Weekly overview
DAY 99
August 9, 2019
- Route: Trapper John Shelter (Mile 1766.5) to NH-25A/Barn Door (Mile 1783.4)
- Daily Mileage: 16.9 miles
Last night was warmer than the past few nights have been, and it didn’t rain as expected. So I was up early, and heading out of camp at 7:15 am. I wasn’t the first one to depart though. Toaster and Daffodil were moving even faster than me this morning.
The Trapper John Shelter was on the backside of an unnamed mountain. So the first hour of the day was extremely rough on my knees as the AT plunged toward the Grafton Turnpike.
There were even a few gnarly places where the trail maintainers felt the need to bolt in wooden cleats or metal rungs to help hikers as the trail descended slick sheets of granite.
SMARTS MOUNTAIN
Just beyond this treacherous descent, the AT turned it eyes back upward again. And I had to follow a long 4-mile climb back up toward Smarts Mountain. The route was steep (Isn’t it always?!?) and I was definitely breathing hard this morning.
After a false summit on Lambert Ridge, the final mile of the climb was particularly difficult. I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest with all the effort.
But there was a lovely fire lookout tower at the top of Smarts Mountain, which had truly breathtaking views that almost made me forget about the beating New Hampshire was doling out.
I quickly climbed the stairs toward the cabin at the top of the tower. I was hoping to rest there for second breakfast, and to my delighted surprise, Toaster and Daffodil were already there and taking a break too.
While we all took a well-deserved break, I toggled my phone out of airplane mode to check my phone for service. New Hampshire isn’t any better than Vermont in terms of cell coverage. The only place you tend to have any bars is: (1) in a town; or (2) on on of these high peaks where there’s nothing between you and the cell repeater.
Not only did I have service, but there was voicemail from the VA. The message were updating me on my post-retirement/disability physical (i.e, that appointment I had to get off the trail for near Roanoke way back in June).
Unfortunately, they were calling to inform me that I needed to make a follow up appointment for further assessment.
Ah jeez. That’s the last thing I needed to figure out here. But, appointments with the VA are hard to come by, so I went ahead and called back.
After 20 minutes of back and forth (and waiting on hold), I made my follow-up appointment for September 9th. I assume I’ll be long done with the trail by then. I came out here to the AT with all the time in the world and no hard deadlines. So I hope I didn’t just jinx myself by committing to that date.
I don’t want to end up like Gazelle – who keeps talking about how she really needs to pick up her pace so she finishes the trail before she needs to start Physical Therapy school.
TRAIL ETIQUETTE, PLEASE
After the fire tower, I was rewarded with three easy miles of downhill toward Jacob’s brook. The water source wasn’t a small stream. It was more like a river with a swimming hole and lots of kids around.
Toaster, Daffodil, and Calamity arrived just behind me, and the four of us we set to work gathering water. As we finished up, the three of them wanted to push on to Eastman Ledges before stopping for lunch. But I was starving and decided this was a good enough spot for me.
In hindsight, I wished I’d gone with them. Because immediately after I found a relaxing lunch spot, a group of about 15 teenagers rolled up and tossed their packs down. I think they were some sort of Outward Bound type of group, and they were as loud and giggly like one might expect.
The noise didn’t bother me though. What got me was how they’d literally sprawled out on the trail with their discarded gear and bodies in a giant gaggle. It’s as if they had no regard for the other hikers who might – I don’t know – want to walk down the trail with hurdling their packs and bodies.
I was going to say something, but I just didn’t have the energy. The group’s leaders really should have herded them off to the side, or taught them how inconsiderate they were being.
HEXCUBA
After lunch, I had another arduous climb toward Mt. Cube. The initial hike up to the Eastman ledges was fine, and the views were nothing to complain about.
About halfway up, I passed the side trail to the Hexcuba Shelter. This is one of the more unique shelters in that it’s 6-sided and it has a pentagon shaped privy. Bizarro.
I briefly considered stopping there for the day. One of the texts I received up at the Smarts Mountain fire tower was from Luna – and he said he was shooting for Hexcuba this evening since there weren’t any more shelters for another 15 more miles!
But, if I stopped here, it would only give me a 12-mile day. I could definitely do more mileage than that today, even if it meant stealth camping somewhere on my own tonight.
I decided to push on instead up an over Mt. Cube – which was a flat quartzite ledge the size of a football field with some really awesome views. Then it was time to head down, down, down toward the a highway between Upper Baker Pond and Lower Baker Pond.
SIR STOPS-A-LOT
I was mentally planning to hike three miles beyond NH-25A to the Ore Hill Campsite. This would give me a 20-mile day. Plus, Ore Hill had an established campsite with a privy (yes, I’m still playing my silly cathole game and haven’t dug one since Pennsylvania, more than 500 miles ago!).
As I hit the trailhead near NH-25A, I ended up dropping my pack for a quick break. An older gentleman with a daypack standing nearby when I arrived, and he asked me if I was heading to the hostel.
I assumed he meant the Dancing Bones Intentional Community down the road, which I had no intention of stopping at. I’d successfully avoided the the elevator pitch back at the Yellow Deli in Rutland. And I wasn’t interesting in testing my luck by visiting another “spiritual community.”
So I played dumb and asked, “Which hostel?”
As it turns out, he was referring to the Barn Door Hostel, down in Rumney, NH, which was a solid 15 miles away. They had a shuttle en route to pick him up, and he’d assumed I was trying to catch the same ride as him.
