Date: 2016-09-11
From: Lost River Rd NH 112 Kinsman Notch 

To: Franconia Notch / Liberty Springs Trailhead
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

NH 112 Lost River Rd/Kinsman Notch 1799.7 to Franconia Notch and Flume Visitor Center 1816.0 for 16.3 milesToday's highlights: Mt Wolf at 3478 feet and S Kinsman & N Kinsman Mountain. @ 4358 & 4293 feet.My hikers hit the trail at 6 am this morning. We woke to mist and damp chilling temp, lower 50's. They helped me pack u before they head out & I made it to Lincoln & N Woodstock around 8-830. Rain started, then thunder & lightening. Prayer requests for their safety sent out!! It was a heavy rain storm & sometimes buckets of water. Super duper windy also!!I went to Price Chopper, for a rotisserie chicken, in case cooking al fresco was out of the question due to frog strangling rain. I also got fruit, sausages, bread and eggs. I just put our bags up front with WishBone and stopped at a gas station to use the cover to then put our items in the cooler n such. I spent a while trying to find parking area closer than the Liberty Springs Trailhead. Maybe even the side of the road where they would skirt around the highway! Nope....not happening! Problem the interstate funnels you onto it right after the LS trailhead parking. Then you are trapped on the highway, center guardrail & no exits for few miles...as you drive farther away from the AT. So....text sent to Big, they will Have to walk the 1 mile blue blaze trail to the LS parking! Argh!! I then went to the Flume Gorge visitors center. Watched the movie about it & the area. This is where I'm meeting my Uncle Bob & Aunt Sharon. (Dads younger brother). They arrived about 1130 after about 84 mile drive from church and home. It was so good to see them. Of course I got the...."you look just like your mom!" Not the first time, not the last LOL. We parked our truck at my Big Cypress & Animal meeting spot. Then went to a popular eating spot....lots of cars is a tell tale sign! We chatted & visited for about 3 hours! It was wonderful. Big tried to arrive before they head home, but was about a hour too late. Early work day tomorrow & awful traffic warranted heading home. Big Cypress & Animal arrived at about 4pm. Long, rough, cold, sometimes scary day!! We did the usual, foot soaking, drying out gear & resting. I got dinner together. We had the sausages since the rain stopped and it was sunny, breezy & warm. The trail surprised Big today. Harder than he anticipated and came upon a rock wall that required hand over hand climbing of roots & smaller rocks on the "side" of the rock face. Animal took a spectacular fall....they both chuckled painting me the picture of it. "He just kept going, down & down" "I thought I wasn't going to ever stop rolling down the rocks." "Wish we had the GoPro on to have caught it on video." Nobody was severally injured in todays many falls, Thank You Jesus!! Packs loaded down with winter gear & such for 2 nights of sleeping out on the trail. This area has no road crossings, so we will be on our own for 3 nights, seeing each other for lunch or Linner (lunch/dinner) on Tuesday but sleeping separate. Critter Report: WishBone and I only saw little chipmunks, Big Cypress saw the mother of all critters.....yep, what we ALL have been waiting for....the Moose. Not only did he see one, he saw three of them together. They were startled by him and took off into the woods straight away!! Big said they sounded like a semi barreling through the woods! Loud as can be!!