Date: 2017-07-02
From: Eliza Brook Shelter

To: Franconia Notch - Notch Hostel 
Miles today: 8.8

2017 Miles = 115.9Total AT Miles Completed = 1816.7Percentage of AT Completed = 83.0%As I awoke this morning, the sky looked brighter for sure, though I could still hear the stream.  I¢m amused that the stream is called a brook.  After I packed up the first thing I had to do was cross Eliza Brook.  I stood st the edge and the thundering water was frightening.  The rocks were sticking up above the rushing water, so I judge it is not too deep.  With my socks and shoes on, I inch my way into the torrent, always facing upstream.  The water never is above my knees, so obviously the water level has receded since last evening.  My shoes squish dry as I head up the trail.  Today I climb Kinsman Mountain.  This is by far the most difficult climb on the entire AT so far. It take all of three hours to climb three miles to the peak.  When I reach the top, it is just barely above tree line but heavy fog and clouds prevent what I'm sure is a great view.  As i move across the ridge I come to the first of the AMC¢s (Appalachian Mountain Club) alpine huts, Lonesome Lake.  These huts are amazing.  They are like a motel/restaurant set high in the mountains.  Guests pay $140/night for the right to hike up, have a full fledged dinner and breakfast, then hike down.  They are kind to hikers. Any hiker that stops in midday can have leftover breakfast food, including pancakes, hot soup, various pastries.  There is no electricity here; all kitchen preparation is by gas. I stop in and enjoy a bowl of cream of potato soup, a couple peanut butter balls, and many glasses of lemonade.  As I eat one of the staff informs me that a foot bridge was washed out on the AT at Cascade Brook, and I should consider an alternate route.  She said to take the Dodge cutoff trail down to the Pemi trail. All this would take longer.  As I left the hut, there was a side trail, but it was not named ¢Dodge¢, so I stayed on the AT. After a while, I suspect that was the recommended alternative, but I'm not going back.  As I approach Cascade Brook, it is apparent it is even more vicious than Eliza Brook was.  I can see why alternates were suggested. I decided to try crossing.  I stepped in, facing upstream,  Trying the next step with my hiking pole first. It went too deep.  So I moved upstream about ten feet and tried again. This time the protruding boulders were close enough I could steady myself on them.  Gradually I moved across.  I don't think the crossings are as frightening as the thunderous sound makes them seem.  My goal today is the Notch Hostel, and my pickup point is at the Flume Visitors Center. The AT comes off the mountain onto a paved bike path, which leads to the Center.  It is Fourth of July weekend, and there are hundreds of tourists here. I sit on a sunny bench drying my socks as I await my ride to the Hostel.  I am scraggly looking, wet, and smelly.  I certainly don't fit in with the tourists.  Bookie arrives to pick me up. She is super friendly, graced with colorful tattoos, and is a past thru hiker herself.  At the Notch Hostel, I see familiar faces from the trail and we share stories for the evening.