Date: 2004-08-02
From: NH 25 near Glencliff, NH

To: Day 108: Kinsman Notch, NH
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

On AT Day 108 Hot Chocolate and I slept in to 5:00 a.m., ate a hearty breakfast, left our trailer at the Rest N Nest Campground near Thetford, VT and drove to the AT trailhead (a.k.a. the Town Line Trail) in the Olivarian Notch on NH 25 near Glencliff, NH in time for me to start hiking around 7:50 a.m. The day began with the temperature in the low 60¢s under clear to partly cloudy skies, and it warmed to the low 70¢s with relatively low humidity making for ideal hiking conditions.I had barely gone 15 feet on today¢s hike when I was confronted with fording the rain-swollen Olivarian Brook and I must admit that this crossing was a little hairy, but I made it successfully. I later learned that one of the other AT though hikers (whose name I will keep confidential to preserve his dignity) I would meet this day, fell in, so I guess I should be grateful.My early morning challenges were, however, far from over. Shortly after passing the Jeffers Brook Shelter, the AT took a right turn at 1.3 miles on USFS 19. You probably have already guessed what happened next as ¢Wrong Way FireBall¢ struck again and I turned left! The double blaze signal gave no clue of the correct direction, and since I couldn¢t see any white blazes at the turn I took a chance and hiked about a half-mile uphill to a trailhead sign that revealed my error. If I had not been so bull-headed I could have checked the guidebook as it clearly stated that I was to turn the other way for 0.1 mile before making another turn onto Sanitarium Road. After stomping up this paved road for 0.4 miles, I turned onto the Glencliff Trail portion of the AT and assumed my subsequent climb to the summit of Mount Moosilauke would now go forward without any more screw-ups. No such luck.After another 0.4 miles of fairly easy climbing I came to a large open and recently mowed pasture without an AT blaze, cairn or any remnants of a visible trail in sight. My first thought was that I had once again missed a turn, so I retraced my steps to the last White Blaze and then turned around and repeated the climb, with the same result. This time, however, I decided to hike across the field to see if I could find a White Blaze on the opposite side. This tactic failed as well so I proceeded to walk the perimeter of the field to my right ¢ if I had gone to the left I would have found the trail. When I got to the spot where I first entered the field, I once again retraced my steps to the last White Blaze and this time I put down my pack and examined the notes in the guidebook. It seems that I was supposed to turn to the left when I came to the large field, but since there were no double blaze markings on the trees and since the thatch from the recently mowed field buried the trail I had chosen wrong. With these new written instructions, and a verbal confirmation from a group of SOBO day-hikers, I finally found the continuation of the trail and proceeded to begin the long, and surprisingly gentle (few large boulder steps or rock scrambling), but continuous, 3.6-mile, 3,700-foot climb to the 4,802-foot summit of Mount Moosilauke.Along the way to this tree-less peak I met a group of three SOBO AT through hikers and we exchanged good wishes and helpful advice ¢ including my warning about the confusing AT crossing of the large field. About a mile from the summit the trail finally leveled off a bit and I took the opportunity to stop for my morning Power Bar snack. The spot I chose was the junction with the old Carriage Road that was once used to bring guests to a now-long-gone hotel (Prospect House) on the summit. This point on the trail also marks the spot where the trees take on a decidedly stunted appearance, before vanishing entirely at around the 4,600-foot point. Before finishing my snack, two day hikers came along and we had a very pleasant chat about the wonderful hiking weather and views.Taking off shortly after the day hikers left, I found that the last mile of the climb was much easier and once above the tree line it was marked by huge rock cairns. When I reached the summit I decided to stop for my lunch and take in the spectacular 360-degree views on this relatively clear day. In addition to the day hikers I had just met, I was soon joined on the summit by several other NOBO AT through hikers (Bandicoot, Roadrunner, and Laura and Pablo), and lots and lots of day-hikers who arrived by taking the AT and at least two other trails. In the end there were at least 40 people (including a group of perhaps 20 young boys and their guides), but I was told that this size crowd was not at all unusual. In fact, one of the locals who had climbed to the summit that day with his wife and baby told me that he had been there before when there was at least 70 people enjoying the site. The summit of Mount Moosilauke and much of the trail over which I had climbed is owned by Dartmouth College and overseen by the Dartmouth Outing Club as a result of a gift from Edward and Charles Woodworth in 1920.After finishing my lunch I began the 2.2-mile, 1,200-foot decent through the tree line to the Beaver Brook Shelter where I had planned on spending the night. However, once I got to this lovely shelter (it had a spectacular view of the Franconia Ridge), I immediately started having second thoughts about not going on as I wasted time setting up my tent and campsite. Finally after about an hour, and witnessing both Bandicoot and Roadrunner push on, I decided that since there was clearly no guarantee that the good weather would hold, that I too would leave and take on the notoriously dangerous (when wet or icy) Beaver Brook Trail. In any event I figured that if I didn¢t go then I would probably lie awake most of the night worrying. Because as you approach the shelter you pass ominous warning signs suggesting you take alternative routes if the weather gets bad.As described in the guidebook, I soon discovered that this portion of the AT covers the final 1.6 miles and 1,700-foot drop in elevation to the Kinsman Notch with the aid of embedded wooden steps and steel rungs to help traverse the incredibly steep and often slippery rocks. However, as I also discovered, this portion of the AT is blessed with a great many up-close and beautiful views of cascades and waterfalls as the Beaver Brook crashes down to Kinsman Notch. In the end, after taking nearly two hours to carefully and safely make this decent, the trail leveled off and I found a lovely spot ¢ off the trail ¢ in which to set up my ¢stealth camp.¢At a ¢mere¢ 9.5-miles this day¢s hike was clearly my shortest to date on the AT, but I was already convinced that it would not be unusual for the ¢Whites.¢ I soon discovered that it would not be unusual for other AT through hikers as well, since while I sat in my tent enjoying my dinner, I was surprised to see Pablo walking toward my camp from the opposite side of the trail. It seems that he and his wife had made the same decision to not camp at the Beaver Brook Shelter in favor of making the steep and rocky decent to Kinsman Notch under good weather.