The hiker was a guy named Sir Stops-a-Lot, who is a 71 years old section hiker! Because of his age and pace, he knew he wouldn’t be able to thru-hike the entire AT in a single season when he retired. So, he’d broken the trail into three more manageable sections, and was hiking a different piece each year.
If all went well, 2019 would be his final year before completing the AT as LASHer – or Long Ass Section Hiker (i.e., someone who hikes longer sections of a trail that might last for weeks/months as opposed a more typical section hiker who attempts shorter sections over days/weeks).
Unfortunately, Sir Stops-a-Lot was currently having back pain thanks to the difficult Vermont and New Hampshire terrain. So, he decided to give himself a break and slackpacking from the Barn Door Hostel to get through this section of the Whites.
BARN DOOR
I was only two days out of Rutland, and didn’t need to resupply or shower in town. But it seemed like kismet to meet someone with a shuttle due to pick him up in just 5 minutes. Besides, what was the harm? So, I tossed my plans for Ore Campsite out the window and agreed to join Sir Stops-a-Lot at the hostel instead.
The two of us sat there on the shoulder of the road, waiting and trading war stories the way veterans tend to do when you shove us together for any length of time.
After 25 minutes though, the shuttle still wasn’t there. Sir Stops-a-Lot pulled out his phone to give them a call, but his phone didn’t have any bars of cell service. I looked at mine too. I was equally out of luck.
After a full hour of waiting, it was time take matters into our own hands. I could have given up and just hiked on to Ore Hill Campsite like I’d originally planned. But Sir Stops-a-Lot was slackpacking and didn’t have that option. Virtually all of his stuff still back at the hostel, and I didn’t really want to leave him there alone.
It was time to hitch to Rumney.
After 20 minutes of unsuccessful attempts to get a ride, one of the camp counselors from Camp Moosilauke (just across the road) took pity on us. He was heading home for the evening, but kindly drove 15 miles out of his way to get us to the hostel.
When we finally arrived in Rumney, the hostel’s owner apologized profusely. The employee she’d sent out to pick up Sir Stops-a-Lot still wasn’t back, and he wasn’t answering his phone either.
(Note: As it turns out, the driver went to a completely different trail crossing and sat there for close to two hours thinking the Sir Stops-a-Lot was just running slow. And like us, he had absolutely no cell service.)
Although the hostel was pretty far out from the trail, it was a lovely place, and one I’d recommend to other AT hikers. It had a different vibe than some hostels, but mostly because it caters to rock climbers, not hikers.
The Rumney Rocks, a major sport climbing area New England, is located up just the road. So the vast majority of people staying the night were young rock climbers in their mid- to late-20s.
That meant I got to immerse myself in a completely new crowd of people who love the outdoors. The climbers enjoyed hearing about the AT, while I enjoyed learning more about their sport. And we played some killer games of cribbage at the table while talking.
DAY 100
August 10, 2019
- Route: Barn Door Hostel (Mile 1783.4) to Beaver Brook Shelter (Mile 1801.1)
- Daily Mileage: 17.7 miles
I’m glad I decided to go to the Barn Door last night. I had a great night’s sleep, and I was up at 6:30 am ready to go!! Unfortunately, I couldn’t just hop on the trail and take advantage of all the energy. I was a solid 15 miles away and would need to rely on the shuttle back to the trailhead.
Sir Stops-a-Lot wasn’t ready to leave for the trail until 8 am. Then he asked the shuttle driver to stop at the Rumney Village Store so he could get a breakfast sandwich, since he was slackpacking again today. Consequently, we didn’t actually make it back to the AT until 9 am – a much later start that I normally have.
The terrain was fairly gentle hills for the first 4 hours of the day. And I passed another interesting Beaver Pond on my way toward Mt. Mist.
About 10 miles into the day, I got to Oliverian Notch, where the AT crosses NH Route 25. This was the low point before the trail climbed the steep ascent up to the summit of Mt. Moosilauke.
Since it was close to lunchtime, I took the quick 0.4-mile detour down to the Hiker’s Welcome Hostel to see if Luna was there (his inner fat kid would surely direct him that way, I reasoned). But alas, the place was empty.
I stayed for about an hour and ate my lunch, while hoping he’d show up. But no such luck.
I know Luna was behind me yesterday, and he was planning to stay at the Hexcuba Shelter last night. That was just 5 miles south of where Sir Stops-a-Lot and I got on trail. So I figured with my late start this morning, Luna and I should have been pretty close to each other in terms of mileage. I wonder where he could be?
MT MOOSILAUKE
I was dreading the climb up to Mt. Moosilauke all through lunch. The elevation profile in Guthook made it seemed like the climb went straight up.
I already knew this game, and I wasn’t a huge fan. But this was the Whites. This terrain is what I’d been warned about for the past 1,800 miles, right?
As I climb toward Moosilauke’s South Peak, there were a fair amount of boulders to navigate, but it wasn’t so hard that I needed to store my poles and use my hands.
The AT didn’t go to the summit of South Peak, so I had to follow a blue-blazed path between short evergreens toward the summit proper if I wanted to see the view.
As I made my way up there, the wind was picking up fiercely and I toyed with the idea of adding some more layers before continuing on. Yet, laziness won out and I figured I’d just hike faster to keep warm.
