Date: 2004-08-19
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite

To: Saco River (stealth camp)
Miles today: 17.5

Garfield Ridge Trail is my least favorite section of the Franconia Ridge area and, as of this writing, my least favorite part of the AT. I hiked this measly 3 mile section four years ago. My memory of the persistent ups and downs, drop offs, and scrambles was not exaggerated over time. I still found it annoying.Once I got past the climb to South Twin, the hike was easy sailing and mostly downhill. Still my knees began to ache a little.I feel pretty triumphant that I pulled some long miles today. I am now hiding in the woods near the Saco River trying to avoid paying $8 for a campsite. Truthfully, I am stealth camping merely because Ethan Pond was too soon and Newman was too far.It has everything a good campsite needs--an excellent water source (bubbling to my left), a soft dirt surface for pitching my tent, and lots of shady trees to cut down the moisture. Nearby, deeper in the woods are Critter, Catepiller and Octane. They split from Austin but have gained a new member--a girl named Smack.When I arrived at Crawford Notch Rt. 302 after hiking 17 miles, I found them there getting dropped off by Critter's family. After exchanging hellos I learned they were not going to climb Webster Cliff tonight to reach Newman Tentsite. Therefore, they were heading for the same stealth sites as me. Although I was miffed at the notion that they would take the spots after spending a day at someone's house while I was beat from hiking, everything seemed to work out well.This morning at Garfield I had no choice but to wake up early. There was a woman and her daughter working on the 4K peaks (something we New Englanders do). Nice pair but they weren't capable of whispering, I guess.I was the first one out at 6:30 and dealing with the mini rollercoaster of the Garfield Ridge Trail. When I arrived at Galehead Hut, I discovered that Yoga Monkey landed another WFS with the Roman Noodles. She had completely destroyed her sneaker on a root yesterday. It looks like she took a knife and sliced the toe of the shoe halfway off. She hopes to hike with them all the way to Gorham.I headed out while the weather was still quite miserable. Interesting, the last time I hiked this section, the weather was only slightly better. I think I'm destined to never see a view from Guyot. As far as I know, the world drops off into a cloud there.On a positive note, the conditions at these peaks surpasses those I experienced in the Smokies in April.I reached Zealands Fall Hut by noon and bumped into Goose and K-dog. K-dog was not feeling well and they both stealth camped somewhere on Twinway last night--probably where that ranger died this winter. Apparently a storm passed through and all their stuff got wet. I have not seen them since and suspect they got a motel to dry up. Or, they landed some trail magic since they are a magnet for that kind of fortune when they hit a road crossing.At the hut, I ate two bowls of cream of mushroom soup and two cups of hot chocolate. There were many families milling about the place. I love the atmosphere at this hut. It abuts a scenic waterfall and has a view of the valley from the front porch. Zealand Falls Hut is also the easiest hut to reach because the trail follows an old railroad route.The weather improved for a few hours as I reached Ethan Pond Campsite. Then it began to pour as I headed to Crawford Notch. I figured I would be setting up my tent in the rain. Oh joy.Along the way I met the caretaker for Ethan Pond who was also an '02 AT thru-hiker. Unfortunately, I forgot his name. He asked me directly if I planned to stealth camp. I said "maybe" and started hurrying off. I think he wanted to talk me out of it. He made a noise as if he didn't approve but did not stop me.So here I am in my stealth tentsite. The rain stopped and I was able to cook a great dinner of risotto, salmon, zucchini, and tomatoes. All slowly re-hydrated over a simmering alcohol stove (hah!) Tomorrow, weather permitting and with consideration for my tolerance for pain, I plan to reach Osgood Tentsite. This would be an ambitious 21 miles over Mt. Washington. Anything to save a few bucks.