Date: 2007-07-31
From: Franconia Notch - Lafayette State Park

To: Garfield Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: few clouds

The only problem with Lafayette State Park is it is only a couple hundred feet from the highway, so if you are a light sleeper this could be a concern. In my case, I think I could sleep in the median of a highway. I slept well last night after I completed my journal entry. I uploaded about 5 days of entries and pictures last night. A little after 6:00 this morning I got up and went over to the camp office in search of an outlet to plug my phone in to recharge the battery. I found an outlet by the ice machine and left my phone to charge. I checked my clothes hanging on the line and they were still wet. I then crawled back in my tent. It was probably about 60 degrees, so I climbed back in my sleeping bag to wait for the sun to come up over the mountains. I ate 2 packages of poptarts for breakfast and reviewed my maps and books for the days hike. I had to hike 2 miles back to the trail and then hike 10.2 miles over a few mountains to Garfield Ridge Campsite. It seemed easy enough.I had condensation on the inside of my tent and I wanted to dry it before packing it up. I moved all of my gear to the picnic table and then took my tent over to a sunny spot near the office. While I was packing up my other gear, the couple from the adjacent campsite came over and asked if I was hiking the AT. They were from Canada. I talked to them for a while about my adventure. They asked if I wanted some coffee or if they could help me with anything. I told them I had just received 5 days worth of food. I told them about trailjournals.com, so hopefully I have a couple more readers and now have an international audience.I finished packing and said good bye then went to the campstore to get my phone. I went inside to get an ice cream bar. I walked out with an ice cream bar, protein bar, cheese, and a powerade drink. I met Flax Seed. He is a nobo who started in April. I finally left there a little before 10:00. The first couple miles were fairly flat and I was making good progress, then it go steep and rocky. I stopped to take a break at Liberty Spring and met a couple more nobos. I lost track of time, but a little while later I reached the ridge and popped out above the tree line. You could see views in all directions and see the trail following the ridge up Little Haystack Mtn, then Mt Lincoln, and finally Mt Lafayette at 5249 feet. When some dark clouds passed by it looked like the trail was the path to climb up to the clouds for a ride. I have never hiked a ridge line above the tree line before, it was amazing. I didn't want to leave. The trail was above tree line for about 3 miles, but it seemed like more. At 5:00 I was the only one left on the ridge. Everyone else had headed down and it was time for me to get moving to the campsite. It was only 3.5 more miles so I figured I would be there about 7:00. The trail was more difficult than I expected and it was after 8:00 when I arrived. I found Walking Cowboy and a few other hikers at the campsite. I paid the $8 fee to the caretaker, Anna. She is just filling in until they get a full time caretaker. She told me the caretakers are normally at the campsites 11 or 12 days in a row and then get 3 days off. I guess it would be a great job for someone who likes to read a lot. I boiled some water and added in some instant potatoes for dinner. The temperature should be in the 40s tonight. I had planned to hike 14 miles tomorrow, but I think I will need to reduce that. The views are wonderful here and I love it, but it is a lot of work getting through these mountains.