Date: 2023-08-17
From: AT Welcome Hostel

To: Valley Way Tentsite
Miles today: 71.9

Google Photos Photo AlbumDay 64Welcome Hostel to Old Colony Ski Lodge, Woodstock, NHAT miles 9.7Miles hiked 10.5I woke up early and went down to the hiker lounge to eat breakfast. The weather forecast says it will be a mostly cloudy day. Looking outside, I'd say the cloudy part was accurate. While eating I heard the rain start and remembering my tent was still hanging out to dry ran to rescue my tent. Too late. I moved it from the balcony to the front porch hoping it would dry some before I packed it up. Back to breakfast then to finish packing. Looking forward to my first day in the White Mountains.    Some hikers left early to do a southbound slack pack to avoid coming down the rumored difficult waterfall trail northbound hikers need to follow. The rest of us opted to carry our full packs and hike northbound.  Finally the rain relented and we headed down the road to the trailhead to pick up where we left off yesterday. Right away there was a river crossing. Looking around I found a downed tree so I didn't have to wade. Once on the other side, the trail was the usual collection of mud puddles, roots, more mud puddles. and rocks. Otherwise, the trail wasn't too bad. After a couple of miles there was a road walk to the carriage road which leads to the summit of Moosilauke. As I entered the gate to the Carriage Trail Roadrunner was running down the trail southbound. He had opted to slack pack and basically ran the trail.The name of the trail to the summit comes from the fact that there once was a lodge at the top of the mountain and this was the way up. Any hope that carriage road equated to an easy trail was quickly dashed as the vestiges of time had turned the road into another steep obstacle course or ruts, rocks, and roots. At least water wouldn¢t be a problem.Not too long into the two plus mile grind uphill the rain started. As I climbed nearer the top the wind picked up noticeably and the temperature started to drop. I was hiking in a rain soaked T-shirt to avoid overheating and was fairly comfortable. As southbounders passed me they said I was going to need a jacket pretty soon. As the trees grew shorter there was less protection from the wind and rain and I had to stop and put on my rain jacket. As soon as I got above treeline the wind was brutal and visibility was less than 10 feet. Once I made it to the summit I made a brief video so others could see what I was experiencing. What can't be seen in the video is the snow that was blowing. I felt like Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel standing out in a hurricane telling the sane people to stay inside.Time to start the descent. Above treeline the wind was pushing me causing me to walk like I¢d have several too many to drink, making it difficult to stay on the trail. Once I started getting into the scrubby trees the trail became a muddy, water filled canal with vegetation so tight to the path that I was forced to walk through the mud and ponding. Ugh. At least the wind was less of an issue.The original plan for the day was to stay at the Beaver Brook shelter about half way down the north side of Moosilauke. I stopped there for lunch and the woods were very dim and dreary with fog and mist. The shelter area didn¢t seem very inviting nor tent friendly. I was relieved when Silver Back wasn¢t there so I figured he must have continued on. I fixed some Ramen and filtered water then texted SB to see where he was. He was already at the bottom and warned me that the coming descent was treacherous. When I first started down I was wondering what trail he was talking about since this was mostly just a rocky, rutted mess. Then the trail became steeper and ran alongside a roaring waterfall. Suddenly, I was on a long, steep stretch of slick granite. I can say with certainty that this became the scariest stretch of trail I'd encountered so far. I'd slipped enough in my shoes that I wasn't very confident in their grip.The descent was very slow and scary. On some of the steepest sections there were wood blocks fastened to the trail. These were also slippery but I looked at them like little brake pedals. One section had a missing wood block which upped the heart rate and blood pressure a bit. I had to stow my trekking poles and grab onto roots, trees, and rocks to climb down including a few butt slides. By the time I reached the bottom of the mountain I was soaked through all my clothes and shivering. It took almost 90 minutes to go about 1 mile.Silver Back text me to contact the Old Colony Ski Lodge and they would come get me. Ski lodge? Whatever as long as it was warm and dry. He was already there. I called for their shuttle and and they said they would be there in 10 