Date: 2022-07-18
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Flume Side Trail
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

My watch alarm beeped at 4:42 this morning. We had agreed with Morten to be on the trail by 5:30 so that we¢d have a chance of beating the rain and catching the shuttle from The Flume Visitor Center to The Notch Hostel. Both the rain and the shuttle were due to Franconia Notch at 11:20. We had 8.8 miles of trail and another 1 mile blue-blaze to the visitors center. Our work was cut out for us. We got everyone up, packed, and fed fairly silently. The tenting area and shelter both were full with hikers.Nine-point-eight miles in the nearly 6 hours of time we had seemed to be doable. We typically can consistently hike just under 2 miles per hour on good trail. Terrain will slow us down. Yesterday¢s experience taught is that this is might not be ¢good trail¢ in front of us. We were on top of South Kinsman Peak at 7:30. It had taken us 2 hours to cover that 2.5 miles - you do the math. Also, to clarify, the pronouns ¢we¢ and ¢us¢ in the previous sentences refer to Joni and me. The boys, along with Morten, had smoked those first 2.5 miles and had cooled down by the time we arrived at the view. It was obvious to Joni and me that we wouldn¢t make the shuttle. That wasn¢t a huge deal since Mom & Dad could help get us to the hostel. I told Morten he should go ahead and hoof it the remaining 6.5 miles so he could get a ride - there wouldn¢t be room in Dad¢s truck for all of us. The boys we disappointed in the change of plans. We came to Lonesome Lake Hut at 9:30 - 3 miles to go. With the prospects of getting wet becoming real, we resigned ourselves to it. We went inside and ate baked goods and leftover eggs and sausage from the morning¢s breakfast.We shouldered packs and walked down to the pond itself. What followed was our first ¢lost child¢ story (happy ending¢¦). We chose a path a started up it for 30 feet, saw a blue blaze, and came back. The correct option was obvious now. On we went; Grayson in front, then me, Joni, Jasper. After about 500 yards or more I realized Texas Pete was missing. ¢Where¢s Baxter?¢ I asked. Grayson pointed to the rear. Jasper pointed to the front. I knew exactly what had happened. Baxter, who had been studying the minnows and tadpoles, heard us make our first decision - maybe had even watched us start down the (wrong) path. Then we four had switched our course and headed down another path. He hadn¢t watched any of it. So when he stood up to follow, we were gone (not unusual). He set off down the first path. I took off my pack and began jogging back up the hill, knowing he¢d be hiking fast away from me trying to catch the group. About halfway back the the junction I heard him ¢whoop¢ - a little bit of panic in his voice. I whooped back to let him know I was there. He had stopped a group of oncoming hikers on path 1 to ask of they¢d seen us (smart kid). They said they didn¢t think they had - not a terribly helpful answer. He had hiked on another several yards before deciding he was probably on the wrong trail.  It was a good lesson for all of us. I¢m sure this will happen again. We¢ve talked with the boys several times about what to do if they¢re lost both on and off the trail. Baxter played it perfectly. Being lost is scary. The rain began to settle into the canopy as we neared. We made it inside the building at 12:00 just as we were getting damp. We had missed the shuttle, we learned later, by only 15 minutes! We had also, thankfully, beat the rain. It was the successful culmination of a plan we had hatched coming down Moosilauke yesterday.