Date: 2005-07-17
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Kinsman Pond Campsite
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 13.313.1 AT miles + 0.2 mile of side trailI woke up this morning at 5:35 a.m., packed up, ate breakfast, and was hiking with Opa at 6:25 a.m. Right away, I began a very steep descent to Kinsman Notch (NH112), dropping 1,820 feet in 1.4 miles. The level of difficulty of this section of trail was amazingly high and there were actually wooden steps built into the sheer rock faces at certain points. I'm not sure how I would have made it down those rock faces without the steps. Along the entire descent was a cascading stream that became a waterfall in certain points and was beautiful to observe as I slowly moved down the hill. At 7:25 a.m., I slipped on a wet rock and hit the right side of my head and jaw against a rock. Fortunately, the rock was covered with moss and the pain didn't last long. Cha-ching, fall #28. At 8:10 a.m., I reached Kinsman Notch, having taken 1 hour, 45 minutes to hike 1.6 miles. Slow!After a 10 minute rest and water break, I continued on and entered the White Mountains proper, although I've been in the White Mountain National Forest for 2 days now. I had an 815 foot climb over 0.7 miles, which was steep, but manageable. I hiked until 10:20 a.m., stopped for a 10 minute rest and water break, then passed the Gordon Pond Trail 10:35 a.m. That meant that I'd covered 3.3 miles in a little more than 2 hours. I knew that the terrain was rugged, especially as I was frequently climbing over boulders, but this didn't stop me from being surprised at my slow hiking pace.With 4.2 miles remaining to Eliza Brook Shelter, with the south and east peaks of Wolf Mountain to cross beforehand, I figured that I'd arrive at the shelter at 1:00 p.m. With the skies covered in clouds, there weren't any views from the Wolf summits and at 1:00 p.m., I reached the Reel Brook Trail junction which meant I had 1.0 mile to go to reach the shelter. What?! My 1:00 p.m. estimate had been very conservative and I was greatly surprised, as well as exhausted. I stopped for a 10 minute rest and water break, then pushed on to the shelter, finally arriving at 1:45 p.m. Not including 35 minutes worth of breaks, it had taken me 6 hours, 45 minutes to hike 9.1 miles, which is roughly 1 1/3 m.p.h., extremely slow by my standards.I was extremely tired at the shelter and considered stopping for the day. At 3:10 p.m., after an 1 hour, 25 minute lunch break, I was ready to push on for 4.0 more miles and set out with Opa. Once again, there was a cascading stream flowing along the trail, which made for a pleasant diversion as I climbed up South Kinsman. I faced a 1,863 foot climb over 2.5 miles and was experiencing some slight stomach pains in the beginning of the climb, which caused me to lose sight of Opa. I was very tempted to stop hiking and go wading in one of the many pools created by the stream, though I persisted and kept climbing. Closer to the top of South Kinsman, the trail became a rock scramble, which required me to use my hands, knees, and feet in some sections. I grabbed tree trunks and rock crevices to pull myself up in places, with a backpack on, and counted my lucky stars that it wasn't raining. Despite the lack of rain, there were still slippery surfaces and, at 4:20 p.m., I slip! ped on a wet tree root and landed on my knees in the soil, without injury. Cha-ching, fall #29. After a bit, I caught up to Opa, who seemed to be having a tougher time with the rock scramble. Make no mistake, it wasn't easy for me either. I reached the clouded over summit of South Kinsman at 5:00 p.m. and stopped for a 5 minute rest and water break before continuing on.My next obstacle was a 300 foot dip and 300 foot climb to North Kinsman, another 0.9 mile up the trail. I reached the summit at 5:40 p.m. and kept moving, as I only had 0.6 mile to go to reach Kinsman Pond Campsite. I covered the distance, dropping 600 feet, and arrived at 6:10 p.m. 13.3 miles in 9 hours, 40 minutes of hiking. I would normally hike nearly 20 miles in that period of time.Upon arriving at the sidetrail to Kinsman Pond Campsite, I was very surprised to see that there was a shelter present. It turns out that the shelters in the Whites are called "campsites," and are maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which charges an $8 fee to stay the night. This fee is a huge point of contention among thru-hikers, though during my dinner, I spoke with Dingle, the site caretaker, and learned that the campsite fees go directly to maintaining the trail. Dingle was a wealth of information and told us about the legality of stealth camping (it isn't illegal, contrary to popular belief), work for stay at the AMC huts, as well as safety issues regarding the long sections of trail above treeline. The AMC huts charge $77 per night for a bunk, dinner, and breakfast. While the $8 campsite fee goes directly back to the trail, the hut fees are used to pay salaries of the AMC employees, as well as fund search and rescue operations. Interestingly, the A! MC is a non-profit organization and operates in a deficit. Its income is supplemented by the ATC and the USFS.While the huts may seem extraordinarly expensive, thru-hikers have the opportunity to work for about an hour, eat both meals, after the guests, with the Hut "Croo," and sleep indoors, usually on the dining room tables. From what I hear, the food is very good and there is plenty of it. I also found out that the huts offer AYCE soup and bread for $2. Such a deal!After dinner, I made some hot chocolate and walked down to Kinsman pond to get water and to wash the mud of my legs. The pond is huge and the edge of the water is lined with boulders and has lily pads floating on the surface. I'd been to the pond before dinner to get water, but had been in a hurry. This time, I took my time washing and enjoyed watching the clouds as they quickly rolled in and out over the pond.Today was one of the most difficult hiking days I've experienced on the AT. Dingle told me that I'd crossed the 3rd and 4th steepest peaks in 1 day, which I suppose I am happy about. Apparently, Mount Katahdin is the steepest peak on the trail. I'm told that the Whites don't get much easier, so my mileage may be a bit low for awhile. Tomorrow I'm aiming for 15.1 miles to the next campsite, though when I reach the summit of Mount Lafayette after 11.2 miles, I may take a 1 mile side trail to Greenleaf Hut to see if I can work for stay. Less than 100 miles to Maine!Bedtime at 10:35 p.m.