minutes. I stood inside the privy at the trailhead shivering while I waited for my ride.The shuttle driver, Jeff, thankfully arrived pretty quickly. He threw my pack in the car, told me to hop in, and we were on our way. I apologized for being so wet in his car but he shrugged it off saying I wasn't the first wet hiker he'd picked up and certainly wouldn't be the last.As we came into town he began pointing out all the eating places and other shops. It was obvious he was proud of his town. Once we got to the lodge I registered to become a member of the Old Colony Ski Club then Jeff gave me the grand tour along with the house rules. There weren¢t many rules but a lot of amenities. They offered bunks, shower, a workshop to repair equipment, a shed to dry gear, boot/shoe dryers, two lounges, a commercial kitchen, freezer, and fridge. Next door was a 24 hour laundry. After the tour it was shower and dinner time.I went down the street to the bar Jeff recommended for a good burger. It was close to closing time so I was worried the grill would be closed. The waitress said I had time to order so I ordered a burger, fries and a drink and sat at a table. A few minutes later the waitress brought my food in a to-go box. What? I was anticipating several refills of my soft drink and a relaxing dinner. Oh well, back to the lodge with my dinner. As I was sitting down to eat, none other than Jose showed up and we sat and talked while I finished my dinner. The next day was supposed to be the Kinsmans but a ranger had warned some of the hikers that the Kinsmans were dangerous when wet and with the rain coming in it was best to avoid them until the weather cleared. We decided to hike anyway thinking how bad could it be?Jose and I headed off to bed.Day 65Kinsman Notch - Old Colony Ski Lodge (OCSL), Woodstock, NHAT miles 16.7Miles hiked 17.6We woke up early, ate breakfast and met at the back of the hostel to catch our shuttle ride to Kinsman Notch. I was hoping for a good day but ended up hiking in the clouds in the morning. Our ride dropped us off at the notch/base of the mountain.  The climb up Wolf Mountain started with steep uphill followed by a loooong climb to the peak where there were supposed to be views of Franconia Ridge. Today there were views of nothing. We continued down to the Eliza Brooks shelter where we stopped for a break and to filter some water.  The rain started while we were eating and continued the rest of the day making this another put your head down and hike day. The rain made the rock scrambles a little more scary but not impossible.  Certainly not something worth warning hikers off the trail. There were quite a few day and section hikers on the trail so apparently rain was not a reason to not hike these mountains.The trail headed up to the peak of South Kinsman where there many throw your trekking poles ahead then climb up using your hands. There was a short, steep descent down to a saddle then shorter, equally steep climb up to North Kinsman. One of the hikers from Old Colony went flying by me in the saddle and asked what time it was and how far we¢d hiked. He was trying to beat the record maintained by the lodge. He had lost his phone in one of the many bogs we¢d waded so didn¢t know where he stood against the standing record.  I stopped at the Kinsman Pond shelter for another break before continuing on. The rain had finally stopped although by this point it no longer mattered since I was already wet and cold. As I was scrambling along I was wondering how the trail runner was doing in these conditions. After a while I thought I heard a motor off in the distance. Strange. Wonder where that was coming from? Presently I came to the Lonesome Lake ATC hut where there were several hikers stopped for a break. The motor noise was the generator. I went inside and joined Silver Back and Hot Hands for a cup of coffee. The hot beverage went down well considering how wet and cold I was. It started pouring again when we left.After our break we were back on trail and pretty quickly came to the first of two big river crossings. We stayed together the rest of the hike to the parking lot. We managed to rock hop across both river crossings although we were already pretty wet. After the second crossing we were in a park on a paved trail. Finally we were at the parking lot. Sitting on the curb was TJ, a SOBO from Ukraine who is now living in Chicago. He was trying to get a ride into town so Silver Back and I invited him to come with us to the ski lodge. He wondered why we were so enthusiastic about the place but also wanted to get out of the rain. We finally convinced him to come with us.  