I woke up in the loft of the Gray Knob cabin in the White
Mountains, Mt. Adams more specifically.
The wind howled through the night, bringing rain and sleet. I wasn’t meeting Matt and his family until
later that evening so I had time to spare.
The caretaker and I struck up a conversation again, carrying on from
last night. He got the weather report
from Mt. Washington, just a few miles away, of 100 mile an hour winds. I know Mt. Washington is home of the worst
weather on Earth, but it’s another thing when you are in the midst of that
weather. The caretaker said the winds on
Mt. Adams were probably only 90 mph and maybe 60 or 70 where we were, so
nothing out of the ordinary (The highest recorded wind speed on Earth at a
manned station was 231 mph on Mt. Washington in 1934). I guess this was not the day to summit Mt.
Adams, a thought that had crossed my mind.
The caretaker said he took trips to the summit most days when the
weather cooperated. I guess I’ll have to
come back another time and give it a shot.
I didn’t start down the mountain until 2:30 that afternoon
(I can be so damn putzy with someone to talk to). I definitely want to go back someday and stay
at the Gray Knob cabin again. The
caretaker said it’s actually fairly out of the ordinary to have no hikers
staying at the cabin. He also enjoys
when people bring up beer for him to drink!
I’ll make sure to do that next time.
The snowpack had turned to 8 inches of slush, not giving my
feet a chance to stay dry. I found
another stick to serve as my hiking companion and headed towards Crag
Camp. Speckles of rain would blow in
from time to time, along with passing wisps of clouds, enclosing my path from
the rest of the world. Less than a mile
later, the trail opened up to Crag Camp.
The blowing clouds opened up for a few seconds to reveal the view of the
valley below. The guy in Maine was
right, this was a perfect spot to watch the sunrise. I moseyed into the cabin to check out the
accommodations; a large open room with a wall of windows looking east filled
with benches, tables and a stack of board games and puzzles in the corner, and
two smaller rooms crammed with bunk beds.
I’d like to check this out in warmer days.
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| Crag Camp |
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| The view from Crag Camp looking east |
The descent was more difficult than the ascent because
everything was more slippery after the rain.
I slipped off a rock while crossing a brook, soaking my foot, but
causing no other damage. It was slow
going, but eventually I made it back to my car.
I looked back up the mountain and thought about how awesome of a mini-adventure
that was.
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| I found a yellow blaze! (it's up on the right side) |
After taking off my wet shoes and socks and putting dry ones
on, I loaded everything into my car and took off towards Wolfeboro and Lake
Winnipesaukee. It was getting dark and I
couldn’t see the mountains so I concentrated on the road ahead. In our conversation about local beer, the
caretaker gave directions to the liquor store with the best selection around
and I stopped in to take a look myself.
I wanted to get Matt a 6er of good Wisconsin beer if I could find it for
all the help he had provided on my journey.
Needless to say, I was underwhelmed by the Wisconsin selection. There were a few flavors of Leinie’s, but I
wasn’t about to pass Berry Weiss and Sunset Wheat off as good beer from
Wisconsin (or any state for that matter).
The only other choice I had was two varieties from Hinterland Brewing
out of Green Bay. I liked what I’ve had
from them, but these were new ones to me (their Winterland and Maple Bock are
quite tasty). I went with the Luna
Coffee Stout and hoped for the best.
An hour later, I arrived at Matt’s house out in the middle
of nowhere. Matt welcomed me in and
offered up a beer. His wife was out
running errands and picking up their daughter from school. He gave me the tour and started getting
dinner ready. A big ol’ pot of Jambalaya
was on the menu! I caught him up my
travels since I last saw him a week earlier and he talked about some great
music he’d seen in the area. His wife
Jess and daughter Sam showed up later and we sat down to eat. I’m not sure what Matt’s family thought of
me, a bedraggled bum from the woods who was drinking their beer and making himself
at home. We finished dinner and moved
onto ice cream. I didn’t really need the
ice cream, but who am I to pass up food?
Sam had homework to do so she excused herself, leaving Matt, Jess and
myself to talk away the evening. I’m
always a talker and up to retell my stories and they were willing to
listen.
Matt and Jess had to get up early the next morning, but they
were going to let me stay as long as I wanted, even another night perhaps. The kindness of strangers to open up their
house and allow me free reign when they aren’t around to supervise, is humbling. I love it! The chance encounters we have can lead to
truly wonderful outcomes if you allow yourself to trust a fellow stranger. I’m not saying trust everyone, there are some
bad apples out there, but spending time talking to locals on the road, you get
a feeling of who the good people are.
Matt had a beard and was a fan of Cornmeal and that’s enough in my book
to trust him. That trust and belief in
the goodness of people led to a far richer road trip for me. Matt’s good people. We’re all strangers at some point of our
lives; sometimes a few words can turn a stranger into a friend. I fell asleep with a full belly, glad to have
met Matt and his family.
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