Date: 2004-07-18
From: Beaver Brook Shelter

To: Lonesome Lake Hut
Miles today: 15.0

Started at: Beaver Brook ShelterEnded at: Lonesome Lake HutMiles: 15Today was a tough day. Just when we were patting ourselvs on the back for making it over Moosilake relatively unscathed, the Whites smacked us around and said, "Oh you think you got these mountains licked? I don't think so." And then it Z-snapped. It took us 6 hours to go 9 miles over relatively low elevations. Six hours. This is absolutely unheard of. Should've taken no more than 4 hours tops. For roughly the last 1000 miles we've been hiking a 2 to 2.5 mile per hour pace, regardless of terrain. Uphill, downhill or flat, it makes no matter; we always make good time. After hiking so long, you can feel in your bones when you've walked one mile, two miles, five miles. You almost don't need to look at a map or a sign. At least, that's how it was until the Whites. All that is out the window now I guess. We spent the whole day feeling disoriented. Hours would pass and we'd confidently estimate the progress we'd made. Then we'd get to a sign and stare in disbelief and horror. "This says we've only gone 3 miles! How can that be?" It seemed we were the victims of some cruel joke. And that was before we got to the hard part of today: summitting Kinsman. We've never seen anything like it. Truly, it was more like rock climbing ar mountaineering. It certainly wasn't hiking. Hiking implies moving forward, not straight up. We would come to places where we literally had to stand there for a moment and think, "Now, how am I going to get up this? Hmmm, maybe if I put a toe here I can pull myself up by one arm..." And then just as we were nearing the top of the ridge, Kaboom! Thunder, pouring rain, and yes, lightening. Guess where you absolutely do not want to be in the middle of a thunderstorm. Right where we were. Holding two long metal poles in your hands on top of a 4,000 foot mountain. Perfect. Gradually we came to realize that with the terrain as difficult as it is - constant steep rocky ups and downs, no length of flat ground that allows you to stretch those legs and really move - all we can do is push forward at a glacial pace. We will just have to get up early, do what we can, take it as it comes, and get there when we get there.Tonight we made it to our first hut in the Whites, and it was awesome. In the White Mountains instead of three-walled shelters you can stay in for free, they have bunkhouses where they charge $75/night per person for a bed, dinner and breakfast. Obviously this is too rich for thruhiker blood, so the name of the game is "work for stay." We heard that most huts will put up at least a couple thruhikers in exchange for a couple hours' work. Tonight we got there late thanks to the rough terrain. We found no work for stay but for $10 each we got a bunk and all the food we could eat. Lonesome Lake is a neat place filled with nice families. Parents who want to share a beautiful place with their kids. Children of all ages everywhere, well behaved and polite, playing games quietly and asking thoughtful questions about the wildlife and geology of the area. I'd love to bring our kids here one day. Camera 1 & Camera 2Heather & Arwenvaughan@pocketmail.comhttp://www.hobbithole.net