Date: 2015-07-15
From: Franconia Notch

To: Galehead Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

It rained during the night and this morning. Andreas caught the bus to the Boston Airport where he will fly back to Germany. One it stopped raining, I walked a mile into town towards US3/I-93 trying to hitch a ride back to the trail. There wasn't a lot of traffic at 7 am but Tania picked me up and dropped me off at the Liberty Springs Trailhead Parking Lot in Franconia Notch State Park. We had hitched on I-93 so I wasn't 100% sure how to get back where we had left the trail a couple days ago. Fortunately I had service and confirmed the 0.9 mile side trail would take me back to the AT where I wanted to start. My first step on the trail and my foot slid reminding me to be careful because the rocks were wet and very slippery. I soon was back in the AT and started climbing the 2,848 ft climb to the Franconia Ridge Trail. I was hiking solo again and while hiking buddies make a good hike great, it was also nice to be on my own for a little bit too. Once I reached the ridge, I climbed another 509 ft over Little Haystack Mountain where it was so gusty and windy I nearly got blown over wearing my pack! It was beautiful as the fog had started lifting so you could see the trail along the ridge line. It was cold and I had to put on my rain jacket. There were several hikers on the ridge - a group of young kids, and several hikers I did not know. Of course the wind died down as I started moving and climbing up another 289 ft to Mt Lincoln which soon was covered in clouds behind me. I couldn't even see the peak of Mt Lafayette but as I climbed another 202 ft. the peak appeared. I stopped just before the summit and joined three day hikers from Boston for a snack break. We chatted for awhile and then I started moving. As soon as a I climbed the rocks to the top, it was so gusty and windy and cold all the way down the descent. You couldn't see anything as the clouds covered anything. It was a steep, slow descent. Finally I was back among the trees protected from the wind. So I kept moving but it was slow going due to the steepness and wet terrain. I passed 4 Trees who is on his sixth year section hiking the AT and will only have a couple hundred miles left after this hike. I passed by a few other section hikers too. Finally I was climbing again up Mt Garfield which has some trickier rocks to navigate. It reminded me of the Kinsman climb as I had to pull myself up over wet rock face. When I reached the summit, I left the AT for the view but could only see clouds. The descent was equally challenging and the trail evolved into what looked like a massive rock slide with a Brook running down it. I had to look around to make sure It really was the trail since the AT is not well blazed in NH. Sure enough, the AT dead ended into the rocks and there weren't any other trails. So down I went trying to keep my shoes from getting too wet but also trying not to fall. I had passed by a hiker who was out for 2 days prepping for the John Muir trail. He easily passed me. Eventually the rock slide section ended. My pace had been very slow and I was trying to make it to Galehead Hut so I could do work for stay since there aren't any better camping options within the mileage I wanted to hike today. The huts charge $125 to stay in a bunk room. It includes dinner and breakfast but no other amenities (eg showers, laundry, etc) so it's not worth it to most hikers because we may as well stay in a hotel for the same price. It's like a nicer hostel without showers and laundry. However they do let the first two thru hikers who show up at 4 pm to stay in exchange for 1-2 hours of work. I knew I wasn't going to make it by 4 pm and given the weather, figured I may be too late. However the sun came out. I caught up to the John Muir hiker and passed him on the last climb up which seemed to surprise him as he commented "You're in really good shape!" I guess I don't look like it as much as I climb like it. I explained I had trail legs.   Even though I didn't arrive until 4:25 pm, Work For Stay check in was 4:30 pm and I was the first one there! I usually don't stop hiking this early and the sun was out but my next camping option was 2.8 more miles plus the campsite was 0.7 miles off the AT! So I decided to call it a day and enjoy some time on a rock admiring the view.I met Phil who is sectioning hiking 1,000 miles from the ME-NH border to Waynesboro, VA. He was also doing work for stay. We chatted outside for a couple hours along with another guy from CT who was tenting nearby and just hanging out. It was really windy and I was cold. We finally ate dinner just before 8 pm. We get the leftovers which was turkey, salad, peas and lentil soup. There wasn't much salad left but the hot lentil soup was really good. I gave Phil some recommendations as he hikes south. We then did our work for stay. I scrubbed the backsplash and compost shelf while Phil changed the foil in the oven. We then washed the rest of the dishes which weren't a lot since they had already washed most of them. Lights get turned out at 9:30. WFS hikers can sleep anywhere in the dining room except on the tables. Usually it's the floor. However there was a bench that ran along one wall so I put my sleeping pad and bag on the bench.