Nancy Pond Trail to Carrigain

Trip report coming soon. 18-ish miles, 9-ish hours, 4,700ft of elevation gain (2200 to Nancy Pond, 2500 up the Desolation Trail to Carrigain summit).

Pics are here.

Cryptic MadDog Trail Report:
An Tale of Auditor Detection - Missing Records and People

Unexpectedly the authorities (NH auditors) showed up at the trailhead. They wanted to see the books on NH's 48 and of the signout log from Ward 6 of the Happy House. In the 48 books, they immediately deteced a problem - Carrigain was accounted for but did not have evidence to support it. So, without representation from the PMO, I could not offer reasonable defenses for the holes. The result was a stiff penalty - march around and into the Pemi with a fellow named Mutha. oh boy.

Then comes the missing person from the Happy House. Mr Propho. An odd but interesting fellow of few words and quirky decisions. The man had been missing for 5 days from authorities, and we found him in the heart of the Pemi just as the auditors and authorities were closing in. Good luck Mr Propho!

Mutha's Trail Report:
Crazed loons in the pemi. Boy Scouts in large packs. Miles in, Miles out. But we tapped Stillwater Junction and over the course of the 18 miles found a dozen awesome spots to camp, with plenty of water.

Big discovery: Carrigain has great camping spots, including a few that are built for camping and have huge freshwater well (water is not potable) - just under the summit!!

We chatted it up and partied like rockstars. The temp was perfect for light-to-no clothes. It hardly rained at all until the end. But the best part: the trail around Norcross Pond is so submerged that dry feet are impossible. Suck it up.

[Updated 8/24 with story originally sent as email to 'Mimers']
maddog and i had a great time on saturday. the stream crossings, of which there were many, weren't threateningly difficult but once or twice we had to spend a minute picking a route (just on the Nancy Pond trail where the trail gets steep like Falling Waters and the brook is bouldery, slippery and erratically contoured.

down in the pemi where the brooks lay flat, most of the crossings were made easier by large stones arranged by hikers. it wasn't a dry-foot day (and at the end i just waded across two brooks rather than rock-hop) but in spite of the huge amount of water draining off the mountains from Friday's torrential rains, we had no challenges that were in the slightest bit worrisome. we didn't have to cross the pemi river itself, which was pretty high. the truth was the brook crossings could've been done with entirely dry boots with no gymnastics or daring jumps.

so this guy that maddog nicknamed "prophylactic man" surprised us with a funny perspective on the brooks:

the guy was anywhere from 60-75 years old. no body fat, but pants, boots and a hat, scrubby grey beard, no shirt. when we first encountered him, our impression was that we had come across a guy who either:
a) lived in the pemi off seeds, berries and grubs
b) live a lifestyle that was not (a), but maybe he just disappeared from society for a few months every summer.
c) he was a complete lunatic that had wandered through the woods looking for victims.

he seemed have either very little language skills or just wasn't thrilled at finding other humans in his territory.

we came across him a second time (we had done an out-and-back to Stillwater Junction) but this time he stopped to chat a bit in his weird, slow, halting manner. as it turned out, this was like his first time camping - perhaps he'd spent his entire life as a dentist and finally decided to go into the woods. his pants were absolutely water-proof, which was odd since he clearly knew that going topless was a better choice (he wasn't carrying his shirt - he was out in just the pants). i was comfortable in my lightest running shorts and minimal tanktop. but this guy looked like he was afraid of bugs on his legs. it was truly a weird sight. maybe you had to be there.

anyway, "Propho Man" confided that he was on day 7 of a 12 day visit to the pemi, camping in one spot and taking little hikes around to explore. that was cool. if you look on a map, there are a few great hikes to take from Stillwater Junction:
1 - shoal pond trail to the AT
2 - thoreau falls trail
3 - bondcliff
4 - lincoln brook, etc. (owl's head region)
5 - carrigain notch, desolation trail, nancy pond
etc.

it's an awesome 'hub' camping spot. and every single route out of there requires a stream crossing. now i can't emphasize enough that the streams were high from the previous day/night's downpours, but you could've stayed foot-dry if you were careful without having to call on some x-men skills.

Propho Man, however, in our querying of what he'd been up to for seven days so far appeared to have a really extreme reluctance to cross water - like a cow refusing to cross a grating. it was severe. to every query of ours, like "have you checked out the Shoal Pond Trail?" his reply was the same: "weeelllll....i tried, but was thwarted by a brook". really. he used the word "thwarted" in every single reply. the guy was out in the Pemi for 12 DAYS! and he was TRAPPED in a small area by brooks that were, i'm not kidding, 6 inches deep and flowing casually.

i told him the true story of being in the pemi a number of times and realizing that to cross a brook dry i had to take my shoes off, tie them together, hang them around my neck and then put them on on the other side. he stared down at his boots and after a long pause said "well.... i guess....but i'm kind of reluctant to take my boots off".