After returning to the AT, I still had a mile to Mt. Moosilauke’s summit. The wind continued to pick up and the temperature felt like it was dropping by the minute.
I suspect it felt much harsher than before because the terrain shifted to alpine grasses, with little to block any of it any more. And there were giant (4-foot tall) rock cairns marking the way
When I arrived at the sign marking Mt. Moosilauke’s summit among some boulders, there was no denying a storm was coming in. The clouds behind were nearly black.
As I looked west, I could see heavy rain dropping in the distance. Even though it was miles away, there was no doubt the rain was heading this way. I was going to get drenched!!
So, after a few quick photos, I tried to pick up the pace and hurry down the backside of the mountain toward the Beaver Brook Shelter – my intended destination for the evening.
The shelter was on the back side of Mt. Moosilauke and Mt. Blue, and just below 3,700’ elevation. If I was going to spend the night up that high with that storm, I knew I’d want the protection of the shelter for sure!
THE WHITES
Mt. Moosilauke’s summit at 4,802’ is the unofficial starting point of the the White Mountains on the AT. The next 100 miles through New Hampshire is going to be some of the hardest terrain thus far.
This is the beginning of the section that so many hikers have been actively fear-mongering about since day 1! I was now officially in the dreaded Whites!!
As I raced the 2.5 miles from Mt. Moosilauke’s summit down to the Beaver Brook Shelter, I passed the 1800 mile mark fashioned out of some baseball sized rocks.
I was in such a rush to beat the storm that I almost didn’t stop to take a photo. But, I just couldn’t pass it up. I’ve taken a picture at all the prior markers. I’d be remiss to bypass one just because of some bad weather headed my way.
The deluge of rain was just beginning when I arrived at the shelter, and I wasn’t surprised to discover the three-sided lean to was nearly full. Stephanie and crew were already there. Plus several other hikers I hadn’t met before.
But still no Luna.
Several hikers were setting their tents up on a wooded platform beside the shelter when I showed up. And I figured I’d have to do the same. But luckily, everyone was willing to scoot a little closer and make just enough room for one more solo hiker inside.
I was grateful for the company at the shelter too. It’s definitely going to be a cold, wet night up at this elevation. It might even drop down into the 30s tonight. So the more warm bodies inside the shelter, the better.
DAY 101
August 11, 2019
- Route: Beaver Brook Shelter (Mile 1801.1) to Franconia Notch, NH (Mile 1819)
- Daily Mileage: 17.9 miles
Today might have been the hardest day mentally and physically I’ve had on the trail. The rain kept up all night, so the terrain was super wet when I got started at 7:30 am. And the trail was sooo steep as it dropped from the Beaver Brook Shelter (3,697’) down to Kinsman Notch at 1,803’ over first mile and a half of the day.
It was all the more challenging because the entire backside of Mt. Moosilauke seemed to be covered in semi-wet rocks. It took me 90 minutes just to make my way through the first mile, which is the slowest pace I’ve had to hike this entire journey.
As I got within about a half mile of the trailhead at Kinsman Notch, I hit another challenge. Crowds of Sunday morning day hikers were climbing up toward Mt. Moosilauke. Their presence on trail slowed my pace even more as I had to step off the trail to let a litany of various groups pass.
HERE COME THE KINSMANS
Stephanie and crew made it down to Kinsman Notch as I was shoving my second breakfast in my face. I waved hi, but they made a bee-line for the parking lot. I was curious why the heck they were offloading their packs to a guy in a pickup truck. We’re they going into town this early?
Moxie and Deep V explained that the driver was going to take their heavy packs ahead to Lincoln, NH, where they were planning to stay the night at a hostel and resupply. Dumping this extra weight would allow them to slackpack over the difficult Kinsman Mountains up ahead and make better time.
North Kinsman and South Kinsman are a pair of 4,000-footers connected by a mile-long ridge. On a clear day, hikers can see as far as Mt. Mansfield (Vermont’s highest peak) 60 miles to the east.
But the Kinsmans were supposed to be super difficult. This was one of those places where hikers needed to pack away their trekking poles and do a bit of rock scrambling. So, perhaps Stephanie and the rest of her crew were smart to tackle this next section with less weight on their backs!
NO TIME TO REST
In my opinion, the next 6 miles of trail out of Kinsman Notch weren’t any easier than those miserable first 1.5 miles of the day.
The trail filled with lots of mud, wet rocks, and slick sheets of granite as my way up and over Mt. Wolf. The AT just never let up in it’s intensity. Plus, my shoes and socks were completely muddy from the mess that overnight rain made of the trail.
I didn’t stop for any other breaks all day, other than a short 15-minute lunch stop, because I was having to push hard to make it to Franconia Notch this evening.
I’d booked my bunk at the Notch Hostel down in North Woodstock for the night. And when I made the reservation, I also paid for a ride on their evening shuttle that picks hikers up from the parking lot for The Flume just off Interstate 93.
There was only one problem with my plan though. I needed to be at the parking lot before 6:25 pm this evening.
At the time I made the reservation, that seemed 100% doable. Hiking 18 miles in 11 hours wasn’t a difficult task normally. But the Whites weren’t normal. I was just moving sooo slow on this terrain. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it was possible to make it there in time.
The Kinsmans turned out to be every bit as insane as people made them out to be. At one point, I was scrambling up what felt like a 90-degree exposed granite rock face. I was precariously balanced on the tips of my toes and searching for small cracks my fingers could wedge into.
