Sun came out 9-ish this morning, so I had a chance to spread out the tent fly to dry. In the hour before things clouded up again, I enjoyed a walk along the lake shore before I came back to pack up my gear. Dry gear and a bit of sunshine did wonders for me.
Today's short hike brought me to the Mountain Bungalow, the CT's one & only hostel so far, located a few short miles away on Danforth Road in Pittsburg. It's on the property of Lainie & Pete, CT board members I met at last year's CT summer gathering. The Bungalow is going to be my home for a few days while I do some trail maintenance with Lainie and play tourist in Pittsburg. I've lived in NH for over 25 years, but northern Coos County is unfamiliar to me, and I want to see as much of it as I can while I'm here.
The walk up River Road to Rt. 3 (missing the little shortcut that's now part of the CT) leads to what the map calls Happy Corner. What's so happy about it? Check this out: Young's store, a great little restaurant, a covered bridge, AND the intersection with Danforth Road, all right there. (Oh, all right, I actually had to walk for 5 minutes to find the covered bridge. Don't be picky.)
Young's had the camp shoes I hoped for, lightweight & cheap. The Happy Corner Cafe next door served me a splendid lunch. Let me recommend the Corner Burger, piled with cheese, onions, mushrooms, & green peppers. Two tables over sat the family that camped at the site next to mine last night.
I headed up Danforth Road in a light drizzle, along the south slope of Prospect Mountain. (New Hampshire is littered with Prospect Mountains, I think, but this is the only one near Happy Corner.) Lainie & Pete are at the end of the road, a bit shy of the summit. Two moose, cow & calf, crossed the road ahead of me as I made my way up, but they were gone before I got my camera out.
I knew I'd found the right place when I got to a house with a sign proclaiming "Northern Headquarters of the Cohos Trail." By the time I got there, the sun was out, and we had a gorgeous afternoon. Pete & Lainie gave me a friendly greeting and showed me to the Bungalow. I have the whole place to myself; it can accommodate up to six people. No running water, but there are plenty of jugs I can fill from the main house. There is electricity. The kitchen is tiny but certainly adequate. This all reflects a lot of work & care by my hosts.
I had sent a cache ahead of me before I left home. Once I emptied the cache box of its contents, I started filling it with things I've already decided I can live without. I now know that I can carry a pack. I also now know that lighter is better.
I put on my new camp shoes as soon as I got here. My boots will now dry out from their dunking in the bog yesterday. My blisters, every ugly swelling one of them, get TLC by not being jammed back into damp shoes. Aside from the boots, everything has dried out from the bog & the rain.
Lainie offered me a ride on her ATV to the top of Prospect Mountain, and so I added “ATV passenger” to my list of firsts for the trip. The views on this sunny afternoon were breathtaking, dominated by big 1st Connecticut Lake just below. Mt. Magalloway loomed in the distance; I could just make out its fire tower. Lainie named just about every peak in sight, but I was too dazed to take it all in.
This evening, Pete told me he'd just been on the phone with Armand Buteau, a CT board member & owner of Pathfinder Tours & Rentals here in Pittsburg. He has offered us a kayak trip up East Inlet later in the week. I'm delighted. I had planned a hike in that area, but the best way to see it is on the water.
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