Date: 2006-08-28
From: Kinsman Notch, NH112

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

Today I crossed the 1800 mile mark with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.Since today was predicted to be cloudy, Vicky, Rich, and I decided to do the slackpack, during which they would meet me for the final 4.8 miles of the hike. Carol and I had breakfast early at the diner, then drove to Kinsman Notch where Saturday's slackpack ended.I was on the trail at 8am, and noticed fresh footprints from someone who was ahead. The hike started with a steep 1600' climb out of the notch up Mt. Wolf. Then there was a 1000' descent to Eliza Brook Shelter. About a mile before the shelter, I caught up with the FDOM-1 and hiked with them, reaching the shelter at noon for lunch. They had started just 10 minutes before me, and were the source of the footprints I saw.The climb up required use of hands in several places and was very slow going. I made 7.5 miles in four hours, and knew I'd probably not make it to meet with Vicky, Rich, and Anthony at Kinsman Pond at the designated time. However, there was no cell signal, so I couldn't let them know at lunch. I decided to take off ahead of FDOM-1 to try to keep my tardiness to a minimum.I continued the 2000' climb up South Kinsman alone at a good pace, but still was behind schedule. From the peak there were no views, but there was cell service. I called Vicky's cell and left a message, then called Carol's cell, thinking they might check in with her. I'd forgotten I'd asked Carol to give her cell phone to Vicky. As I was leaving a message for Carol, Vicky called letting me know that they too were running behind, and that they'd wait at the shelter for me. I covered the 4 miles as quickly as I could but it was again slow going. Finally I got to the shelter about 4pm and Vicky, Rich and Anthony were there, having arrived about 15 minutes earlier after their difficult hike up Kinsman Pond Trail. They had forgotten their lunch and had only gorp to eat. I gave them my 2nd peanut butter/bagel sandwich and a muffin to eat from my food bag, and had a snack myself while I played with my grandson. As soon as they had eaten, we loaded 9-month old Anthony into the child backpack, and about 4:15pm, headed the 4.8 miles down the AT to Franconia Notch, where they were parked.The descent was steep and difficult, but Vicky and Rich assured me it was better than returning the way they had come up. Toward the top we stopped for photos at Lonesome Lake. For about two miles, we went very slowly, with me in the lead pointing out hazards. There were several places where Vicky had to slide down on her butt for safety's sake. Vicky did a great job of hiking down the steep mountain with Anthony on her back, and didn't stumble even once.I started to worry we'd run out of daylight when Anthony started fussing. He needed a diaper change, which we did. A few minutes later he started fussing again as it was time for him to eat, but we couldn't stop to feed him or we'd certainly be walking in the dark. He was very unhappy and let us know it, but we couldn't stop to feed him, as it was getting on towards dark.As the trail leveled out toward the bottom, we opted to take the AT rather than the parallel trail they'd taken up, even though it was .2 miles longer to the highway. That was probably a good choice, since there was only one stream crossing, and the trail treadway was in better condition, allowing us to quicken our pace as the light started fading. By the time we neared the highway, I was no longer able to discern colors. Rich checked the GPS and learned that the location of the car was about a half mile up the road. We followed along the road, and it was full dark by the time we reached the parking lot at 8pm. Anthony had long since worn himself out crying for his supper. As Vicky fed him a bottle, I called the hotel to let Carol know we were all OK, and ask her to order pizza and steak bombs from the deli for dinner at the hotel. We were all thankful to be down in one piece.