Date: 2009-08-09
From: Kinsman Pond Shelter

To: Lincoln, NH
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: broken clouds

It made me feel better to see that the English family was in no hurry to get up either. We all got up around 7:37 and enjoyed a leisurely morning. I collected water down at the pond, went to retrieve my food bag, and cooked my breakfast. I heard Pog roar out from somewhere in the woods and knew he was brushing his teeth and practicing his ¢Triple H¢. It made me laugh. The couple wanted to know what the noise was about, and Drive told them, ¢It¢s a long story...¢ I liked seeing how this family worked together. Drive made three cups of tea, placed some granola and powdered milk on three separate plates, and squirted some water on top of each. Each person had their job in this little group, and everyone seemed to get along and enjoy each other¢s presence.       I finally headed out at 9:13. The going was tough again as the steep descents continued. I saw a couple of southbounders and stopped to chat for a few minutes. One of them told me I had the best parts ahead of me. I didn¢t know what to tell him... The English family passed by me. Pog was playing his ukulele again, which blew me away. How did he not need the use of his hands to get down this mountain? His father said, ¢Do you want to know what is even more annoying? He sings as he is climbing up the mountains!¢ Pog attributed it to being young.    I made it to Lonesome Lake Hut, which is a hut I had never been to before. It had a unique shape to it, and I happily went inside for a break. There was one croo member inside, and he did not seem very welcoming. However, I spotted some delicious looking chocolate cake with white frosting and wanted to grab a piece right away! First, however, I placed my pack down, went over to the other building with the bathrooms to clean up, filled up my water bottles, and dug out my money for the cake. It was so good that I had to get another piece! I went outside to take pictures of the stunning view of the Franconia Ridge, stretched a little, and finally got going. The croo member asked me if I was a northbounder on my way out. He told me a storm was coming and recommended to hike out to Greenleaf Hut if I got caught on the ridge.   I headed down to the pond, which was absolutely stunning. I knew I would have to come back here again. I had never seen a scene like it with the mountains behind it. The rest of the way down the mountain was much easier, as it was flatter, but I was feeling so tired! As I neared Franconia Notch, I had a decision to make. I could either continue on into some of the highest exposed mountains with rain on the way, or I could head into Lincoln and rest up. I called Erik to ask him his opinion. I was reluctant to call it a day, having only hiked five miles, but he said he could hear the tiredness in my voice, and thought it would be better for me to rest. I agreed and thanked him. I would have to hike nearly an extra mile off the AT to get to a parking lot, from where I hoped to get a ride into town, but I think it was a smart decision. My body was exhausted.      I spotted a guy ahead of me and hoped I could keep close enough to him and hopefully get a ride, but I really had to go to the bathroom, and it cost me the possibility of getting a ride with him. There wasn¢t anyone else in the parking lot, so I walked down to the road and stuck out my thumb. Car after car passed and no one stopped! Getting into Lincoln was harder than I expected! I knew I just had to be patient, however. Eventually, a car came out of the parking lot, beeped at me, and pulled over. It was an older man. I asked him if he was going to Lincoln and if I could go with him.   Finding our way turned out to be more confusing than expected, but eventually we found an intersection in Lincoln, at which he dropped me off. I thanked him and pulled out my phone to call Chet to see if I could stay at his hostel. He was extremely nice and accommodating. He kept saying, ¢Cool, cool. All right. All right. No worries.¢ He gave me walking directions, but I didn¢t know where the roads he was talking about were and was thoroughly confused. ¢That¢s all right,¢ he said. ¢You just came out of the woods. It¢s okay.¢ I told him I was going to eat first and headed toward the nearest restaurant. It was a sub and pizza shop. I didn¢t see anything on the menu that I felt I wanted, but finally decided on a turkey sub and a coke. I felt really, really tired and was in no hurry to get moving!   Finally, I made my way out, and as I waited for the light to turn, I asked the couple next to me if they knew what road this was. They didn¢t. But the woman was holding an ice cream cone, and it looked really good. I decided to go back and get some ice cream first! The girl at the counter knew I was hiking the entire trail, which impressed the man behind me (but not enough for him to buy my ice cream ). He couldn¢t believe I had hiked here from Georgia. He could see why I was so tired, but thought the ice cream would give me some energy! As I headed out, sprinkles began to fall, and soon, I had to stop to put on my pack cover and rain jacket, all the while holding my ice cream cone! I was amused. I headed all the way down the road (according to directions by a man who worked at the sub shop), found the street that Chet lived on, and walked all the way back down to the other end of that road! I took the extra long, scenic route! By the time I arrived, all of the bunk space in the garage was taken, but the guy on the futon was leaving soon and said I could have that.    I really wanted to sleep, but there were too many people around and Chet really wanted to chat. Most of the hikers were southbounders. I wondered where the English family was. I went down to the basement to shower, put my clothes in the washing machine, and headed out to find some dinner. Chet recommended a pizza place with a really good salad bar to a hiker named Peeps, and I decided to check it out as well. Along the way, I ran into Carpenter and Doublezip. Carpenter said he had stories and urged me to hurry back! Then I ran into the English family and we were happy to find out we were all staying at Chet¢s!       I found Peeps in the lobby of the pizza place. He said there was an hour wait, so we decided to look for another place. We found a wine bar and decided to stop there! It wasn¢t exactly a place for smelly hikers with its white tablecloths, and fancy presentation, but no one seemed to mind our presence. I got a garden salad, a bacon cheeseburger, and a glass of merlot and enjoyed a really nice dinner with Peeps, who was headed south. He is a great kid and I really enjoyed talking with him. I got a piece of chocolate cake and a decaf coffee for dessert. Then, I started wondering if everyone was already asleep back in the garage! Peeps still had his laundry to do! We headed back and discovered that Wizard never put my clothes in the dryer like he had promised.    I was the last one to bed, as I wanted to write a journal entry as well as a couple of e-mails. At three in the morning, I got up to go to the bathroom and put Peeps¢ clothes into the dryer so they would be done when he woke up in the morning.