Once back at the lodge he was, like the rest of us staying there, blown away by the hospitality, facilities, and location. We got cleaned up and went down the street for dinner. There was a dad and two sons who were hikers eating at the bar where we were seated. They asked lots of questions about our hike and we had a fun conversation. Right after they left, Cliff, a former Army Ranger hiking as part of the Warrior Expedition joined us. He was just returning to the trail after an injury and had come up with a unique way to allow him to hike while dealing with his torn calf muscle. He went home to Georgia and brought his van and motorcycle back to leapfrog his vehicles allowing him to hike shorter sections of trail as his leg would tolerate.After dinner we stopped at the convenience store and picked up some snacks. Tomorrow was hopefully going to be an amazing day if the weather forecast was true. We were headed to Franconia Ridge, perhaps one of the most spectacular views on the entire trail.Day 66Old Colony Ski Lodge, Woodstock, NHAT miles 0.0Miles hiked 0.0The weather was not our friend so we decided to wait out the rain in hopes for a bluebird day on Franconia Ridge.We used our zero day to rest up for the big hike through the Presidential Range in the White Mountains. I also needed to do some repairs to my tent and stock up on food.I went to the gas station/deli next door and bought some breakfast and came back to the lodge. Jose did the same and we ate breakfast talking about our hikes so far and what was to come.  There was a shuttle into town so I decided to jump in with Jose, Daybreak, and Dragonfly. They dropped us off at the outfitters and I went in to buy some tent repair tape and waterproofing spray with the hopes of stopping, or at least slowing down, the water coming in the bottom of my tent.Jose traded in his signature blue rain jacket for a new, lighter, yellow rain jacket then we went over to the pizza place to get lunch. Coyote and Banana were there and we talked to them for a while then went inside. Pretty soon Cheesecake and Hooty Hoo showed up and it was like a big reunion. We ordered our lunch and sat around talking for quite awhile.  Daybreak needed to pick up a prescription so she and Dragonfly headed off to CVS while Jose and I headed off to get ice cream. On the way we passed the town¢s Veterans Memorial. Like we¢ve done in all the other towns, we stopped to take a pic of the memorial. I thought I was the only person who did this until I met Jose who told me the same.After our ice cream we wandered down to the CVS and waited for the shuttle to come pick us up. It was surprisingly hot and sunny out down here in the valley but there were huge, dark cumulus clouds blowing across and the mountains were shrouded in clouds. No doubt the weather was on the unpleasant side at elevation.Back at the hostel I saw where CT, Merlin, and Wade were there along with members of the Vortex. In all I reckon about 40 hikers had come in off the trail. I got out my tent and cleaned the floor inside and out with hand sanitizer then applied the patching tape to the seam on the bottom of the floor. I also found two holes that I patched, then I applied a few coats of waterproofing spray to the floor and to the tent and hung it in the sun to dry. Not long after, the clouds rolled in and the rain started. I brought the tent in from the rain and hung it in the shed to dry.After fixing my tent I went to make sure my pack was packed then down to get a burger and fries. Not knowing what kind of cell signal I would have the next few days I called Robin then packed up my tent and went to bed.Day 67Franconia Notch (Liberty Springs Trailhead) to Garfield Ridge CampsiteAT Miles 10.2Miles hiked 11.0Everybody was up early this morning excited to get on the trail with the promise of an awesome day. We loaded our gear and bodies into the three cards headed to the trail.OMG!!! Today's hike was the most amazingly beautiful, breathtaking hike I have ever been on. All the pictures and videos I have seen of Franconia Ridge did not come close to doing this hike the justice it deserves. This hike also gave me a humbling taste of how slow hiking in the Whites is going to be.Jeff shuttled us back to the notch but on the way pulled into a hotel parking lot to show us the town's claim to fame. No, not the totem pole and teepee next to the parking lot. It was a historical marker commemorating the abduction of Betty and Barney by UFOs in the 1960s (Betty and Barney Incident). While we were talking about the event and taking pics of the sign Jeff had put on an alien mask and posed for a pic by the sign. We had about a mile road walk from the parking lot back to the trail. Now began the long uphill grind to Mount Liberty. After all the bad weather and days of no views we were hoping the weather forecast of clear skies would hold up. We stopped for a break and to filter water near