Miles: 14.1 (plus .3 side trip)
We were warned about Webster Cliffs, but those silly NOBOs don't know what hard is yet. The cliffs gave us great views into the valley and, with the dissipating rain, we got to watch the clouds fly by. Beautiful sight. With a little rock hopping, we were flying down into Crawford Notch. With the rain, we didn't take a long break at the Notch, which caught us going back uphill. After a draining walk and Kevin taking a bad spill (fortunately, nothing was broken other than spirits), we finally got to the Ethan Pond Shelter. We treated ourselves to a hot, late lunch of Ramen and then trucked on a ridiculously easy path for another 4 miles. It was more like a running trail than a hiking one, which we absolutely loved.
On the rocky outcrops, we saw 2 black bears - mama and baby - about 100 yards from us. Before we could take a picture, they scuttled off. They were much cuter and cuddlier than the ones we saw in the Smokies last year, although I don't think I'll be going up to one and petting it :)
We raced up the trail to Zealand Falls Hut and were pleasantly surprised to see Medicine Man and Sunshine sitting on the porch. Cool!! We caught up on stories and then we got some delicious calzones for dinner. Unlike Mizpah, there were plenty of yummy leftovers here, so we stuffed ourselves. Then, the crew didn't ask us to do much. Tres cool. Much better than the slave drivers at Mizpah. After dinner and a vicious game of the AT board game, we had a great night of sleep on the dining room floor.
- Bunny Bobo