Date: 2017-07-15
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch/Liberty Springs trailhead parking
Miles today: 8.8

When we awoke, there was still a light rain. The streams were flowing. We were definately in the Whites, with rock stairs and rock climbs. I was glad to have Tag Along leading the way.  We came to a bog with pitcher plants. Tag Along works as director of a native garden. She was thrilled to see the pitcher plants and point them out to me.    The fog drifted in and out as we climbed South Kinsman Mountain, almost 2000 ft elevation gain in 2.5 miles. It was mainly a rock climb with some rock stairs. There was fog when we arrived at the summit. We took a break and snacked while we waited for the fog to clear. We gave up waiting and moved on.  As we descended, the fog cleared. Darn. But we were headed to North Kinsman Mountain. It was clear on top of North Kinsman. The view from the ledge was spectacular. We took the unofficial trail through the bushes to the left, down to the next rock ledge. We had this ledge to ourselves. We could see Kinsman Pond from this ledge. We both wanted to stay here and never leave. The birds chirped. The view was spectacular. The sun was out and the temperature was lovely. We very much enjoyed this spot.  We moved on and descended the mountain. Coming up a man about our age, very winded. A younger couple were close behind, encouraging him that he was almost there. We had just come from where he needed to go, to get to Kinsman Pond Shelter. The mileage was short, but the terrain and steepness were going to make this a difficult day for him. We hiked on.  The closer we got to Lonesome Lake Hut, the better the terrain got. We stopped at the bathrooms at Lonesome Lake Hut. We did not go inside. We soaked our feet in the pond. It was lovely. It was hard to get moving again.  At last we moved on. Within 30 minutes, we were in rain. The terrain was kind of flat but full of roots and rocks.  We were glad we left when we did. If the rain started when we were close to the hut, we would have returned to the hut, to wait out the rain. There were several streams near the trail.  We passed under the I93 underpass and turned left on a paved path. We went over the bridge over a wide river. We went came to a sign for Liberty Springs Trail and headed uphill. I assumed the Liberty Springs trailhead was on Liberty Springs Trail. I was wrong. The sun was starting to set. A mile or so uphill, we encountered a couple. They asked if we were going to Liberty Spring Campsite. We said no. They indicated it was a bad idea trying to get to the campsite so late in the day. Tag Along suggested I check where we were.  I checked Gut Hook. We were over a mile further down the trail, away from the Liberty Springs parking lot. We turned around and backtracked downhill. We returned to the sign for Liberty Springs Trail. We turned right and continued on the paved road, away from the bridge.  We continued for about half mile. Tag Along suggested I check the Gut Hook app again. I checked. We were hiking away from the parking lot.  We backtracked back to the sign for Liberty Springs Trail. We crossed the bridge. We passed the underpass. The trail split. The paved path continued along the river. The other path went uphill, unpaved and dirt. The uphill trail sign said something about Pemi Trail and parking. We went uphill and crossed a stream. We thought we were going the wrong way. After all we had made two wrong turns so far. So we backtracked and went on the paved path for a distance. I checked Gut Hook. It was hard to tell if we were on the correct path. So we continued and checked again.Oh no! The uphill trail was the correct way! With each wrong turn, using GutHook, I sent Steve our coordinates.   We backtracked and went uphill. We met two couples coming in from the parking lot. They were looking for a place to camp. There was a flat spot along the paved path, past Liberty Springs Trail. Not sure it was official. But it was flat and close to water.   It was dusk by the time we came out of the woods, into Liberty Springs Trailhead. We had stayed in good spirits. We had found all the wrong turns. I figured I would know the correct way when I returned to this parking lot in August, to finish my whole AT hike.   Steve kept looking at us, as he drove us back to the Notch Hostel. He was surprised we were in good spirits. He said he was cussing when he got to that parking lot. He had done in one day what we did in two full days. I think we also expected the difficulty of the Kinsmans.   Steve let us know the hostel had mainly people wanting to summit the 4000 footers. He said it was a different atmosphere. He was right. The AT hikers were on a mission. The AT hikers left the hostel at 7:30 am, some with the hostel shuttle. The 4000 footer hikers discussed when they would leave the next day. Maybe 9 or 10. Whatever time everyone got up. They had their own cars, so the parking lot was full. They also stayed up later than AT hikers. We were driving home the next day, so we were not on a tight time schedule.  The next day we drove to Steve's house near the Virginia shore. The following day, we had breakfast in a wonderful very busy local restaurant. Steve's wife, Sharon invited us to check out a local olive oil and vinegar shop. So many tantalizing tastes. Tag Along and I had a hard time leaving but we did. I dropped Tag Along off at the fancy McDonalds in Asheville and her husband pciked her up. I drove home with confidence that I was going to actually realize my dream of finishing my hike of the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. It was almost unbelieveable.