Date: 2003-09-06
From: Glencliff, NH - Franconia Notch, NH

To: Glencliff, NH - Franconia Notch, NH
Miles today: 25.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Glencliff, NH - Franconia Notch25.8 miles (1799.9 total miles)It was a hectic morning on day 156. I ran across the street from the hostel to the post office as soon as it opened at 7:00 am. I got my package with my winter gear, and ran back across the street to get my stuff I was sending home. I ran back to the post office to package it all up, when a local told me about the tropical depression sending rain our way. He reminded me of the tricky descent we'd have coming, which would be tough in the rain. I was anxious to hike on, but thought it might be wise to wait it out.The hostel was full. We met Lion King there, who was running shuttles for a few days. We drove around with him, doing a few chores of our own. We went back to the hostel, and I took a nap. The rain never came until about 6:00 in the evening, so it was a beautiful hiking day wasted. But the overnight thunderstorms were violent, and I was glad to be sleeping in a building.We tried to get out early on day 157, but it was chaos in the hostel. We finally left, with Lion King agreeing to leave our packs at Kinsman Notch. We hit the trailhead and immediately came to a stream to ford. I took off my shoes, and started wading in. It was freezing! After the heavy rain, the little stream was running quite fast. I carefully stepped across, going about knee-deep. I got to the other side as quickly as I could. My feet were numb. I put my shoes on and started heading up.It was about a 4 mile ascent up Mt. Moosilauke. It started pretty easy, but got steeper. It was long and took a while, but easier without our packs. After a couple hours, the trees thinned out. We made a left, and the trail made a final gradual ascent to the top. The clouds rolled by us. We couldn't see a view, but could tell we were on an intense mountain. The wind and clouds formed condensation on the left side of my body. It was a fun experience.We finally started down, and stopped for lunch just below treeline. The descent was steep! The rocks were still wet and slippery. The trail mostly followed a waterfall down, sometimes only inches away from the rushing water. It was a long, tiring couple miles down. I never knew downhill could be so hard. We finally got to the road, got a hitch to town, and spent the night under a roof.Day 158 was humbling. It was a tough day without any reward. We got a late start at about 10:00. We climbed steeply back up, but with a full pack. It took some getting used to. We averaged slightly over a mile an hour. We ascended and descended several times without any view or even sign that we hit a peak. We got to the Eliza Brook Shelter at 4:15. Our goal was the next shelter 4 miles away. It was drizzling, and at our rate would get us in after dark. We reluctantly stopped for the night.Our plan was to leave early on day 159. We crossed the brook and climbed. It got steeper and steeper. We reached high altitudes very quickly. The trail followed some rock scrambles that tested my arms and legs. We got to South Kinsman peak, but were mostly clouded over. We descended, then went back up to North Kinsman. We sat on the rock formation and watched the clouds blow away to unveil a beautiful view. We could see Franconia Ridge with purple mountans on every side. It was amazing.We hiked .6 down to a shelter for lunch. There was a 4-way intersection at the shelter, and we followed the trail we had been following for miles. It climbed up and down some small peaks. Finally after about a half hour, I started breaking cobwebs. I didn't understand, as I knew other AT hikers were ahead of me. I saw a faded blaze ahead. As I inspected, I realized it was actually faded blue. We were on the wrong trail! We backtracked for a half hour, wondering how we could have gone wrong. We kept seeing faded blue blazes that easly could have been mistaken for white. We got back to the shelter, and saw that the AT branched off, and the sign was so faded we didn't see it.We grudgingly hiked a steep 2 miles down to the AMC hut. From there it was a very easy 3 miles down to Franconia Notch. We were glad to be making good time. We also watched the signage carefully. We got to the road, and walked to a good place to hitch. As we were walking, I half-heartedly stuck my thumb out, and the first truck stopped. The driver was excited to meet thru-hikers, and it wasn't until he dropped us off that we realized he dropped us off in the wrong town! We stopped in town for dinner, then walked a mile to our town and our motel. It was a crazy day, and I couldn't wait to go to sleep.The Whites are challenging, but tough. It is frustrating how crowded it is. It bothers me when locals use a shelter to host a keg party, or when Dartmouth kids use a shelter at 3am to haze their freshmen. The AMC charges $8 to stay in the shelter, or $68 to stay at the huts. The towns are expensive, and the trails are crowded. The views are great, but the solitude is missing.The Whites are draining, but they sure are beautiful. I am looking forward to the long stretches above treeline, and Mount Washington. The weather should be good. As tired as I am, the amazing views and fun rock climbs make it worth it.