Date: 2008-08-29
To: Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Kinsman Notch to Glencliff9.5 milesMt Moosilauke is the last above treeline mountain we'll climb for quite a while. I'd have to check my data book to be sure, but I think the next is in Virginia some thousand or so miles away. It's also the last mountain in the Whites, and one of the most impressive views: the cherry on the top, if you will. The past several days have been warm and sunny so we hoped for some good weather today too. It was partly cloudy when we began our ascent, better than we could have hoped for, because 2000ft climbs in full hot sunshine can be rather sweaty. The signs at the bottom of the trail proclaim dire warnings of how difficult the trail is, and advise the inexperienced to take another trail. After what we went through in Maine and the first range of the Whites we believed we have what it takes. Of course, we also have spent several days at the hostel with other hikers that have hiked this mountain and survived it!   The trail began by crossing several branches of a small river, we didn't even get our feet wet: that may be a first for the hike. Then we started the ascent up the mountain alongside a series of beautiful crystal clear waterfalls cascading over moss covered rocks. We stopped frequently to enjoy the views, but were not tempted into the pools or flumes, partially because it wasn't quite warm enough, but primarily because we met some hikers last week that had succumbed to temptation, and one who ended up with a hip injury that could easily end a hike.We laughed as we ascended higher, the trail is indeed steep and over slickrock, and likely treacherous when wet. However, it's also immaculately maintained with drilled rock steps, solid wooden steps bolted into every piece of slickrock that was even slightly angled, and even iron rebar handrails in places.   This was the easiest ascent we've made the entire hike! After the first mile the elevation leveled out to a nicely inclined and again well maintained and headed trail with new water bars and channels, and some beautiful views down across the valley below. The sun came out fully as the clouds cleared, and the final ascent onto the bald mountaintop was spectacular. I sat up at the top for about an hour eating lunch in a sheltered spot in the rocks (it's always windy and cool on these 4000+ ft summits apparently, no matter what the weather), enjoying the 360 degree view. The most surprising thing to me was the visible signs of the advancement of the season. I could clearly see patches of trees that had already begun to change color. I guess I just missed out on summer this year except the two weeks I spent in Tampa before I set out for the hike, and the week of shakedown hike in North Carolina. It was too short, but on the positive side I'll be hiking through Vermont in prime leaf peeping season, so maybe that will make up for it.The remainder of the hike was a mile along the ridge on an old carriage road that used to deliver tourists to a resort at the top until burned down in the 1940s. The road is just a wide nicely headed dirt trail with an occasional pile of rocks now. Then the trail descended for a couple of miles; nothing too steep, but knee pounding nonetheless.Finally I reached the valley floor and the forest stopped abruptly at a meadow. This doesn't seem like it would be worthy of mention, but when you see your first field in 400 miles it feels strange! As we exited the field we encountered another first, for today at least, a big muddy patch. I actually managed to be slightly disconcerted at myself when I accidentally flicked a little spot of mud up onto my leg with my hiking pole. How spoiled is that?The final treat of the day was discovered over a small wooden bridge by the side of the trail with a sign announcing "Main St Cemetery". There is no town here, Glencliff is still a mile or so away, and no sign of a Main St, but the small overgrown cemetery of a long gone town contained gravestones dating back to 1813-35 (that I could read, some may have been older) and a family plot for the Jeffers family. The brook running by here is Jeffers Brook, so assumably they were big landowners in the town that once stood here. It's always sad to look at old graves and read of many family members dying in a short period of time, but this particular cemetery touched me even more, as it appears that the entire town disappeared in the mid 1830s and left no one to care for these graves. Judging by the current state of overgrowth there may be nothing left standing here within a couple of decades, and the young trees now growing among the haphazard headstones will mature and reclaim this area into the surrounding forest.