Date: 2003-08-07
From: North Woodstock - NH 112

To: Kinsman Pond Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Wow! What a great day, it was actually fun! I haven¢t had fun out here in a long time. I¢ve had good days, but fun? No¢¦ Today is what hiking is all about, enjoy it! It was a tough day, big climbs, hard climbs, a heavy pack.. So why was it fun? I can¢t explain it, maybe it was the rock scrambles? Maybe it was because I felt great? We did 11.5 miles in 9 hours, and felt good about it. Maybe it was how I started the day¢¦ We got up at 7AM, packed and went to breakfast at our B&B. I had OJ, Coffee, Water, and a big delicious Waffle with 2 big scoops of vanilla ice cream, and syrupy strawberries all over it! It was called the ¢Wicked Witch of the West Waffle¢ (all the Breakfast items on the menu had a Wizard of Oz theme). Anyway, the Shuttle Connection cab company picked us up and took us back up to Kinsman notch to start our day. We immediately went up an 800 foot climb, but it felt good. Then we bounced up and down a bit and went up to the South and East peaks of Wolf mountain, and then down to the next shelter for a late lunch. By this time, I had already fallen 2 times, once was a slip onto my ass, and once was a fall onto my knee and side (why I thought that slippery round rock was a good place to put my foot, I¢ll never know). The second fall was the worst of the two, I hit my knee on a rock as I fell and scraped it up a bit, but no other damage. I ate more today, and felt stronger (Power bar, Quaker Oatmeal squares, candy, Jelly beans, peanut butter and honey for lunch). I seemed to keep fueled up better than usual, I didn¢t feel weak or whiney all day (and this is unusual). I think I usually hike hungry, making me a weak whiner. Remember, EAT, EAT, EAT!! My pack may be heavy with food, but my steps are light. After lunch we did our big climb of the day, rock hopping, scrambling, sliding, etc. finally breaking above treeline (barely) on South Kinsman Mt, then we went down and up onto North Kinsman Mountain. The weather was a mix of clouds and some Sun, so there were no big views, but the whole day was full of awesome things up close, so it didn¢t matter. I felt like I was in Maine, close thick piney growth around us, mud, rocks and roots under foot, moss all over everything. Very cool, you don¢t need views with all of these things close at hand (but a few views wouldn¢t hurt¢¦). Actually, we had better views than usual (usually there are none), so no complaints here. Figuring out routes up and down the trail was fun, holding trees and roots as we climb up or slide down the trail, sliding along cracks in the rock, stepping on protruding roots over a drop off, holding tree branches for balance, getting sucked into the mud (I have a weird sense of fun¢¦). Then we ended the day at a shelter next to a beautiful pond, with mountains along side it. A great day! I topped it off with Ramen noodles for dinner, and a nice cold night for good sleeping. Awesome, I wish every day was like this (and I wish I felt this good every day). Now who did we see today? No Northbounders until just now, 2 just popped in to the shelter, a thruhiker and his visiting cousin. As for Southbounders, we saw Medicine Man and Sunshine, Zig zag and Clearwater, Cadence, and a few section hikers. Tomorrow, we hit 1,800 miles, and we climb out of Franconia Notch and into the Presidentials. First on the list, Mister Lincoln. Yee Ha!!! Life is good!