Liberty Springs Campground before continuing up the mountain to the summit of Mount Liberty. When I got above treeline and saw the views it was so amazing it almost took my breath away. And the best was yet to come. I walked around and took some unflattering pics of the surroundings, ate a snack then headed to the main attraction for the day.After a short climb down I walked the ridge to Little Haystack Mountain where the highlight of the hike began: Franconia Ridge. This was a 2.5 mile hike above treeline with incredible views in every direction. It was truly hard to keep hiking rather than sit in one place and just gawk. The ridge took us over Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette before starting its descent back below treeline. The visibility was endless. I felt like I was on an airplane. I took so many pics I probably could splice them together and make a video.While sitting atop Mt. Lincoln enjoying a snack, the weather, and the views, an older couple sat near me and started asking about my hike. At one point the gentleman asked where I was camping for the night. I told him of my plan to camp at Mt. Guyot. He said, "You're not gonna make it." To which I replied , "I'm pretty sure I can make it."  Him. ¢No. You¢re not gonna make it. It¢s too far.¢Me. ¢I¢m pretty sure I can make it. It¢s not that far. I¢ve hiked farther.¢We went back and forth on this theme a few times then he pointed to a distant mountain and said, "See that mountain? That's Mount Garfield. And that mountain waaaay off behind Garfield? That's Guyot. You're not gonna make it." He was confidently nice about it. I naively doubted him.We talked a bit more and his wife gave me half of her candy bar. They wished me a safe journey and headed towards hut Greenleaf Hut, just down the mountain.  I started for Garfield, my next mountain. The climb down from Franonia then up Garfield was hard and slow. Reality was starting to set in when. I was starting to realize I wasn't going to make it.  About 45 minutes later I caught up with Silver Back who was just finishing his lunch. As I was sharing my conversation with the guy on the mountain he said he had just realized the same thing. We consulted our maps and decided that Garfield Ridge Campsite was a much more realistic option. The Whites were already kicking our tails.  The hike to the campsite was no walk in the park as there were several rock scrambles and some rock climbing. We arrived just before dark. I found a tent platform and Silver Back opted for the shelter. We set up and cooked dinner. The AMC tent sites have designated eating places in their campsites which is like a big family dinner as about 15 of us who have been hiking in and around each other for about 3 weeks suddenly found ourselves all in the same place along with several section hikers. Dinner conversation was dominated by how amazing the day turned out after a week of bad weather.Soon it was hiker midnight and we all went off to our tents, hammocks, or the shelter.  The warmth of my quilt was welcome as the weather has turned noticeably colder. Day 68Garfield Ridge Campsite to Ethan Pond ShelterAT Miles 9.2Miles hiked 10.5The morning was cold and damp as we ate our breakfasts, packed up, and got ready for the day.The hike today got off to a serious start by hiking down a creek bed and a waterfall. Actually, after a few minutes on trail I was sure that I must be on either the wrong trail or not on a trail at all. After I confirmed I was on the AT through the Far Out app I came upon two hikers who were trying to navigate down a cliff with water running over it. Thus my concern on whether I was really on a trail. This was more like a mountain stream. One guy had already made it down the cliff and was trying to talk his buddy down. His buddy was getting climbing rope out of his backpack. Silver Back was now there and he climbed around. Jerzee basically defied gravity and ¢walked¢ down the cliff. I cautiously climbed down then was on my way. I have no idea if the climbing rope guy ever made it down.There were several more sketchy descents during this hike that really kept the adrenaline flowing. Amazingly, some younger hikers walked through, down. and over some of these obstacles with seeming disregard for their safety. I, on the other hand, know how hard a 50 foot fall is on the body and so continued with caution.Hiking along South Twin mountain I saw Jerzee¢s backpack laying next to a trail. Jerzee has been taking every blue blazed trail. He usually drops his pack and practically bounds up the trail, takes in the views then bounds back down, retrieves his pack, and continues on. I saw his pack laying next to the trail so I continued on. There were precious few, if any white blazes out here so it was anybody¢s guess what