It was nerve wracking, but at least I was going up. How in the world did the SOBOs come down this terrain without falling and breaking a leg? Now I was starting to understand why those two SOBO sisters looked so frazzled back in Hanover!
All I could think was, “at least it wasn’t raining!” I know never would have made it up those smooth rock faces if it have been wet. So I guess, sometimes you just have to focus on the small victories.
RACING THE CLOCK
Once I was over the Kinsmans, I only had 5.5 miles to my pick-up point. It was supposed to be all downhill, but that didn’t actually make it any easier. The route down wasn’t graded any more gently than the one going up.
I made it to the Lonesome Lake Hut (one of the AMC huts) around 5:50 pm and still had two miles to my pick up spot off I-93.
I’d hiked this section of the AT last summer, and it had I’d thought it was flat and easy back then. But, it was far rockier that I remembered.
I honestly didn’t know how I was ever going to make the final two miles of trail in the remaining 35 minutes before the shuttle was scheduled to depart. There was no way I could do it in that time. It didn’t matter how much I picked up the pace.
Luckily, I got cell service around 6:20 pm and texted the shuttle driver to please, please wait for me. I was coming, I promised. I was just running a bit behind.
When the AT finally connected to the bike path heading toward the Flume parking lot, I was literally jogging down the pavement with my pack bouncing off my back. If any bystanders had been there, they probably would have been worried I was being chased out of the woods by a wild animal.
My running paid off though. Thankfully, the shuttle driver had the patience to hang out and wait in the lot until I finally arrived at 6:45 pm. I was 20 minutes late and breathing like a racehorse!
As I pulled myself into the passenger seat of the van, I nearly collapsed in exhaustion. Today was, without a doubt, the HARDEST day on trail!
HELLO LUNA!!
When I got to the hostel a half hour later, a bunch of hikers were already hanging out on some picnic benches. Most of the faces were completely new to me, but one of them stuck out instantly.
It was Luna. He was here!!
Holy cow! We were finally back together again.
After ordering some town food for dinner (Chinese delivery from North Woodstock), I settled down at a table as Luna told me the remarkable story about how he got to North Woodstock ahead of me.
He’d made it up to Mt. Moosilauke yesterday about a hour behind me. By then, the crazy rainstorm I’d seen in the distance was directly over him. Mt. Moosilauke was completely covered with low clouds and rain, and he’d had to use those giant 4-6 foot tall cairns to find his way to the sign on the summit.
He took his phone out to get a photo with the sign, but it was so wet out, he couldn’t even get his phone to turn on. And since it was completely socked in at the summit, he lost the trail in the alpine terrain.
He followed some rock cairns and eventually found a trail heading down in elevation. But it wasn’t the AT heading north. It was the Gorge Brook Trail heading due South.
He essentially walked three miles down the wrong side of the mountain! Lucky for him, sitting at that bottom was Dartmouth’s swanky $17M Mt. Moosilauke Ravine Lodge!
He was able to convince someone at the lodge to put him up for the night in the employee’s quarters (for free) so he could get out of the storm. Then the next morning he hitched to the Kinsman Notch parking lot, where he found lots of hikers dropping their packs of with shuttle drivers so they could to slackpack the Kinsmans (just like Stephanie and crew).
Luna was able to get a ride into town to The Notch Hostel from the parking lot, and he spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and relaxing. So, while he beat me here, he’s still technically still 18 trail miles behind me!
DAY 102
August 12, 2019
- Route: A zero day at the Notch Hostel in N. Woodstock, NH
- Daily Mileage: 0 miles
After yesterday’s intense day, I decided to take a zero at the hostel in North Woodstock. My body really needs it. I pushed far too hard, and I need to reset both mentally and physically.
I’m starting to understand the adage of: the last 20% of the miles of the AT will require 80% of the overall effort!
My plan to take a zero worked out wonderfully because it would allow Luna to head back out to Kinsman Notch (where he got off trail yesterday) and slackpack up to Franconia Notch. And then we’d be back on track with each other and could tackle the rest of the Whites together as a team.
APPALACHIAN MOUNTIAN CLUB
Today was filled with town chores – resupply, laundry, and developing a plan for the miles ahead. The upcoming stretch of the Whites was something I wanted to put some deliberate thought into.
First off, the past two days have taught me that I’m not going to be pulling my typical 20-mile days through New Hampshire. The terrain would simply be too tough. I needed to scale back to more manageable days, and who knows, maybe even savor the Whites instead of fighting with them.
Secondly, I needed to figure out where the heck all the AMC shelters and campsites were located for this next stretch of trail.
The Appalachian Mountain Club (or AMC) maintains all the backcountry campsites along the AT as it traverses the White Mountains between the Kinsmans up to the Maine border.
Hikers are required to limit all overnight camping to these established AMC campsites. Stealth camping is not permitted so you have to plan your mileage carefully. Plus, each campsite/shelter space will run you $10/night – or about twice what the GMC charged for their shelters in Vermont.
This new requirement seems to bother a lot of my fellow thru-hikers for several reasons.
- First, most of us like the freedom of picking our own campsite rather than being forced into an established one at a predetermined distance.
- Second, the $10 rate is the same, whether you sleep inside the actual AMC-maintained shelter or in your own tent.
