Date: 2004-08-03
From: NH 112 at Kinsman Notch, NH

To: Day 109: Kinsman Pond Campsite, NH
Miles today: 11.5

On AT Day 109, since I only had 11.5-miles to hike, I slept in to 5:15 a.m. and hit the trail at 7:15 a.m. ¢ a mistake that I am not likely to repeat as it took me 11-hours to cover the prescribed distance. The problem was not the weather as the day started out in the low 60¢s under partly cloudy skies, although it did deteriorate into a light rain in the early afternoon, followed by overcast and then steady rain as I set up my camp.As one might expect when starting your hike from something called a ¢notch¢ (a.k.a. a ¢gap¢ on most of the rest of the AT), a climb to gain altitude is sure to follow and in this case it was a steep 700-foot ascent of the Kinsman Ridge (AT) Trail to the junction with the Dilly Trail. This ¢morning wake-up call¢ ascent was followed by an equally steep descent to a col, followed by a series of humps as it traverses the ridge and eventually a moderately challenging ascent of the 3,360-foot western summit Mount Wolf. I ate my morning snack a mile from the summit on the south ridge.The two-mile, 1,200 foot descent from the summit to the junction with the Reel Brook Trail and another level mile to the Eliza Brook Shelter was time consuming, but not too difficult. I stopped for lunch at the shelter and then forded the Eliza Brook and began the much more challenging 2.5-mile, 2,000-foot ascent of South Kinsman Mountain. This climb began with the trail paralleling Eliza Brook where it offered numerous up-close views of dramatic cascades and waterfalls. After crossing the brook on rocks near its headwaters, the trail leveled off briefly as it skirted the Harrington Pond and then it began the much more serious climb to the 4,358-foot summit. This climb includes numerous sections with steep and sometimes slippery rock and root grabbing scrambles and lots of challenging (for a little guy like me) giant ¢Paul Bunyon¢ boulder steps, so I was glad to reach the pinnacle where I stopped for pictures and my afternoon snack as I enjoyed breathtaking 360-degree views from this very exposed vantage point.After this rest, I negotiated the one-mile ¢dip¢ between the South and North peaks followed by a half-mile descent to the Kinsman Pond Campsite. Frankly, given that I was quite tired after my 11-hour, 11.5 mile hike for the day, I was grateful to pay the on-site Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) caretaker the $8 to have access to one of the tent platforms ¢ especially since it had just started to rain¢¦ Not that I was worried about being flooded out, but the platform I chose (the first one I came to) was elevated five-feet into the air on one end by a stack of rocks. Clearly I would have to remember this if I chose to exit the tent during the night.I managed to get the tent up and filter my water from the near-by Kinsman Pond without getting drenched, but as the rain increased in intensity I did bring a lot of water into the tent from my dripping clothes. The latter was clearly exacerbated by the fact that I had to run out during rain shower lulls to try and cook my dinner. Luckily I had learned my lesson from the Shaker Campsite fiasco back in MA and had brought along a small towel that I used to mop up the mess in the tent. Once I had boiled enough water and I had retreated to the safety of my relatively dry tent I was able to enjoy a pleasant evening.The ¢festivities¢ began with a hearty dinner of my favorite Knorr minestrone soup - Raman noodle concoction, followed by over a pint of GNC chocolate whey/milk protein drink and a protein-enriched vanilla yogurt Power Bar. While still eating I began to read my Ken Follett novel and listen to music on my MP3 player. My reverie, however, was tempered by rather intimidating thunder and lighting show going on just outside my thin sil-nylon tent¢¦ I tell you, I was grateful that this AMC campsite was below the tree line so that the metal rods in my tent were not the only local target for the lightening. In addition to Laura and Pablo, with whom I played ¢leap-frog¢ during most of day¢s ascents, descents and snack breaks, the campsite and shelter was populated by a number of other hikers, but given the inclement weather, I chose to stay ensconced in my tent for the entire evening.