Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 1

I've been putting off The Bonds because there was no way for me to do them without camping out at Guyot backcountry campground by myself (OK, or I guess with someone else, but then it wouldn't be solo), but it was time. I was down to just seven hikes, no more putting it off. So, I for my vacation I went for an overnight in the Pemigewasset Wilderness (also called The Pemi). I decided that since I was going there overnight I might as well get North Twin as well, and stay at a couple of the huts. So, I parked at Gale trail, took the AMC hiker shuttle to Zealand, and stayed at Zealand falls for the first night.

I have to say that I was nervous as I waited for the shuttle. It was my first solo camping, it was a long hike, and the area was very remote. My pack weighted in at about 30 pounds with food and water - I knew it would get lighter as I ate, but the big uphill from Zealand was going to be heavy. I was the only one on the hiker shuttle and the driver was super chatty. Usually I'm not the chatty type, but it was good to have someone to talk to and calm my nerves, and by the time I got to the trailhead, I was feeling a little better.

There was no reason that I needed to stay at Zealand Falls at all, it's just three miles in, pretty much all of which is flat.  But, I was so glad I did!  The hiker shuttle was at 12:20, so it gave me a chance to sleep a little (not too much, I was so paranoid I would get caught in traffic I was an hour early for the shuttle), and it gave me a chance to stay at the hut which was beautiful and amazing!  The waterfalls were wonderful. One of the naturalists told me that if you hike upstream there are some slightly bigger pools, so I went up there, stripped down to my undies, and took a dip. It was so cold, it lasted about 30 seconds, but it felt great!

I slept on the third bunk up, which is really high, and I was a little nervous that I would fall out of bed, but I reasoned that I never have before. Also, I put my left hand on the side of the bed as I was falling asleep, to remind me that there was an edge. It was kind of fun being up in a perch!

Zealand Hut is home to some creatures, like a snake colony and a wasps nest.  The snakes they are keeping, the wasps are living under the front porch, and I think it's headed out! One woman told me that as she was going up to the hut and me a little kid who told her "there are snakes and wasps and spiders." And there were. There was also an almost full moon. For dinner we had "Mexican Lasagne" which is to say that there were lasagne noodles and corn and veggies but no pasta sauce or cheese, so the cru made due. It was a different cru than usual - the summer one had just gone back to school and the fall one wasn't out yet, so it was all regular people, none of them under 40 I bet! They were good cooks though - there was also a delicious brown bread and tomato rice soup (this will sound very much like the menu at Galehead, but I didn't care).