Up early and hiking at 6:24am. I anticipated an easy 9.5-mile walk to NH Hwy 25 where I'd walk 0.3 miles east to the Hikers Welcome hostel to pick up a food box then get back on the trail. About half an hour after starting hiking, light rain started to fall. The 700-ft climb to Mt. Mist was hardly a climb. The beech-maple forest blocked much of the rain. But the rain intensified as I neared Hwy 25, enough for me to don my rain coat. At the highway, I met Sir Linear. He continued uphill for the 3500-ft climb over Mt. Moosilauke. I walked to the hostel only to find that the guy-in-charge, Legion, wouldn't be back until noon. I couldn't get my food box. The rain continued to fall. Wet hikers drifted in, happy to be out of the rain. By the time Legion arrived, I'd decided to stay for the night. Southbounders told me not to head up the mountain in the rain. More hikers arrived and filled the 25 beds in the hostel. Lots of discussion around the table (see photo). I got a bed and warmed up, then made blog posts. Although my plans changed, I'm happy to be here.
I stayed there at the last, gasping end of my flip-flop last year. Mist Mountain didn’t bother me, but my legs were pretty thrashed after coming from Katahdin in less than four weeks, and I was NOT happy about Smarts and Cube.