- Third, hikers are required to set up their tents on wooden platforms, which is not only less comfortable than the soft ground, but also more difficult if you don’t have a freestanding tent.
The AMC campsites and shelter are not to be confused with the hut system the AMC also operates in the Whites. The huts are a series of 4-sided buildings that look more like a cabin (like the Lonesome Lake Hut I passed yesterday). Anyone can visit a hut during the daytime, but spending the night is a different story altogether.
To stay in an AMC hut, you need to have a reservation. Spots are often booked months in advance, and it costs well over $130 per night. But those overnight patrons get a hot dinner and breakfast with their stay, not just a spot in a lean-to or on a wooden tent platform.
To make things even more confusing, the AMC often lets AT thru-hikers stay at these expensive huts for completely free (while charging them $10 to tent at a rustic campsite).
Of course, the number of hikers permitted to stay at the huts for free is very limited (1-4 hikers per night). And it’s purely on a work-for-stay basis. You have to the help full-time AMC crew make dinner for the paying guests, or wash dishes, or help sweep the hut in exchange for a spot to sleep on the hut’s wooden floor. So it’s not 100% free.
Thru-hikers can’t really plan on the work-for-stay option being available either. The AMC crews decide how much assistance the need on a daily basis, and that selection is not made on a true “first come, first serve” basis.
If a hiker shows up at one of the AMC huts too early (before 4-5 pm) hoping to do a work-for-stay, the crew will tell the hiker to keep going. But, if you show up too late, the crew might say they already have enough volunteers, and you’re equally out of luck and need to keep hiking into the night to the next campsite.
Thus, you have to try to time your arrival to a really narrow time frame (around 5-6pm) to maximize your chance of success.
THE THRU-HIKER PASS
If all the AMC campsite, shelter, and hut info wasn’t enough to digest, there’s also the AMC’s thru-hiker pass program to contend with. This is a relatively new program where AT thru-hikers can get a discount on their stays throughout the Whites.
The way it works is: you tell the caretaker at the first AMC shelter/campsite you’re going to stay at that you want to purchase a thru-hiker pass. The cost is $10, which is exactly the amount as that first night’s stay. However, you also get a small paper card that’s valid for the next two weeks.
During that next 2-week period, any other stay as an AMC shelter/campsite is 50% off (or $5 instead of the ordinary $10 that other overnight hikers have to pay to stay).
Plus, you can stop at any of the AMC huts and get some free food. Most of the huts will sell coffee, hot soup, and some baked goods during the day for visitors coming through. This AMC thru-hiker pass allows you to get two free baked goods and a free bowl or soup at any of the huts, when they are available.
So there’s was a lot of new info to digest for the upcoming 100 miles of my hike.
TRAIL FAMILY UPDATE
During my zero, I was also hoping to cross paths with Trail Magic and Moss. The two of them have been hiking together for last couple of hundred miles. Pretty much ever since Moss returned to the trail after that bout with heat exhaustion in New York.
Although the two of them arrived at Franconia Notch around 5 pm, they didn’t actually come into North Woodstock where I was hanging out today.
Moss’s parents still live here in New Hampshire, and they drove Trail Magic, Gear Boy, and Moss over to a hotel in another town. They invited me to join them for dinner with Moss’ parents, but I didn’t want to crash. So I stayed in North Woodstock and wait for Luna to return instead.
Unfortunately, Luna missed the shuttle back to the hostel this evening. The driver had a van full of guests, but Luna wasn’t one of them.
After waiting another hour to see if he’d show at the hostel up by taxi or Uber, I borrowed one of the hostel’s bikes and rode into North Woodstock for a solo dinner. Just as I was finishing up, guess who was walking my way? It was Luna, Gazelle, and Ghost.
Luna caught up with Gazelle and Ghost on his way up the Kinsmans, and the three of them joined forces. Now we were all back together in town and heading to the Woodstock Inn Brewery to celebrate a successful day.
While we saw around the table, Luna commented that I he had absolutely no clue how I made it down Mt. Moosilauke AND over the Kinsmans with my full pack in time for the evening shuttle. It was hard enough, in his opinion, to slackpack it from Kinsman Notch. And he still couldn’t finish before dark!
I gotta admit Luna’s compliment made my chest swell with pride. I was tougher than I gave myself credit for yesterday. Maybe I was ready for the Whites after all!
DAY 103
August 13, 2019
- Route: Franconia Notch, NH (Mile 1819) to Garfield Ridge Shelter (Mile 1829.1)
- Daily Mileage: 10.1 miles
Last night, after we returned to the hostel, Luna and I discussed our plans for the upcoming stretch of the Whites. We both agreed that the best plan was to relax, rein our mileage, and just enjoy these mountains.
With that in mind, we took a lazier morning and made pancakes in the hostel’s kitchen. Then we caught a taxi over to Lincoln, NH, so Luna could resupply while we waited out some of the morning rain.
Our trail family was all over the place for this upcoming stretch:
- Gazelle is going to hike the rest of the Whites with Ghost, and then pick up her pace at the Maine border so she can finish in time for her early September school requirements.
- Trail Magic, Moss, and Gear Boy are planning on taking a zero in town and head into the Whites tomorrow.
- I have no clue where Toaster and Daffodil currently are on trail, but I know they pushed ahead while I took my zero yesterday.
