Date: 2018-10-04
From: Liberty Springs Trailhead 

To: Kinsman Notch 
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: mist

I was up at 5:30 this morning to get an early start. My plan was for 16+ miles today and it¢s suppose to rain this afternoon. There was some confusion getting to my starting point so I wasn¢t on trail until 7:40. I brought my rain gear.   After hiking a 1.2 mile blue blaze to the A.T. Hugs and Big Kahuna sent me on my way. Hugs is taking another much needed zero.  Papa Big Swig stayed back to pack up the Time Share. Also to get our dogs out of boarding. They were not allowed at the Time Share. He will have the camper set up before I¢m off trail today. We¢ll be back to cramped living, but it¢s warm and dry.  My hike started UP North Kinsman Mountain 4293ft above sea level.  The trail was wet and rocky. In places it was steep, but otherwise a fairly nice grade. I watched busy chipmunks hustle around the forest. Golden leaves carpeted my path. I enjoyed watching more and more of them fall.  It was snowing leaves!  Then I came to Cascade Brook. This brook was swollen over from all the rain that¢s been happening. It was swift and dangerous! I could not get across on boulders. Eventually I took off my boots and socks. Using trekking poles for balance I made my way across. My feet were nearly swept out from under me at one point, but I made it.  From the bank on the other side I hiked on to Lonesome Lake Hut. Clouds covered the lake, but it was beautiful. In the Whites there are ¢Huts¢ with full functioning kitchens, bathrooms, and bunk houses. Many of them are closed for the season right now, but this particular Hut is open year around. When I walked in it felt like a step back on time. The floors and walls were hand crafted from wood. The kind of quality woodwork you never see anymore. There¢s also wooden picnic tables and benches. They¢re extra long and obviously hand crafted too. The Hut offered a small variety of food. I chose homemade apricot scone and a hot cup of ginger tea.  It was there where I met Mason. He¢s a thru-hiker who flipped up from Pennsylvania. So he¢s southbound now like me, but today he¢s doing a NOBO flip. He¢s navigating through the Whites the same as I am...all depending on the weather. When I left the Hut, I was directionally turned around. Thank goodness for my new friend Mason! He set me straight before I hiked a mile in the wrong direction.  Once on the right path I had 1.7 miles to summit South Kinsman Mountain at 4358ft elevation. The ascent was steep! I spent most of the 1.7 miles bouldering. Well, I actually spent most of my day bouldering on wet slippery boulders. There was no view at the summit, just clouds. The wind started blowing much stronger. Rain is coming! Descending South Kinsman was steep again. I did enjoy the fresh pine scent on the way down though! I met a few other hikers today. First I met Loving It and Irma. Loving it is soon to be 75 years old. She and Irma are on a 4 day adventure. They hike 4 miles a day full packing! Then I met Side Quest. He¢s been hiking the A.T. Since 2016. It¢s a long story, but in 3 weeks he will have completed the journey.  Side Quest and I leap frogged each other for hours. His Sawyer Squeeze broke and he thought he would need to go to town. I offered to give him a ride when my hike was over today. He was considering it. Eventually I stopped at a log for lunch and he continued on.  After lunch I prepared to start my climb up Mount Wolf 3500ft. I passed Side Quest on my way up. He had stopped to cooked dinner. He said if it rains he¢ll probably pitch his tent and hunker down, then thanked me for the offer.  I hurried along. It would be nice to summit before the skies open up. Before I could summit the sprinkles started...then drops. UGH! I stopped hiking and took my pack off to pull out my rain gear. It was gone! So was my flannel shirt. They had been rolled up in an outside pocket of my pack. Who knows where they came out at?!? I had bushwhacked a few times, bouldered, and maneuvered over/under many fallen trees. I feared hiking tonight while wet and cold! Just like that, the rain stopped.  The clouds rolled away, and I caught a nice view just before the summit of Mount Wolf. My only good view of the day. Then night fell.  With about 1.5 hours of hiking left I hurried as fast as I could. It was cold and I had nothing to layer up with anymore. The boulders were even more slippery as the nighttime mist began collecting on them. My feet slipped out from under me more than once. I¢m thankful for no injuries!  Papa Big Swig texted that he was in the parking lot. I had 0.5 miles to go. Then from behind me was the light of a headlamp. It was Side Quest! He decided to take the ride after all. Best of all, he had my flannel shirt and rain gear! Thanks Side Quest! Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?