Jonathan passed time with a phone call home as he waited atop Mount Moosilauke for Madeline to arrive. Their paces never match. The summit is 4,802 feet up and offers a spectacularly far and wide view at one moment, and then a completely obscured view the next as cloud cover moves in. With the cloud cover came the chill; he was hunkered down behind a boulder to escape the wind. The White Mountains have been well populated with day hikers. They have been matching pace again with Mark Trails, Chain Saw and Kilt Techie and a new hiker, Spirit Fingers. Jonathan says that both Chain Saw and Kilt Techie carry huge knives with Rambo type 6 inch blades as bear protection. This apparently stems from an encounter with bears (saw one close by) in Georgia. Jonathan and Madeline are planning to shelter tonight about 2 miles down the summit.
They detoured off the trail Saturday night at Dancing Bones Village with Mark Trails and Spirit Fingers. Dancing Bones Village is a community of people who are dedicated to circle dancing. Circle dancing is communal, both ancient and modernly choreographed and can be found in cultures around the world. The residents live in cabins, (one couple lives in a yurt), on public land that is leased for 100 years. They do not operate as a commune in that they all have their own individual jobs or source of income. They do, however, require group consensus for all decisions impacting the group as a whole. The hikers arrived as the group was finishing up a pot luck and were treated to carrots, squash, blackberries and brownies. They had access to their communal kitchen, and hot showers; they slept in a large dance shelter - wooden platform with open sides and a roof. They stayed on through Sunday. Jonathan went to a circle dance in Franconia Notch with one of the members, and enjoyed the experience immensely. The steps are simple enough; performed in a circle, usually holding hands, to music. Madeline stayed back in order to grocery shop with Mark Trails who thought he had located a ride to a grocery store. The plan fell through, but they were able to find a ride this morning before their return to the trail. We lost reception before concluding our call, but not before I had the chance to suggest that here in the Whites, it might be prudent for them to stay closer together in their hiking. I was assured that they would exercise good judgement. I trust they will. ~ Amy
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