Date: 2004-08-16
From: Kinsman Notch (Woodstock Inn, No Woodstock)

To: Franconia Notch (Woodstock Inn, No Woodstock)
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

Whites . . . Something ElseMileage Countdown: -372.7Today I slackpacked. As I often do, I slackpacked southbound. I did a slightly longer mileage than planned for the Whites, which gives me a chance to meet people who are traveling a little ahead of me as well as those who are a little behind. And I got to see why people's mileage goes down in the Whites. Featured today were the Kinsmans, North and South Kinsman, both well over 4000'. I did notice a note in Wingfoot about the rock scramble on the south side of So Kinsman. But I ignored it because I have gone over other climbs that Wingfoot points out, like Lehigh Gap, and have done fine.I began to sense this was a bit different when I noticed that the climb up No Kinsman was every bit as long as yesterday's climb down Moosilauke, though not quite as steep, yet was not specifically mentioned by Wingfoot. (The climb up No Kinsman cured me of the apprehension I have had about the climb up South Twin in two days. I came down that stretch of trail two years ago and couldn't believe that something so steep and long could be used for backpacking. The No Kinsman climb is both steeper and longer.)After topping No Kinsman, the walk to So Kinsman was nothing out of the ordinary. Until I met Boonie on the summit slackpacking the other way. First, he had been walking for six hours by that time. Since we walk a about the same speed, that meant that I wouldn't get to the trailhead until about 6:30, not the 5 o'clock that I had expected. But what really opened my eyes was that Boonie told me that what he had walked was the toughest part of the Trail he had done so far. And it wasn't just the south slope of So Kinsman. It was the whole 10-mile walk from Kinsman Notch to So Kinsman. (What time did I meet Boonie?)6:30 was a significant time. Since Fall is coming, and since NH is far to the east in the Eastern time zone, it gets too dark to walk in the woods without a light at around 7. I had a headlamp, but don't do well with it so was worried about getting to the trailhead after dark. Especially since even after reaching the trailhead I still had a 6 mile hitch into town.As I bumped into northbound hikers for the rest of the day, I would ask when they had left Kinsman Notch, and figure my own ETA. It bounced around between 6:30 and 7, so I was pretty sure I would make it before dark. But with about 2 hrs to go, what had been a light misting all day turned into a steady drizzle, both darkening the path and making the rocks more slippery. I had to resist the impulse to hurry, since that would certainly increase the chance of falling.By 6:45 I was concerned that my calculations were somehow in error. It was getting dark enough that I would make an occasional misstep. More significantly, I had not heard any road noise yet. Usually when descending into a gap and approaching a road, the noise from vehicles is audible about a mile, or 30 minutes away. I realized that the sound of the drizzle would mute the road sound somewhat, but not drown it out completely.Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of the road, only about 100 yds below me. I was so distracted that at my next step I slipped and skinned my knee. But within 5 minutes I was on the road, comfortably before 7 o'clock. Then I realized why I had heard no road noise. This road had hardly any traffic on it.I hitched for 15 or 20 minutes, but none of the dozen or so cars that passed stopped for me. It was getting dark, and a 6 mile walk into town in the dark, in the rain, wouldn't be any fun. Then unexpectedly, a pickup truck stopped across the road from me. I must have looked quite bedraggled and dejected, because the driver asked if I wanted a ride into town. You bet I would! In a minute the truck had turned around and I was sitting in the back under a pickup top, not too comfortable but happy to be out of the rain heading for town. I was dropped half a block from the Woodstock Inn. Thanks millions Craig and Donna for interrupting your dinner plans to turn around and take a wet hiker into town!I met many northbound hikers on the Trail today. First was Stretch, just as I was leaving town. He was headed north from Franconia Notch, as I will be doing tomorrow. I met Doc just as I was crossing the spillway of Lonesome Lake. He keeps talking about speeding up in order to finish around 9/15. I keep talking about slowing down in order to finish around 9/20. But we have been running into each other since NY. Hot Rock came along a short time later, followed in the next hour by Pilot & Poler, and shortly thereafter by Mouse. I have already mentioned meeting Boonie on top of So Kinsman. I was expecting to run into Palm Tree & Tree Frog (also slackpacking) soon after, but it was over an hour later before I did. I was beginning to get worried about when they would get to their trailhead. I usually walk a bit faster than them. Figuring their ETA using my time since leaving resulted in 6:30. With the same assumption I would get to my trailhead at 8:30. Since I got there well ahead of that, my guess is that they actually got in after dark. With Tree Frog was Crash, who is being slacked north by his wife, Laurie (Laurie, thanks for the ride into town yesterday.). They will soon be finishing up a thru-hike started last year that got them to the Whites, and have been generously providing trail magic since the beginning of the Long Trail. Crash was clearly providing Tree Frog with support, because TF was beginning to get discouraged with the climb that Boonie had found so tough.Finally I ran into the Roman Noodles (a couple from Rome, GA) and Lonesome Dove, whom I had last seen back in TN, and Yoga Monkey whom I had never met before. If I were a betting man I would give better than even odds that when I summit Katahdin I will be with at least one of this dozen NoBos I met today.While we were walking up Mt Moosilauke yesterday, Ken made up a poem about the mountain, in the style of Ogden Nash. I rather liked it and render it as I remember it below, with a few tweaks of my own. (Ken, you may sue me for copyright infringement or operating without peotic license, if you think either appropriate.)Climbing MoosilaukeThis mountain it is made of rock.This trail is mighty rocky.Some call this mountain Moosilauk,And others Moosilauky.I have tended to favor the latter pronounciation, but after talking with locals and people whose opinions about the Whites I respect, including Ken, I am moving toward the former.Finally, to repeat from yesterday:Since I will be staying in Mispah Hut the night of 8/19, I should go over Mt Washington on the 20th. It is 6.2 miles from Mispah to Washington, so I should be on the summit by noon. Just to build in some margin of error, I will try to appear before the weather cam at 1 PM. The URL for the weather cam is:http://www.mountwashington.org/cam/deck/index.php