Date: 2011-08-17
From: Hikers Welcome rest 3

To: Kinsman Notch
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: few clouds

Woke up fairly early ready to tackle Moosilauke. I packed up then had breakfast. I quickly settled up with the hostel owners then hit the trail. The first unknown was the stream that trail crossed just after it cross the road. With all of the rain, it was possible that the stream would have to be crossed without the boots because of the high water. Fortunately, that was the case. It was the usual hop across the rocks in the river to get across. My plan for fording rivers is to take my hike shoes and socks off then walk across in my crocs. Once across, I'll put the shoes and socks back on and continue hiking. The hike up the hill was full of rocks scrambles. This made the climb all the more harder because of the extra work they require. By must plugging along, I finally made it to the summit for the southern peak. The sign for the southern peak pointed to the side trail and had a smiley face on it. Who could pass up the hike down that side trail? The view there was certainly wonderful enough to earn a smiley face. Up to this point, o had been hiking in a Merino wool t-shirt and shorts. Up on the peak, the wind was strong enough and the air cold enough to warrant a jacket. I put on my rain jacket which happens to work well as a wind breaker also. After taking in the view for a while, I headed to the main peak. Most of what can be seen on the southern peak can be seen on the main peak so that's where I ultimately wanted to be. Once I got up there I could see mountains in all directions. To the northeast, the Whites in all their majesty were before us. At the peak there were many folks who were vacationing that hiked up from the lodge. This made up a majority of the people up there. I was so glad that I waited for good weather. It was tough to just sit there waiting knowing that I was going to end up finishing later. Many decisions are like that. At the time they are made, one wonders if it was the right thing to do. Then, it becomes clear that that was the right decision. Such was the case today. I ate a snack while I took in the view. Some of the day hikers offered their snacks to us thru-hikers. I guess our dietary needs are well known. Of course, the other possibly is simply the fact we look malnourished. Either way, it works. We get free food. I started getting cold so it was time to start heading down the mountain. The first part of the descent was fairly easy. When I got to the shelter on the northside of the mountain, I stopped to eat lunch. I knew that it would take a while to get down the rest of the mountain so eating lunch ahead of time seemed like a good idea. The entire trail down to the road paralleled a stream. At times, there were short waterfalls. About halfway down the trail from the shelter, my left foot slipped out from under me and I managed to come crashing down on my left forearm. The pain was initially very intense but fortunately subsided. I could not grip my hiking poles for about five minutes or so. That scared me because inability to grip something would suggest a broken bone. After a while, I was able to hold a pole and even hold myself up with it. I knew that it didn't need medical attention. I got going again but very slowly. Even though I could hold myself up,I didn't have full strength so I couldn't depend on that arm to support me as well as I came down the trail. Each rock scramble was climbed down with carefully placed feet and poles so as not to take another fall. I finally got to the parking area where the rest of the crew was. We hitched to a hostel operated by a wonderful guy by the name of Chet. I grabbed a bunk, took a shower and headed to the ice cream shop for a mid afternoon snack. When I got back, "Miss Janet" was there with "Mark Trail", "Scribbles" and "Old Crow". They were on their way to dinner and asked if I wanted to go. "Moses", who was still coming down from the trail head when we arrived at the restaurant, joined us. We had a great meal and time of fellowship. After dinner, "Miss Janet" drive me back to the hostel. I got all my stuff setup to sleep and went to bed. I was in a lot of pain at that point during the evening. I guess the day's stress finally took its toll on my arm. I took some ibuprofen and just laid there hoping out would kick in soon.