Date: 2018-08-01
From: NH 25 / Hikers Welcome Hostel

To: Kinsman Notch/ Hikers Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

We awoke around 6:30am as other hikers began to stir. (That's a problem when we sleep in a bunkhouse.) This time however, it was an advantage. When we went to bed, the 7:30am shuttle to Kinsman Notch was full, so we had signed up for the 8:30am shuttle. But when we looked at the sign-up board this morning, several people had erased their name from the 7:30am shuttle. We grabbed the spots. Wahoo!We planned to slackpack Mt Moosilauke. (Slackpacking is where we only carry what we need for a dayhike..lunch, water, raingear etc., no tent, sleeping bags, stove, etc.) Today we hiked SOUTH on the AT instead of NORTH. The shuttle dropped us off at what would have been our next destination, Kinsman Notch. We hiked back to the hiker hostel. The section of the AT coming off Mt. Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch is very steep as in a 2200 ft drop in 1.9 miles. It utilizes several near-vertical rockfalls that have been augmented with rebar and wooden steps. Descending this vertical "staircase" is very hard on the knees...going up it, not so much. Furthermore, going down this vertical "staircase" is significantly more dangerous in the rain because all footholds become slippery..and is forecast for today! By slackpacking a southbound route, we would instead be ascending the vertical staircase... and without heavy packs.We arrived at Kinsman Notch and hit the trail at 8:10am under partly cloudy skies. After crossing a few streams, the climb began in earnest...and boy what a climb! Following the trail up the vertical rockfalls was a challenge, sometimes requiring a grab of a nearby tree or rock to pull youself up a high steep. Traversing the near-vertical granite slabs was by blocks of wood held into the rock by metal pins. All the while, a cascading series of waterfalls roared not more than 10ft away.We had about 3000 ft. to climb to reach the summit, which we did at 12:30pm..3.8 miles in about 4.5 hours! Hmmm...welcome to the "Whites"!Unfortunately, the partly cloudy day had turned into a cloudy day and we were in the clouds at the summit. Today's picture is from the summit with ET next to the sign...but that's it. No magnificent views of the rest of the White Mountain, only white fog/clouds. As we left the summit, the mist was so thick, we could barely see the trail. We followed the cairns, or ducks (5 ft. piles of rocks). The wind was blowing the fog across the mountain at 20-30 mph and the temperature had dropped to the low 50s. What a difference elevation makes...and me in a sweat-soaked shirt..Brrr! No wonder the guidebooks tell you to pack your cold weather gear before entering the Whte Mountains.The trail remained a gentle descent for about a mile before it headed steeply down the mountain...not as steeply as the trail on the otherside, but still steep and still down a rockfall. We had a 3800 ft. descent ahead of us. Fortunately, after 2.7 miles and a 2300 ft drop, the steepness eased a little and the trail became less rocks and more soil.The skies continued to darken and we had felt a few raindrops around 3pm. But at 4pm it decided to really rain..big fat drops. By this time we were hustling along a fairly flat part of the trail knowing the end was near. The last gauntlet was a stream crossing about 20 ft across, with no bridge and no big rocks to hop across on. So we worked our way across using the larger rocks that were submerged about an inch below the surface...thank goodness for waterproof boots. Not sure what crossings will be like tomorrow after the rain!Next was NH 25 and our quarter mile trudge in the rain back to the hostel. In the forest the trees catch a lot of the rain..not so next to the highway. We probably got wetter in the 5 minute road walk than in the previous 40 minutes of forest walk! We finally arrived back at the hostel at 4:45pm..a long but rewarding day.As we arrived, other hikers were phoning in their dinner orders to a local burger joint, so we jumped on that! We showered and caught the 2nd shuttle for a delicious meal. Back at the hostel we headed to our bunks for a good night's sleep, happy to have completed the first of the White's.Milestone: We passed the 50 mile mark today on this year's hike