- And Luna and I headed out of town today and we’re shooting for 15 miles per day though the Presidentials (i.e. the upcoming stretch of the White Mountains named for former presidents – Mt. Washington, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Garfield, Mt. Madison, etc).
It will be interesting to see how many times we cross paths with each other given our various approaches to the Whites.
MEET THE PRESIDENTS
After a lovely lunch at a deli called the Purple Tomato, Luna and I called a taxi to take out to Franconia Notch.
I’d forgotten how long the paved bike path back was between the Flume parking lot and the trail. But that was probably because I was hastily jogging down that final mile to catch the shuttle. It was all a blur then.
The gray clouds were still looming over us, but it was warm and humid for our massive ascent to the summit of Mt. Lincoln. I was huffing and puffing the entire way and so grateful we only planned to hike 10 miles this afternoon.
I was sucking down water like nobody’s business on the climb, so we had to stop at the Liberty Springs Campsite to grab two more liters for the rest of the afternoon. Just beyond the campsite, the trail briefly leveled off and I had some spectacular views of Cannon Mountain off to the west.
Cannon Mountain is a major ski resort with a ski gondola that takes visitors to the summit. I’d hiked up and down it last summer during a visit to New Hampshire. Back then, with just a daypack, I thought the steep climbs and rock scrambles were a hoot. I’m not sure I feel the same anymore.
The next three miles of climbing to the top of Mt. Lincoln was just as hard as I expected it to be. But it also brought Luna and I above treeline and into the alpine zone.
Beyond the summit we had a wide, open ridge walk between Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette. When I saw what was ahead, my heart was singing!
THIS is what I’d come out here to see. The views along Franconia Ridge were so wonderful I could hardly contain myself. If the entire AT was like this, I’d be in heaven. It really was confirmation that I should be hiking the PCT or somewhere that the vistas aren’t quite so rare!
At more than 5,000 feet, these two peaks were completely above treeline and there was nothing obscuring our surroundings. I could see Cannon Mountain’s ski lift now, but clouds kept coming in and blocking our views and making it feel far or ominous.
At the summit, a 1-mile side trail led hikers west down to the Greenleaf Hut, but that wasn’t our destination for the day. We were aiming for the Garfield Ridge Shelter, which was still several miles up the trail.
MT. GARFIELD
I was riding high after Franconia Ridge and the sublime views. But, we still had a steep descent and then one more 4,000’ peak to get over before the end of the day. Up ahead of us was Mt. Garfield.
Billed as a steep and difficult climb, regardless of whether you are NOBO or SOBO, Mt.Garfield really put us through our paces. As we made our way to the Garfield Ridge Shelter, the challenging descent at the end of the day was brutal.
We didn’t arrive at the shelter until 7pm, but the place was booming. There must have been 50 or more people already there. The shelter was completely full and so were all the tent platforms we could see.
There was a large scouting group of about 25 tween boys cowboy camping under some giant tarps on some large platforms. And then there were several other smaller platforms with approximately 4 tents on each one.
The AMC caretaker collected our $10 and issued our thru-hiker cards before leading Luna and I deep down a side trail, past the line for the privy (yes, there was a line of people waiting to poop), and past even more crowded tent platforms.
When we finally arrived to our designated platform, it was virtually full. They were really only built to accommodate a few 1- or 2-person tents. Yet Luna and I were expected to squeeze onto a platform that already had a 2-person tent and a 4-person tent taking up about 85% of the platform. What the heck?!?
To make matters worse, Luna’s shelter is non-free standing. It’s held up by his trekking poles and then needs to be staked tautly into the ground. It seemed was impossible to keep it standing on these wooden platforms.
Luna pleaded with the caretaker to just let him sleep beside the platform near the trees, but the guy steadfastly refused. He told us we’d have to figure out a way to make it work and then nonchalantly strode off leaving us to figure it out ourselves.
Luckily, I’d read about this concern in the past, and had mailed myself a small ziplock filled with c-hooks back in Hanover, NH. These were those small hooks you screw into a wall or shelf to hold a bunch of coffee cups by the handle.
A fellow thru-hiker (Walkingwithwired) whose blog I follow, posted this super helpful gear tip. Since the platforms were made of wood, you could just screw these little c-hooks into the wooden planks and anchor the ends of your tent over the hooks. It’s the perfect substitute for a tent stake in the ground.
The sun was already setting by the time we got ourselves set up. And as we settled in for a late dinner, Luna and I chatted up our fellow thru-hikers on the nearby tent platform. That’s when we discovered why the campsite was so ridiculously crowded.
In additional to the large boy scout group we saw earlier, there was also a trail family here that had 11 members hiking together! Man, that is simply crazy.
DAY 104
August 14, 2019
- Route: Garfield Ridge Shelter (Mile 1829.1) to Stealth Spot (Mile 1846.2)
- Daily Mileage: 17.1 miles
The person sleeping in the tent beside me last night kept me waking me up over and over all night. Not only was he an insanely loud snorer who sounded like he was choking (sleep apnea, perhaps?), but he was also a restless sleeper.
The guy flipped and flopped in his sleep about every 10 minutes, and did so with such tremendous force that the entire platform vibrated. It was worse that sleeping in an ordinary shelter.
When he woke up at 6:30 am, I had no choice by to get up too. It was like he was literally wrestling with his air mattress inside his tent as he packed up. Every movement felt like I was on a trampoline.