trail I was actually on. Sadly, I found I was not on the AT when I came to the Mt. Guyot shelter. Yeah, that shelter I thought I was going to hike to yesterday.I turned back around and found that the AT turned uphill at Jerzee¢s pack. Jerzee had dropped his pack there to take a different blue trail to take some pics before going to the hut for lunch. Back on the real AT I made it to Zealand Hut. I stopped in to buy A couple of candy bars and to get some water and coffee. WhIle eating some crackers I was talking to a SOBO who was hiking with his dog. His dog seemed more interested in my crackers than his dog food.Trying to beat darkness I was blessed with 4 miles of nearly flawless trail that used to be a narrow gauge railway. I was able to do that stretch in just over an hour. But, all good things must come to an end and so it was with this trail. Flat and smooth turned into bogs and sloppy, wet trail. At the entrance to one alpine bag I stuck my trekking pole in to the grip. It didn't touch bottom. Yikes! There could be bodies in there Nd no one would know.Carefully negotiating the bog bridges I made it to Ethan Pond Shelter to camp for the night. I waited at the caretakers tent to pay but he was too busy playing video games on his phone and I was cold and hungry so I just went and found a campsite.  As I was preparing dinner, a group of section hikers had just finished cooking a big pot of spaghetti. Silver Back, Mountain Goat and I all commented on how good looked and smelled good. They finished dinner and went off to their tent sites. I still need to eat. When I opened my backpacker meal I clumsily spilled about half of it. I was bummed but it is what it is. As I sat there smelling their spaghetti and eating the remaining portion of my meal they offered me their leftovers. These kids were heaven sent. I was crushed at their thoughtfulness. We sat and talked for a while about hiking. They had loads of questions since they were planning to thru hike next year after graduating from high school.I thanked them profusely for sharing their dinner then excused myself and headed to bed.Day 69Ethan Pond Shelter / Nauman TentsiteAT Miles 9.3Miles hiked 10.5Today was a day of vertical hiking. I ate breakfast with a couple of flip floppers that Silver Back had met down south. They were hiking back to Harper's Ferry.  I packed up and hit the trail.The first part of the hike was typical White Mountains with plenty of rocks to climb up, down, or over. The trail was heading down to Grafton Notch as a warm up for Mount Webster and Mount Jackson. It was a clear day which made for pleasant hiking.After crossing the road at Grafton Notch I was surprised at some really smooth, well groomed trail. I had to check to make sure I was still on the AT. The wonderful trail didn't last long and soon enough there were plenty of roots and rocks. I stopped at a stream for water and lunch and was joined by a SOBO. We talked some about the Whites and his hike. When I asked about what was ahead for me he said I had a pretty steep climb. This may be the understatement of my hike so far.It wasn't long before I was throwing my poles up on a ledge and climbing up to them. Again and again. Finally, I strapped them on my pack since they were of no use. Yes, steep meant straight up. For almost 3 hours. I caught up with a French Canadian couple and we leap frogged each other the rest of the way up the mountain.Once at the top of Webster the fun wasn't over. There was still Mount Jackson to contend with and more rock scrambling up and down.  Finally, the ground leveled off and I hoped this meant some faster hiking. Well it did for a bit then the trail turned into a cattle lot. At some point trail maintainers either felt bad for us or guilty for their sloppy trail because suddenly there were new bog bridges. Then the trail became a trail for a short stretch until the alpine bog. Here's the thing about that bog. Every hiker I talked to stuck a trekking pole in the mud at the first bog bridge to see how deep the mud was. Our trekking poles went in up to the hand grip without touching bottom. That made for a scary walk over sketchy bog bridges. I was talking to Merlin later and he said Wade (his dog) got stuck in there.Finally making it to Mitzpah Spring Hut it was already getting cold. I went straight to the Nauman Tent Site and set up my tent. Then Silver Back and I went to the dining tent and joined other hikers for dinner. By the time dinner was over it was time for bed.Day 70Nauman Tentsite / Valley Way TentsiteAT miles 11.9Miles hiked 13.3Today is Mount Washington day! Mount Washington is the highest peak on the east coast. Additionally, Mount Washington is home to some of the worst weather in North America. The weather on the mountain can change in an instant and hikers are not to hike over Mount Washington in bad weather. (Although I¢m sure that people being people, some have ignored this advice.) Mount Washington holds the record for the highest recorded wind speed that was not part of a tornado or hurricane at 234 miles per hour. One reason for exercising caution while hiking the Presidential Range is that more than 160 people have died while hiking this section. Many were from heart attacks but most were from exposure or accidents.There are three primary ways to reach the summit of Mt Washington. One, obviously, is to walk. There is also a cog rail which is about $75 per ticket and the Mount Washington road which is about $45 per car.  