Date: 2004-07-14
From: Eliza Brook Campsite

To: North Woodstock, NH
Miles today: 8.8

I figured that having done 17 miles over tough terrain yesterday, I was entitled to have a later morning, so I did. It wasn't until about 9 that I was finally walking.The Major Mountain of the Day is Kinsman, and the guidebook warns that the ascent of South Kinsman involves a rock scramble. I find this odd, because we've done rock scrambles before and never had a warning in the guidebook about them.I soon find out why-- the steep, rocky ascent of the mountain is one of, if not the, toughest I've ever done. It's slow, risky, and long. Each time I turn a corner, I see another stretch of identical-looking rocks that seems to stretch up into infinity. This cycle is repeated over and over and over again before I finally get to the top and look out on a vast expanse of... fog. Yep, it's foggy and windy up here, which means no views. I keep moving.After a long descent, I reach Lonesome Lake Hut, which is the first of several huts (sort of like backwoods motels) run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Staying at one of these huts is expensive, costing about $75 a person. There's a special deal for thru-hikers, though, in which thru-hikers can sleep on the dining room floor and get meals in exchange for a couple hours of light chores. I'm not looking to stay the night here, but the girl in the kitchen does offer me free leftovers from last night, so I find myself sitting down to a lunch of pasta and potato soup-- quite nice!A little after 4 pm, I finally reach Franconia Notch, where I-93 and US3 run through the mountains. My goal is to get to North Woodstock, about five miles down the road, but I don't want to hitch on an Interstate, so I walk about three-fourths of a mile down a bike path to a nearby Visitor Center. According to the guidebook, one of the lodging options in town is a bed and breakfast that offers free shuttles to and from Franconia Notch for guests, so I give them a call from a pay phone, but no answer. I wait about ten minutes and try again with no luck, so with reluctance I head out to US3, which is a quiet road, since it parallels I-93. I try for about fifteen minutes to get a hitch (maybe ten cars pass me in this time) and I'm feeling disheartened when a car going the opposite way suddenly pulls a U-turn and pulls up to me.The driver is a thru-hiker named Augie who's taking a week off, and who came this way looking for hikers. Talk about trail magic! I don't know how I would have gotten into North Woodstock without her.So, gratefully, I get in the car and we head into town. We reach the bed and breakfast, called The Cascades Lodge, and just as I ring the doorbell another hiker named Aussie Charm shows up. She says that the Cascades Lodge is basically in the process of closing down, and the owner isn't really looking to host hikers right now, but that she and her hiking partner, Six Two, slept on the spacious front porch a couple nights ago and the owner tolerated them. This looks like my best option, since I don't want to pay for a room at the nearby Inn on my own.In the meantime, Aussie Charm is waiting for Six Two's bus to get back from Manchester, and she's hanging out with a couple of section hikers who have a car. They drive us about a mile down the road to Lincoln, where we re-supply, then Aussie Charm and I go to see "King Arthur" at the movie theater next door. After that, it's back to meet 6-2, then we grab a bite to eat at McDonald's and walk back to North Woodstock.After we sort our food and everything, it's about 10 pm. There's some other hikers' stuff on the porch, but we don't know whose it is.The other hikers return as we're bedding down. It's a bunch of Southbounders, and Rockhound! Turns out Rockhound is staying at the Woodstock Inn across the street. Squish is there as well, with Heather, his fiance. Rockhound offers to let me sleep on the floor of his room and use the shower, and I accept. So I pack up my stuff again and head over-- sleeping here will definitely be nicer than sleeping on the porch.