Date: 2014-07-12
From: North Woodstock

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 122-July 12, Mile 1795.9 (N. Woodstock, NH) to Franconia Notch (1812.2), 16.3 miles. Tired, we are both really tired right now so I hope this journal entry makes sense. We hiked 16.3 rugged miles in the Whites and it was too much. Thankfully tomorrow is less miles. Our day started early as we were outside of Peg's Diner as she opened the door at 5:30 AM. After a hearty breakfast we set ourselves up on the corner to hitch a ride back to the trail. There is not much traffic at 6:15 AM on a Saturday but a guy (Rob) pulled over and he planned on turning off the road a few miles short of the trail head. We offered to pay him to take us all the way when he realized it was no big deal to take us to our destination. When he opened up his van it was full of food and he said he was on his way to deliver breakfast and lunch to a troop of Boy Scouts who were completing their 50 mile hike with a trip up Mt. Moosilauke. These are the Boy Scouts we've seen for the last 3 days and have spoken to numerous times! So Rob took us to the trail head and we told him to send our greetings to the troop! The hike started with a steep climb, ultimately to the top of Mt. Wolf. It was during this stretch that we passed the 1800 mile mark! A SOBO came by as we were scratching the number into the path and was a bit dismayed to see that he had 1800 miles to go! He did like the idea of celebrating 100- mile chunks of the trail. The toughest climb of the day was to the summit of South Kinsman Mountain. The last mile went straight up the mountain on a river of boulders. Some times I had to let go of my hiking sticks and use my hands to pull myself up and over some of the larger rocks. It was hard work! We did enjoy the views from the summits of South and North Kinsman Mountains before starting down. Going down was not hard from an aerobic standpoint but it kills my knees and in the very steep places, it is very scary to me. I don't want to fall so I go very slowly, grabbing onto trees and roots that line the trail to help me get myself down some of the steeper rock slopes. I guess I better get used to this kind of rock scrambling because that is what the Whites are all about. There were a couple of highlights today and one was meeting someone we knew on the trail! As we were hiking between the peaks a woman hiking towards us said, "Flossie?" and we immediately recognized her as Nancy, the volunteer caretaker at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin, a place we stayed a couple of weeks ago! It was nice to see her again! Another highlight was visiting the Lonesome Lake Hut, right on the AT. The Appalachian Mountain Club has a series of huts where guests can spend the night and dinner and breakfast are served. This hut sits just above the lake for which it is named and lots of people were swimming and enjoying the view of the tall surrounding mountains. The huts sell snacks and frequently have free food that they give to hungry hikers. We each enjoyed 2 leftover pancakes from breakfast! After this hut visit I am very excited about our stay at the Galehead Hut tomorrow night. Once we had our 16+ AT miles completed we still had a mile to walk to a nearby visitor's center and trailhead parking lot, where we could hitch a ride back to N. Woodstock. As we were walking on this path we caught up with a guy who was by himself and looked like a day hiker. We got to talking with him and I asked him if he could take us back to town and he quickly agreed! Yippee! I was so tired that the thought of standing along side of the road waiting for a ride did not make me happy but Greg solved our problem. He brought us right to our motel. He was even willing to pick up Grasshopper, another thru-hiker, when we saw him hitching! Thanks Greg! So we've now had dinner, did some food shopping for the next 4 days and will turn in early. There are more mountains to climb! Our good weather is leaving us tomorrow and we are hoping to have most of our miles in before the rain comes. All is well.