The receptionist at the Joe Dodge Lodge described the profile of the Wildcat Ridge Trail as looking like the initial trajectory of a rocket leaving the launch pad. And that’s how the first 4/10 mile up from the Lost Pond Trail felt this morning, with its 800′ elevation gain. Fortunately, we were well prepared and fortified after a great breakfast buffet (yes, this time with piles of bacon, and hot oatmeal and all kinds of things to go on it that we hadn’t seen on the menu at our meals in the huts!). The trail then flattened ever so slightly before it turned upward on some rough stone stairs through a rocky crevasse on its way to total elevation gain of 2,000′ on top of Wildcat Mountain E.

We then followed the ridgeline up and down Wildcat Peaks D, C, and A (Peak A being 4422′). The ski gondola atop Wildcat D was operating, but this early in the day had very little business as we passed by. Shortly after, we were joined by Phoenix Rising, out doing a 900+ mile northbound section. She and Funnybone had gotten to Wildcat D during the nasty rain of two days ago, and decided to take the gondola down to get out of the weather. She said at that point Funnybone had had enough and had gone home to Indiana. Now, after a day off, Phoenix Rising had caught the gondola back to the top to resume her hike. She describes herself as the slowest hiker on the trail, to which N takes great exception, as for 1,868 miles he has claimed that title as his own. PR may hold a slight edge on the uphills, but at the end of the day N conclusively proved he remains the slowest hiker going downhill…

Way back in the Smokies (see Day 17), Ken Voorhis of the Tremont Institute served as our host and guide. Today he absolutely blew us away by successfully sending us mail on the AT! Hearing another friend of his, former Tremont naturalist Elizabeth Davis (trail name “Piper”) was southbounding in August, he had given her a card of encouragement to bring to us. Shortly after the gondola, here came Piper around the corner saying “I think I know you…” Only on the AT! Ken’s card literally brought X to tears…

At Wildcat A, we took advantage of the vista to stop for a brief lunch. Far below in Carter Notch, we could see the roof of the final AMC hut, which we would pass close by after a steep 1,100′ descent.

The descent was indeed tough, and followed by an even tougher 1,500′ climb up to Carter Dome (at 4,833′ our high point of the day). Walking the ridge over to Mt. Hight, we were in the strong wind for the first time of the day, and could feel the temperature dropping a few degrees. On and off, all day we had good views of Mt. Washington off to our left, but in the late afternoon the sky became rather hazy.

After dropping 800′ to Zeta Pass (another tough descent!), the trail became very easy across Carter Mountain, and we made great time for over two miles. We began predicting an early arrival at camp. But at the north end of Carter, we were jolted by the severity of the drop. We did hand over hand. We grabbed tree limbs to hang on for dear life. We climbed down backwards. We slid down on our butts. Thankfully none of the four of us was hurt worse than a scratch or two, and we were able to make it to Imp Campsite about an hour before sunset. With our late arrival, we all quickly set up in the shelter, where we are joined by Phoenix Rising and a flip flopping SOBO who left Springer about the same time we did.

All in all, another great day on the AT. We didn’t beat the Whites today, but we did come pretty close to a tie. That’s about all you can ask for, and tomorrow we put the Whites in our rearview mirror…