Wildcat Mountain has multiple peaks, identified by letters. After going over Peak E, we reached the top of Peak D at 10:15 a.m. By that time, clouds were beginning to thicken and it looked like we would get some rain.
I hadn’t noticed Logan was struggling or lagging behind, but he said he was having trouble with his ankle. He was concerned he might be slowing us down.
I certainly could sympathize with ankle problems, so we stopped to discuss our options and available time for today.
We discovered that the ski lift on this mountain was running today, so it would be possible for Logan to purchase a one-way ride down to the bottom. He was fortunate to have this option because it only ran on weekends this time of year. He decided heading back down was best for him and our plan to finish by tomorrow.
By this time Kim was heading back to Maine, where she would be spending the night with one of her cousins. We didn’t want to ask her to come back to pick up Logan, so I told him about a place he could camp. It was just up the trail on the other side of the highway, a short distance from the visitors center at Pinkham Notch.
He then rode the gondola down to the bottom of the mountain and walked up the AT in the other direction.
I was also able to get a cell phone signal from the mountain top and contacted Kim to let her know about our change in plans. We were able to work it out so that she would pick up Logan at Pinkham Notch. Then together they would travel to the the other end of the trail, where they could meet Landon and me.
Though this seemed like a complicated reordering of plans, the change was actually a relief for Kim. Now she would be able to walk with Logan tomorrow to the meeting spot I had set.