Last night when I arrived at Osgood Tentsite I was relieved to see several other groups camping as well. On the way in signs had warned me of issues with bears in the area and 6 years ago when I stayed here bears had raided several food bags as I slept. The park had installed bear boxes which would eliminate the concern for losing my food but the threat of waking up to a bear sniffing the chocolate buried in my mustache was still very real. But when I walked up it turns out bears weren’t the wildlife to be concerned with but rather a large moose foraging in the surrounding brush.
Tag Archives: White Mountains
Osgood Tentsite, Day 10, 26 miles
Marni and Eric had prepared me a huge breakfast that I could heat up and eat before everyone else was up so I didn’t have to wait. It was a huge help. Also at the hostel was a guy, Will, who was the first SOBO thru-hiker to hit this point. He had taken a zero yesterday and we caught up over pizza last night. He had gotten in touch with me before we started and exchanged notes on gear and diet. I had told him about my shoes getting ripped up from the mud and rocks in Maine and showed him the four inch gash in the side. He told me he had mailed himself a pair of shoes but was going to continue hiking in the shoes he was wearing. They were exactly my size and he was just going to leave them in the hiker box. It couldn’t have been better luck and I am seriously thankful to him for letting me wear them out of Gorham. I had been worried about my shoes which looked more like sandals at this point. My next pair wasn’t till northern Vermont and I highly doubted this pair would last that long. I had clean, new Darn Tough socks waiting for me in this mail drop and getting Will’s shoes were an amazing addition. Continue reading Osgood Tentsite, Day 10, 26 miles
Speck Pond Lean-to, Day 8, 31.9 miles
It was nice to once again have a shelter to myself for the night and enjoyed a good night’s sleep despite temps dropping down to the low 30s. My vapor barrier worked but the warmth of my sleep system made me resistant to getting up. I got hiking probably around 530 but I couldn’t know with having my phone battery dead. The sky was clear for the time being but I knew rain was forecast. I would enjoy the dry weather for now. Continue reading Speck Pond Lean-to, Day 8, 31.9 miles