That's "GHORAM", not "Gotham."

I should begin this post with the following annoucement:

I am South of the Border!

Maine, one of the longest and toughest states on the AT (and home to the hardest single mile of the entire trail called the Mahoosuc Notch) is out of the way. I'm not completely out of the hard stuff though...ahead of me are the White Mountains; much larger than the mountains in Maine and subject to more sporadic weather conditions that could leave me exposed to high winds for miles above tree line. But whatever...the trail goes over them, so that's where I'm going.

A quick post-Maine gear assessment (keeping in mind that all of this stuff was brand spanking new when I started a little less than a month ago):

Pack: aside from minor internal damage during the first week, there is a small tear in the bottom acquired during passage through Mahoosuc notch and various holes in the mesh webbing on the outside. Will monitor this to see if it gets worse, but the material is very strong and should not be an issue.

Tent: Excellent condition despite heavy use.

Sleeping bag/Sleeping pad: Excellent condition. Sleeping bag has yet to get severely soaked.

Shoes: Switched out boots for hiking shoes in Monson. Shoes are definitely showing some wear. Will probably need replacements once I'm through the Whites.

Hat: showing significant wear, but still holding up overall.

Trekking poles: One is bent and has become non-adjustable. Somewhat inconvenient, but not a major issue as of yet. Will get replacements eventually.

GPS: Still working beautifully, despite exposure to elements. Living up to its advertised "rugged design."

Stove: Showing significant wear, but no decrease in performance.

Cookwear: Fork part of plastic spork has broken off. No intention to replace it, though. It works fine without it.

Camp shoes/water wear: Large holes from sharp rocks and punctures from trees as they hang off the side of my pack. Will most likely need to replace them later on.

Now, about where I am:

I stopped off at a famous hiker hostel in Gorham, New Hampshire last night after half a day of rain. The town itself is in a valley surrounded by the White Mountains, and you can't really go anywhere that doesn't have a view of the mountains themselves. But it is within driving distance of a Walmart, and the hostel offers free rides to/and from, so I definitely used the opportunity to buy affordable food (most small towns charge you an arm and a leg to resupply at their local general stores). And I had planned on going back out on the trail today, until I checked the weather on my phone and saw this:

I would have left around 11:30 AM, which would have meant that I would have had to go 8 miles to the next camp site, gain over 4,000 feet of elevation, be on top of a mountain in the middle of thunderstorm carrying two metal poles, and then have to make a sharp descent over wet slick rock. And do all of this in 9 hours (to make it in before dark because the majority of the trail in NH is unmarked and hiking an unmarked trail in the dark is bad news).

No thank you. I'll opt to take the day off and then do a longer day tomorrow to make up for it. Plus, it is July 4th. Nothing wrong with taking a holiday on a holiday. Plus until it starts raining, it'll be a really nice day. Definitely using the good weather to dry/air out everything that needs it. A good day to relax and a nice place to do it.

A side note:

In case any of you were wondering about life out here as far as what the "camping" part of it entails, here's a quick rundown about lean-tos/shelters.

About every 10-15 miles along the trail, there are shelters that are maintained by various groups (largely nonprofit). These shelters can vary in size between a 6-18 person capacity, and can have different types of construction/design. The one pictured here, however, is a fairly common type of shelter:

(The guy in the picture is Lexus...been hiking with him since early Maine, but it's more that we both keep ending up in the same places at the end of the day than actually hiking "together")

They are typically not positioned directly on the trail, however, so signs such as this one indicate when one is nearby:

Typically, the path to the lean-to from the trail is marked with blue blazes (or stripes) such as this one. The AT itself is marked with white blazes.

In an effort to centralize human waste and minimize environmental impact, outhouses (or privys) can be found at many shelters. They're not very clean (or comfortable), but they do provide at least SOME accomodation.

If a lean-to is big enough and it's not full of people, you can sometimes get away with pitching your tent inside it. I usually do that when I can because the tent provides at least some protection from mosquitoes.

It is recommended, however, that you hang your food up. Field mice typically live in the shelters, and will happily eat their way through your food stash. The bottle hanging from the string prevents mice from being able to climb down the string directly. Should a mouse put its full weight on the bottle, the bottle tilts and the mouse falls off.

Most lean-tos also have fire pits:

Oh, and I cut these plants I found near the lean-to with this sword I found in the woods and found a green rupee under them (video game reference).

So I hope that gives a better sense of where exactly I am when my day ends and I'm "in camp."

And with that, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my day off.

--Adrian