I staggered over to the privy for my morning visit, and was completely surprised to see the boy scouts had vanished. They must have been up early and hiking out at or before sunrise. I give them credit too. They were super quiet getting up. I didn’t hear a thing.
NO BAKED GOODS
The Garfield Ridge shelter was built about halfway down the backside of Mt. Garfield, so the day began with a sharp descent down to a saddle between Mt. Garfield and South Twin Mountain.
I stopped for a quick break at the Galefield Hut near the base of South Twin Mountain with hopes I’d would get a chance to redeem one of the free baked goods from my brand new thru-hiker card before the big climb. But alas, there were none to be had.
The hut’s crew was still cleaning up from breakfast and they hadn’t started baking for the day. So I had to satisfy myself with something boring from my food bag and the cup of lukewarm coffee I purchased at the hut. Well, at least I had a nice comfy picnic table to sit at during my break, right?
I used the next half hour to air out my tent fly, which had been soaking wet from condensation and the cool moist air when I packed up this morning.
After my break, the trek up to South Twin Mountain was strewn with lots more boulders and rocks, but once I got to the top the views were pretty nice.
They were nothing like the vista walk across Franconia Ridge to Mt. Lafayette yesterday afternoon. But at least there was a pay-off for the hard climb.
Moreover, the summit was the only place I had cell service today. So I used it to text Keith with my status and plan to get through the Whites. He and Finn were planning to head over toward Bethel, Maine, for a week of fishing. So who knows. Maybe we’ll be able to see each other when I get to Pinkham Notch in a few days.
I’M SORRY I ASKED
Once past South Twin, the terrain went up and down like the jagged teeth of a saw as it gradually descended toward Zealand Mountain.
Luna and I reached the Zealand Falls about 10 miles into our day. We’d pushed hard to get there and decided to stop for late lunch on a nice rocky outcropping where we could bask in the full sun.
The higher elevation of cloudy weather made it feel much cooler today, so the sunshine warming those rocks felt like a small blessing.
Afterward, we made our way to the Zealand Falls Hut and went inside to politely ask whether they had any backed goods available. But, just like the Galefield Hut, they said no. Yet this time, the crew was pretty snippy about it and acted like I’d asked them for their last square of toilet paper.
I’d heard stories about how some of the AMC crews don’t seem like AT thru-hikers, and could even sometime be downright rude to non-paying visitors. I’m not sure why they’d feel this animus toward us. But, based on the surly reaction I got from the Zealand Fall Hut crew, it felt like a pretty accurate depiction.
Plus, I’d struck out on trying to use my AMC card for a baked good twice today, so I’m beginning to wonder whether this dumb card program has any value whatsoever.
My camping experience last night was miserable (thanks to the tight wooden platform space and the ridiculous guy in the tent beside me). Then I’m treated like a pariah for asking to redeem my free baked good item.
And look, I didn’t create this program. I’m just trying to play by the rules someone else created. But honestly, what’s the point if the campsite/shelter caretakers and hut crews are going to have such crummy attitudes?
BRADY BUNCH
Luna and I spent much of the day intermixed with that trail family of 11 that was as the campsite last night, and before long, we learned the story of how they became such a giant tribe.
Two of the hikers in the group struck up a romantic relationship back near Daleville, VA. Yet they had a problem. They both wanted to continue hiking with their trail families. One of them was in a trail family of 6, while the other was already in a trail family of 5.
They could have broken away and just hiked as a couple. But, instead, they merged the two groups in a ‘mine, yours, ours’ kind of super-tramily instead.
Wow! It has to be logistically hard to hike with a group that big – whether you’re in the backcountry or in town. Plus, I suspect other hikers might resent them because the literally descend on the AT resources (shelters, restuarants, hotels, etc) like an infestation.
But, this is just one of those HYOK things, I guess.
WHERE TO STAY?
In the mid-afternoon, Luna and I came across two SOBO section hikers who excitedly told us we were going to have a nice, flat section of trail coming up.
Apparently, the AT followed an old railroad bed that had been cut into the mountains. So it was super easy hiking pretty much until we got to the Ethan Pond Shelter. It was such a nice change of pace to hike on flat trail, but I have to admit, it felt too short.
When we got to Ethan Pond shelter at 4:30 pm and it still felt way to early to stop for the day. So Luna and I set our sights on the Crawford Notch campground just a few miles head at Highway 302.
However, the more Luna and I talked about it during our descent from Ethan Pond, the more we didn’t want to stay at that campground. First off, it would require a 3-mile hitch to get there because it was actually a private campground off the AT. Plus, they’d charge us another $10 for a tentsite. And, honestly, I was tired of paying for campsites with no amenities.
Luna and I made it to a stream just before the Crawford Notch around 6 pm and stopped to grab some water for the evening. As we refilled our water bottles, we saw two other hikers with their tents set up for stealth camping about 150 yards away. They were clearly in an established campsite, even if it wasn’t an official AMC-designated one.
I have to admit, my love for the AMC and their strict rules was seriously waning after my experiences today. And Luna and I started to do a bit of rationalizing.
This spot wasn’t a remote or alpine zone that needed to be protected. And we weren’t trampling on fresh ground. Heck, we were literally 0.3 miles some commercial railroad tracks.
So why not just stealth camp here? In the end, we decided to roll the dice. We’d simply follow the LNT principles (like we always did), and it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission if the AMC or USFS came patrolling the area.
