Date: 2020-09-15
From: Franconia Notch

To: Stealth site on Mt. Guyot mile 1836.1
Miles today: 16.2

I slept like a baby for about ten hours, recovering from the Kinsman Ridge (and a flight of microbrews). Trash left for another slackpack and Marlene dropped me off in Franconia Notch. Normally you have to walk a mile up a bike path to reach the trailhead from the nearest parking lot but Marlene took me up I-93 and pulled off where I could bushwhack a hundred yards to the trail. She urged me to hustle as the state troopers apparently don't like this tactic.The climb up Liberty Springs Trail is as aerobic as Moosilauke and not very technical. Very few hikers started as late (9 am) as I did, but I ran into several dozen once up on the ridge. Many were backpacking the Pemi Loop, which is a 30-ish mile circumambulation of the magnificent Pemigewasset Wilderness. It's typically done as a 3-4 day hike. Of course most of the hikers were out for the day, enjoying the perfect fall weather, and these all disappeared once I passed Mount Lafayette.I've hiked Franconia Ridge twice before but it always takes my breath away. Today was absolutely gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky, ideal temperature for hiking and, amazingly, no wind. Lafayette is notoriously gusty, but it was eerily calm on top. I could see the Kinsmans and Cannon Mountain on one side, including the bare cliffs that once hosted New Hampshire's iconic profile of the Old Man. On the other side the Presidential Range was crystal clear, with Washington rising like a volcanic wasteland .The alpine zone here was treeless, but not devoid of life. Amongst the low-growing plants and lichen I watched a chipmunk poke around, perhaps looking for hiker food scraps.I hadn't committed to a hiking plan when I started out today, but after making decent time I decided to push for a 16-17 mile day. That would get me past the most challenging climbs in this section, and position me to cross both Franconia and the Presidentials in three days so I could reach Gorham, where I hope to stay for both a zero and a day of slackpacking. Town is attractive partly because the nights are getting much colder more quickly than I expected. The last few nights at elevation have been 40 or below. It's a bit unseasonal. Temps probably won't drop below the 30s even in Maine in early October based on the last few years. During the day the high at elevation seems to be below 50. Without wind and in the sun that's pleasant hiking. But when the wind is blowing like yesterday it's quite cold.The trail became much rougher after Lafayette. The seven miles down and over Garfield and South Twin were full of boulders, hand-over-hand scrambling, sharp ups and down, and were generally pretty exhausting. A lot like Kinsman ridge, in fact. South Twin was an 1100 foot climb that is the steepest yet, possibly one of the steepest on the trail, with vertical gain up to 2100 feet per mile. I reached the summit of South Twin around 5 to find a hiker eating dinner. His rock commanded s striking view of Mount Washington. He was doing the Pemi Loop and had thruhiked the AT in 2007. I was cooling down quickly in the wind and had to get moving again.Following South Twin the trail became relatively easy, though still studded with rocks, several miles to Mount Guyot. On the down slope I found a stealth spot. The tent barely fit between several rocks and still had roots under it, but it was the best available. I had almost an hour until sunset, unusually early for me to stop, but it was already getting cold and I wanted to be set up and in my sleeping bag by dark. I boiled water for tea, using my stove for the first time, and ate hummus I'd not gotten around to eating in town. It packs quite a lot of calories, and I love it, but it's not at all weight-efficient.Several hikers went by after I turned in. Not for me. I might be fine with a little night-hiking now, but not when the trail is a river of boulders, and not when the temperature is plunging into the 30s. I'm toasty warm under my quilt. Though these knit gloves leave a lot to be desired.