Fellow 2013 thru-hiker spotted in an Atlanta cafe. I slackpacked with Javaman between Woods Hole and Pearisburg. Rainbow Braid, Ice Cream, and Charlotte, all of whom I met near Pearisburg, are also now living in the Atlanta area. What a miraculous chance discovery, given that I wasn’t able to find them on the book of faces.
A nasty bout of weather cut short my one-week-to-Pinkham-Notch plan after a mere 5 days. Six days after being shuttled from Chet’s out to Kinsman Notch, I was back again. And I wasn’t the only one. Icarus was back again, having spent the past few days hiking the Pemi with Damselfly and Splash. He showed me pictures they took cavorting on the edge of Bondcliff and enjoined me to go see it myself, extolling it as the most beautiful spot in the Whites, and judging from the pictures, it seemed likely he wasn’t exaggerating.
An epic battle for Bondcliff (by Rachel “Damselfly” Kirchoefner, with Chris Eli “Icarus” Polett and Josh “Splash” Isbell)