DAY 105
August 15, 2019
- Route: Stealth Spot (Mile 1846.2) to Lake of the Clouds Hut (Mile 1857.7)
- Daily Mileage: 11.5 miles
Stealth Spot (1846.2) to Lake of the Clouds Hut (1857.4) = 11.5 miles
Last night’s stealth spot turned out to be a nice one. We weren’t bothered by any authorities telling us to move on. Luna was a little slow to start the day, but we were up and heading to Crawford Notch just after 8 am.
After the road crossing at Crawford Notch, the AT climb steeply to Webster Cliffs, a large, flat open area with views of the mountains we crossed yesterday. It was a super hard climb to get up there, so I’m super glad we stopped when we did last night and didn’t decided to head up here to stealth camp.
I’d read there were some super good stealth sites by the cliffs (and there certainly were), but I wouldn’t have wanted to do that insane climb at the end of a 17-mile day.
Luna and I took a bunch of pictures on the cliffs, and I couldn’t help noticing how thin I’ve gotten. It’s definitely noticeable now, despite how much I’m eating every day!
At the top of the climb, we went over Mt. Webster. Despite being super tough to climb, it only stands at 3,910 feet so it doesn’t get to call itself one of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers.
Then we quickly ascend Mt. Jackson (4,052’) with views all the way to the iconic Bretton Woods resort with its white walls and red roof near the base of Mt. Washington. What a morning!
OK – THE AMC ISN’T ALL BAD.
After some more challenging trail conditions, we made it to the Mizpah Spring Hut in time for second breakfast. But, I went inside with tempered expectations.
This hut is the second largest one the AMC operates in the Whites and can sleep up to 60 people! So not only was it super swanky inside, but the crew working in the hut was incredibly nice.
They let us redeem one of our baked goods spots on our AMC thru-hiker cards – without any of the side eye or surly attitude like we encountered yesterday.
What was even better, was the revelation that they had tons of extra oatmeal from the giant breakfast they cooked for the paying guests this morning. So they were offering the oatmeal leftovers to any hiker who wanted it.
Count me in!
Luna and I took a leisurely 90-minute lunch at the hut. We knew we were still ahead of that giant 11-person trail family because they were planning to hitch from Crawford Notch to the AMC’s Highland Center to eat at the AYCE breakfast this morning and do a quick resupply.
Not long after we arrived, Stephanie and crew rolled into the hut. It turns out, they are heading to the same destination as us tonight – the Lake of the Clouds Hut. So, I guess we’ll be huddling there together.
LAKE OF THE CLOUDS
The afternoon’s hike was more alpine with wide open views. First we went over Mt. Piece (another 4,000-footer) before beginning the long ascent toward Mt. Washington.
Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the northeastern US at 6,288 feet, and home to some of the most extreme weather in the world. Keith, Finn, and I hiked up to the summit last summer from Pinkham Notch, so I already kind of knew what I as getting into ahead.
But there’s a number of hiking trails to Mt. Washington’s summit, along with a cog railway and a super, steep windy auto road. Luna and I would be taking the Crawford Path to the top this time around. So, I’d get to see the mountain from completely different perspective than last year’s hike up the Tuckerman Ravine trail
Unfortunately, Luna and I wouldn’t actually make it to Mt. Washington tonight. We’d need to stop at the Lake of the Clouds Hut and set up camp there. We were so high, there was absolutely no stealth camping permitting on the alpine terrain.
Luna and I arrived at the hut at 4:30 pm, right behind Stephanie and crew. The four of them were already doing work-for-stay at the hut (they’d be on food prep and dishes), but the crew said they still needed two more sets of hands, if Luna and I were interested.
The two of us looked at each other and shrugged. Sure. Count us in.
We didn’t actually need to volunteer for a sleep spot indoors tonight. This hut would let all the AT thru-hikers sleep inside, regardless of whether they did work-for-stay. Mt. Washington’s notorious weather and the high elevation made it too risky to tent outdoors here.
But the benefit of work-for-stay was we’d get to have a free dinner inside (i.e., the same dinner as all the paying patrons) in exchange for whatever task the crew assigned to us.
Luna and I lucked out too. We received for a heaping plateful of spaghetti, fresh baked bread, and salad – and all Luna and I had to do was sweep up the floor after dinner!
Just before dark, all the rest of the thru-hikers were allowed inside to set up their sleep systems on the floor and it was time for the hiker slumber party. Gazelle and Ghost had arrived along with the trail family of 11.
I was a glad we were all indoors. Tonight was supposed to have a massive storm pushing through and it was dropping into the 30s!
WEEK 15 SUMMARY
- Lowest mileage day: 0 miles
- Highest mileage day: 17.9 miles – the Whites are slowing me down!
- Number of days with rain: 3
- Number of hostels I stayed at: 2 (Barn Door & The Notch)
- Distance Luna hiked in the wrong turn to get off Mt. Moosilauke: 4.2 miles
- Number of beers I drank on my zero in N. Woodstock: 3
- Nights spent on a bouncy tent platform: 1
- Nights spent stealth camping (to avoid a bouncy tent platform): 1
- Current cost of to stay at Lake of the Clouds Hut as a guest: $145/night
- Amount I paid to stay there: $0
- Times I struck out when trying to redeem my coupon for a baked good: 2
- Largest trail family I encountered on trail: 11 people!
- Total miles hiked this week: 91.2