Date: 2012-07-01
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Chet's Place
Miles today: 8.8

In the morning, John and Heidi were cooking up pancakes (complete with real maple syrup) and sausage. Once again, I was eating well as they kindly shared their tasty breakfast with me. After breakfast I got everything packed up and got back on the trail, probably 15-20 minutes behind John and Heidi. It was a beautiful, blue sky type of day and it should have been ideal for hiking but I was dragging, a moderate upgrade along a creek slowed me down enough to take a break after only going a mile or so. I reasoned that lightening the load in my pack would be a big help and I devoured cookies, peanut butter, and a few Clif bars for good measure. This helped a bit, and I put the pack on and continued on, feeling slightly more energized than I was earlier. When the upgrade ended, the trail came out of the woods into a flat, marshy area and I caught up to John and Heidi taking a break here. John mentioned that this is where the trail gets tough, and motioned towards a scenic but foreboding mountain ahead of us, South Kinsman. South Kinsman was about 2,000' higher than Eliza Brook and it looked like most of that elevation gain was still in front of me. Going up, the trail was no joke. It was basically a series of steep boulder scrambles followed by short level sections which led right back to more rock scrambles. After close to an hour of this, I kept thinking this MUST be the last scramble, but there would be another one waiting for me, just around the bend. In reality, it wasn't all that bad - it probably took me just a little over an hour to reach the top from the clearing, but it felt much longer due to my abnormally low energy level. The view from the top was rewarding, I sat down on a rock, took off my shoes and socks, and set the pack down while I rested. In the distance I could see ponds, ski slopes, and the highway off in the haze. Not as impressive as the view from Moosilaukee, but impressive nonetheless. Feeling slightly more energized, I gathered up my gear and headed for North Kinsman just under a mile away. This section was mostly a ridgewalk and it didn't take long to reach North Kinsman where I realized I was close to the halfway point of my section hike. This seemed like a good excuse for yet another break and I took out the camera for a few photos from N. Kinsman. I heard an unusual "whooshing" sound and it was a glider passing by in the clouds overhead. A few minutes later, another glider appeared, this one still connected to a plane. I tried to get a shot when the plane and glider separated, but the Touristcam was too slow for the job. On my way down North Kinsman, there were lots of other hikers out, including a large group of teenagers. I was talking with one of the group's guides and some of these kids had already hiked nearly all of New Hampshire's 48 peaks above 4,000'. Impressive stuff, they were practically flying down the mountain while I cautiously picked my route among the rocks. As the afternoon wore on, I made it to Lonesome Lake Hut, the southernmost of the AMC huts along the AT. Lonesome Lake is incredibly scenic, a large lake completely surrounded by steep mountain peaks. The hut is accessible only by foot, the nearest road is about three miles away. Rumor had it that the hut was giving away leftover pancakes from breakfast and sure enough there was a huge stack that needed a good home. I had about six, continuing my weekend of unbelievably good food. North of Lonesome Lake the trail was much easier, and the next mile or so passed quickly. Progress slowed when I noticed a lack of white blazes and I stopped to consult my AWOL guide. A thru-hiker, Plus Two came by and we attempted to figure out which way to go. I guess we picked the right route as we worked our way downhill and eventually came to I-93. Plus Two headed up to the interstate to hitch a ride and I wished him good luck. I was now at the base of Franconia Ridge and I didn't have the energy to start hiking up another huge mountain. Earlier in NH I'd heard about a hostel in Lincoln called Chet's place and figured that might be a good place to spend the night. A side trail led me to the Flume Gorge Visitors Center where I called for a shuttle into town. Naturally, while I was waiting for the shuttle I was offered a ride. I figured the shuttle was probably already en route so I politely declined the free ride. Before long, the van showed up and it was off to Chet's. The hostel is a ranch house, the hiker area is a garage, attached back room, and porch. As I was getting out of the van, I heard someone yell "Bear Twinkie!!!" from the garage. Janet was staying here too, along with Cliff and a group of SOBOs. I wasn't planning to end up here at the start of the day, but I was happy to be here, especially when it started to pour down rain. The rain passed quickly, and for a short while a double rainbow could be seen in the dark skies above Lincoln. Pretty cool way to end the day.