Date: 2014-09-13
From: Franconia Notch

To: Garfield Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

Linda and Daniel going home today. The day began with a 45-minute car ride back to Franconia Notch so that we can cover the 27.7 mile stretch of trail we skipped in order to get to Mount Washington while Dan was here. We could not find the trail head off of I-93; it had been dark when we came across at this point a couple of nights ago. We took an exit and saw Poppy and Crinkle Root; we asked them where the trail crossing was. They said to go north on the freeway a little bit so we got back onto I-93 and saw a bridge that looked like one we had crossed underneath. We stopped on the bridge and were preparing to pile out when a NH highway patrolman came up behind us with his lights flashing. Linda told him that she was lost, and asked him where the AT crossed. He said he was not a hiker...did not know. Told us that we shouldn't be parked on the bridge. We were cordial and agreed with him about stopping on the bridge being a bad move. He really, really wanted to give us a ticket! The entire time he was talking with us he was clenching his jaw. His jaw muscle kept popping up like a King marble. He told us to drive to the next exit and look for the trail. We thanked him and drove on. Probably put us about 1.5 miles from where we left off the trail the other night. Had to say goodbye to Linda and Dan; it was tough to watch them leave. Simple and Moto have a Trail Little Brother. I really enjoyed hiking with Dan and hope that he felt the same.We hiked down a paved hiking/biking trail and finally got back to the White Blaze! We started hiking uphill; pretty rough. It had been a few days since we were hiking with full packs. We caught up with Poppy and Crinkle Root. As we approached the Liberty Spring campsite, the clouds and fog started to settle in. By the time we got to Mt Lincoln, the wind was blowing and it was cold and damp. There was an American flag flying on Mt Lincoln. The wind was blowing so hard that the wooden flagpole was bent about 45 degrees. Got a nice photo of Simple by the flag.Hiking from Mt Lincoln to Mt Lafayette, we met a young couple. I was in my rain/wind jacket and shorts, with my Mt Washington stocking cap. The young woman looked at me and said something in French! I asked her companion what she said; he said, "You're not cold yet?" I told Moto and Simple that I must have looked like an old French fur trapper.The conditions were pretty miserable. We thought we could make it to Guyot Shelter, but it started to get dark. We decided to tie up at the Garfield Ridge Shelter; when we arrived there the shelter was full. Mostly taken up by a Boy Scout troop, including several young Scouts. We came into the shelter and one of the Scout leaders said they would try to make room for us. I told him that they would find room for us! The Scouts all moved to the top level of the split-level shelter. The rest of us all packed in on the bottom level.Simple had sent his mom a request for his winter sleeping bag but it hasn't arrived yet. Linda had brought my 20 degree bag for me. The wind is whipping into the shelter around our feet. Our wet clothes are hanging on our poles and the hooks in the shelter. It is going to be a cold one!