft. up. We were a little chilly to start, but warmed up quickly as we started our climb. As we neared the top we had great views of the surrounding mountains. We could see Mt. Washington in the distance, where we were just two days ago. We had great views for a couple miles before we started down.

    

Carter Notch Hut at a distance, where we stayed last night.

   

We stopped so that B-Rocket could remove sticks and or rocks from her shoes. She tends to get little objects in her shoes. We usually stop at least once or twice each day. I get things in my shoes from time to time also.

I had a problem with a dog on trail today. B-Rocket and I were hiking close together, I was in front. About 50 feet in front of us was a dog coming towards us. There was a guy a little further back. We stopped where we were at. The dog was growling as it ran towards us. When it got to about 20 feet from me, it paused and looked back at the owner. The guy said the dog was afraid of our hiking poles. I told him to control his dog. The dog, still growling, continued to run towards me. I put my two trekking poles together and held them with both hands. The dog, still growling and running, got within two feet of me. I felt certain the dog was about to attack me. Using my trekking poles I made a jabbing motion, striking the dog in the chest/neck area. After striking the dog, it stopped charging. The owner then got there and put the dog on a leash. I could tell he wasn't happy with me. I told him he needed to control his dog. He held him as we continued hiking. It was an unfortunate situation, but the important thing was that neither B-Rocket nor I were injured. Why someone would let a dog like that run loose, is beyond me.

We stopped at an overlook to take a lunch break. After eating we laid back on the rock enjoying the warm sun. We both fell asleep for a few minutes. Jeremiah got there as we were getting ready to leave. He stopped to take a break.

We continued to have great views most of the day, when we gained elevation. We talked to a few south bound thru-hikers today. As in the past, we gave each other advice on things to look for. Not-A-Bear caught up with us. We hiked with him for a short distance.

When we got to US 2, the trail passed the White Mountains Hostel. We decided to spend the night there. They have bunks and serve breakfast. Being on trail will help us get an early start in the morning. There are four south bound thru-hikers staying here. I talked to two of them for a good while about food and gear. They are a nice group of people.

If things go as planned, I will enter into Maine tomorrow. My last state.