Each, At Our Own Pace

I liked him instantly and wished I could've ditched Wilson. I had gotten the impression that Wilson was one of those self-styled macho hikers -- the kind of backpacker whose only goal is to break records: speed, distance, whatever. But I also realized that I can be fast to making judgments about people, and wanted to cut the guy some slack. After all, it wasn't his fault he was fast and that I was slow.

I was wiped from burning myself out on the trail. So after a quick dinner with Wilson and Bill -- who continued to prove his "coolness" by bringing Jiffy Pop popcorn that he made over his camping stove -- I hit the crib.

We awoke early to find a light coating of dew on our tents and sunshine all around. There were peaks to hit on a glorious day!

We dumped our heavy packs at the Garfield Ridge Trailhead and took our fanny packs up to Mt. Garfield's summit (4,500 feet). Bill and I had warned each other we were slow as molasses on the trail. He didn't lie,hiking with what he calls the "Everest step." He stops every fifth step to take a quick breath, or to remark about something unique about the trail. His respiratory capacity is not up to par because of a health problem he had more than a decade ago.

To me, it didn't matter. He was out there for all the right reasons, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

The view at the summit was spectacular: The entire Pemigewasset Wilderness was before us, peaks abounding. The mountains were coated with nubby clouds of green trees.

The abandoned foundation from an old tower crowds the crown of the Garfield summit, and I wondered what it would be like to pitch a tent inside it one night.

Off in the distance, we spied our next destination: Galehead (4,024 feet). We scrambled back down the trail, and within two hours, we were at the Galehead Hut.

The hut was recently renovated and stirred up quite a fuss because a handicap ramp was installed, and the halls and bathroom stalls were made wide to accommodate wheelchairs. I was a bit scornful of the whole thing, thinking there was no way in hell someone in a wheelchair could make it up there _ and figuring that if they could, why install a ramp when they've negotiated boulders the whole way up? What's one more

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