Date: 2014-07-25
From: Garfield Campsite

To: Carlson's Lodge via Crawford Notch
Miles today: 17.4

Wow that turned out to be a long day - made it 17.3 miles from Garfield Campsite to Crawford Notch before it got too late - proud of Big Dawg for the long day with a full pack! Had some issues finding a place to stay but we were able to resupply and plan for tomorrow.Woke up early to start the day to make it to Crawford Notch - we need food for the next days! We left camp at seven and said goodbye to Becky on the way out - she is leaving to enjoy some off days from work. Immediately out of the camp the trail told us the first section was going to be tough - we had to climb down the trail that turned into a little waterfall because of the rain! Very carefully we climbed down and made it without issue but from there we still had a lot of slow walking through rocks and wet trail. Early on I did not think we were going to make the notch in time - I thought it was going to be a late day for us!Took a rest at Galehead Hut and enjoyed a nice view and some chocolate cake - a little spike of energy to get up South Twin Mountain! And we did need it - the climb up that hill was pretty steep at times but rewarded us with great views from the top. Rested up there sitting behind our packs to keep out of the wind before moving on.From South Twin Mountain on the trail was not as tough as the early going - still some rocky places but also some trail where we made good time! Heading in a generally downward trend we went over Mt. Guyot and passed by Zealand Mountain as we aimed for Zealand Falls Hut for lunch. Walked over some swampy area before the down into Zealand Falls Hut - doing some boardwalkin'!A steep down into Zealand Falls Hut but we got there at two o'clock and ate our lunch outside the hut. Nice views of the water running down the path but the better views of the falls are a little further past the hut going NOBO.Word on the trail is that the walk from the falls to the notch was really nice and flat and we could make good time - the trail talk was right! From the base of the falls to Crawford Notch was super nice - we had some very fast walking and a path through a bunch of rock slides! Great views into the valley for a little bit before going further into the woods. Made great time down to the notch and actually made it before 6:30 pm!Got a hitch from a gentleman who hiked the LT a couple years ago and he dropped us off at Crawford Notch Campgrounds - nice of him to do that! Unfortunately we had no luck at the campground - no space available and a very small selection for resupply. Used a payphone outside the store (that's right - payphones still exist!) and called the taxi service. The owner Richard was very helpful and got us to a hotel - many were full up so we ended up going to Twin Mountain, NH. We also saw a moose near the road - it was huge!While walking today I thought of trying to get up to Mt. Washington tomorrow to make sure we would get a good view from the summit since rain was coming in the next day. The two options we came up with were to hike to the summit and take the cog train back or take the cog train up and walk back. Both had advantages and disadvantages but we finally decided the risk was less going up on the cog and walking back down - a more expensive option but the reward would be a higher chance of good views from the summit.Plan is in place - let's hope it works!