Date: 2017-08-26
From: Stealth Camp by Beaver Brook

To: Eliza Brook Shelter 
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: few clouds

8/26Stealth Camp by Beaver Brook to Eliza Brook Shelter 7.7 miles Total miles:  1807.9The sun rose on a bright, chilly morning, but I didn't join in until I woke up at 6:30. I packed up, got water from the brook, and headed up the trail to the parking lot on Lost River Road, where a privy was located. Stitches was there, and she brought donuts! I ate a donut and chatted briefly with Stitches, Felix, and Gravity before setting off on the trail. Stitches took a photo of the three of us as we prepared to go. I checked it a bit later only to find it was blurry and unfocused. At first I thought there was something wrong with my camera, only to discover that it had been temporarily sabotaged by a blob of donut icing smeared on the lense.  The price of quick calories. With a cleaned off lense, I began the climb up Wolf Mountain. Much smaller than Moosilauke, Wolf still provided challenging trail. While far easier than yesterday, it soon became obvious that our work was cut out for us.  Along the way to the summit, I met Ralph, Gravity's friend who previously hiked with us from Harpers Ferry, through Maryland, and into Pennsylvania. He decided that was so much fun that he would rejoin us in the Whites. His previous exploit of shinnying up a bear pole in Maryland had left him with a trail name, Polecat.  Polecat waited near the summit of Wolf, while I continued on to catch up with Felix, who is a far faster hiker. He decided he needed to continue on, since he only has a limited number of days before returning to work. I ate lunch with him before he headed onward.  I really enjoyed his positive, very humorous personality and wish him well on his plan to complete his second section hike. The trail down from Wolf was also slow going, slightly complicated with ponds of soupy, deep mud that masqueraded as trail.  I know that Leave No Trace might say to walk right through it, but I checked the depth of the first such "muddle" with my trekking pole, which sank in over a foot without reaching bottom. The descent was through a beautiful spruce forest, and I continued my approach of letting it take as long as it took and enjoyed the ride. The trail crossed a power line 0.6 miles from Eliza Brook Shelter, and I got my first look at Mount Kinsman, looming before me. The trail to its summit rises 1,972 feet over 2.5 miles, and is reportedly more challenging than the ascent of Moosilauke. I reached Eliza Brook Shelter at 3:30, hours before I would normally stop hiking. The next camping area was Kinsman Pond Shelter, "only" four miles away. Mount Kinsman sits between the two shelters, calmly waiting my arrival. With only about four more hours of daylight, I decided to call it an early day and will take on Kinsman in the morning. I leisurely set up camp and went to fetch water from Eliza Brook, a good-sized stream that I am now listening to as I write this. I noticed Jelly Bean getting water a bit upstream and asked if I could take her picture. Later, as I was reviewing my photos from the day, I originally mistook that photo as one of the trail. Yes, it's just a "walk in the woods."  As I completed setting up, a group of about ten young people entered the area and set up camp up the hill from me.  I talked with them as they passed by me and learned they were with Tufts University.  It is a common practice for universities in this area to provide incoming freshman the opportunity to go on a backpacking trip as part of their orientation, which seems like a wonderful idea to me. One of the young women was wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, and I teased her a bit about that. I would later learn that her dad also likes to backpack and that she is considering majoring in physics. I told her that to me her trail name would always be "Boston." While cooking dinner, I had a wonderful conversation with Anna and Avi, the two students who are leading the excursion from Tufts. Anna, a senior majoring in Sociology, and Avi, a junior with a double major in cognitive and computer science, participated in the program as freshman and decided to pay it forward by returning as guides.  They both obviously possess thoughtful, compassionate personalities, and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Boston came over and pitched in with dinner preparation, which consisted of real vegetables, pasta, and a peanut butter sauce that Avi created.  Anna mentioned that all the meals were vegetarian, although not vegan. She told me she was vegetarian, and I shared with her a way to deal with anyone who ever teased her about it. I suggested that she get a little wild-eyed, stare intently at the person, and say, "You know.  I didn't become a vegetarian because I like animals. I became a vegetarian because I really, really hate plants!"  In between the jokes and laughter, I shared a wonderful conversation with them about the backpacking program and the importance of being outdoors, and about the effect the program had on them. They are both trully special young people, and I wish them both the best in their futures.  As I have written before, I am continually impressed with the young people I encounter on this trail. All the best to both of you, Anna and Avi! Hiker midnight approached, so I headed for my tent. It is a chilly evening and Autumn is certainly in the air. I look forward to the challenge that Mount Kinsman will undoubtedly provide for me tomorrow, but for now it's time to go back to sleep so I'll be ready for another day, as I slowly close in on Katahdin.