Today was supposed to be a rare clear, calm day and there is a snack bar at the summit.  I was one of the last hikers out of camp but soon enough my legs were churning up the hill. I stopped at Lake of the Clouds Hut for a snack and bathroom break. French seemed to be the prevailing language at this hut as most of the people at the hut seemed to be French-Canadian. Jerzee caught up and we ate our snacks together then went to take pics of the lakes. Jerzee couldn¢t pass up an opportunity for a dip so took a brief swim in one of the very frigid ponds.  The climb up Washington wasn¢t that bad considering the elevation gain. After nearly 4 12 hours of hiking I made it. Part of the slowness is that I was constantly stopping to take in the views and snap photos. Another incredible day in the Whites.  The cog rail was unloading when I arrived so my summit photo would have to wait. I joined Silver Back at the snack bar and had some pizza and root beer. I briefly checked out the museum. There was a lot of emphasis on the dangers of the Whites: particularly Mt. Washington. The other focus was the unpredictable and sometimes violent weather. After the museum I went out to get my summit photo. Just in time as the cog train had just arrived. After my photo I had to go find where I¢d dropped my backpack then it was time to start my hike down the mountain to Madison Hut and the Valley Way tentsite. I took my time so I could get some photos of the cog rail then it was off on the long trek to camp.The climb down was poorly marked, slow, and strenuous. I was lucky that with the terrain I got to see 2 sunsets. About 8:00 I had to put on my headlamp. Jerzee caught up with me and we arrived at the hut around 8:30. We asked about the tentsite location and nobody at the hut was very helpful other than it was another .6 miles to the tentsite. Not a fun proposition in the dark. Jerzee and I wandered around in the dark for a few minutes before finding the trail. By the time we were on the trail it started to rain.About 10 minutes down the trail we found Friendly and Ranger Rick stealth camping.  A little farther along Jerzee found a spot. I wasn't so lucky. The trail was a jumble of wet rock sometimes following a brook and sometimes being the brook. I had a couple of near falls but managed to stay upright. By now it was full on raining. Looking at Far Out I didn¢t seem to be getting any closer to the campsite. I passed a bright white sign that said ¢Valley Way" so I dutifully continued on. After another 15 minutes I was starting to become more than a little frustrated. I checked far out and it showed that I was now way past the campsite.Nothing to do but turn around and climb back up. Now I was on the "trail" but past the camp site. Are you kidding me? Back at the Valley Way sign I noticed an old sign that said ¢Tentsite¢. In this direction the sign was visible. Going down it was not. After some searching I found what sort of passed for a path and started following it. About 10 minutes later I arrived at a kiosk with information about the tentsite. There were several multiple tent pads so hopefully I¢d find a place to camp. I looked at the posted map of the site and went off in search of a place to pitch my tent. It was now 9:45. I, as quietly as possible, walked through the site with only the illumination of the red light of my headlamp and could find no tent sites. It looked like some campers were just sleeping on the ground wherever. What to do? There was a wide place in the trail between the privy and bear box. That would have to do. Off I go. I slip on a tree root, fall down, express my surprise at finding myself on the ground, wake up the dog in the tent next to where I'm trying to regain my composure, a dog starts going insane, the dog¢s owners are trying to quiet the dog, lights come on in tents. I sneak off.  Back at the wide spot in the trail I threw all my food and snacks in my food bag and put the bag in the bear box. I set up my tent and crawled into bed at 10:30 with no dinner. Tomorrow will be a big breakfast day.Hiking the Dream!