[A final note on three more things that made a stay in Bill Ackerly’s backyard so special: one of the most spectacular views of the night sky we’ve had the whole trip (complete with the Milky Way and a shooting star!), Bill leaving his door unlocked all night to offer the use of indoor plumbing, and his strong, hot coffee first thing in the morning. The man, indeed, is a rare gem.]

The chilly temperature (certainly below 50°!) and the heaviest dew on record make it tough to get stirring this morning. We have a two-mile gradual uphill hike before we begin the arduous 2,357′ climb (in two stages) up Smarts Mountain. The weather is perfect for hiking – cool and clear – and the view from the old fire lookout tower is gorgeous. By the time we get there, a goodly crowd of hikers has gathered at the tower steps, both NOBO’s & SOBO’s.

The trail is a busy place in general today as we see both thru and section SOBO’ers, plus a surprising number of day hikers, as well as several Northbounders, however our chore group of Kleenex, the brothers Castaway (that is to say also his brother Deadeye joining him for a week in the Whites and on his second day out already getting his trail legs!), and us stay together all day. After a 1,400′ descent to the new bridge across South Jacobs Brook, where we stop for snacks and water, we begin the shorter, but tougher, 1,496′ ascent up Mt. Cube. We climb on a lot of exposed rock, and once again the view is great. A mile and a half into the climb we pass the turnoff to Hexacuba Shelter, but at only ten miles for the day, it’s way too soon to stop and we push on.

We learn from southbounders there is decent camping with water just before NH 25A and that becomes our goal. It’s well after five when we arrive to find Talloaf and Tarzan and Jane already working on dinner, and lots of good tent stealth sites remaining. From a passing Gumby, last seen during N’s convalescence in Connecticut, we hear Spiceman and Rhino are just behind us; and from a passing Loner (who as his trail name implies is walking ahead to camp by himself) we hear they have stopped short of us at the last gravel road. Our little hiking bubble continues to both expand and contract, but seems to be steadily (or maybe unsteadily?) moving north towards Maine. We can only hope this wonderful weather stays with us through the Whites. Another stellar day on the AT…