Date: 2022-07-22
From: Hikers Welcome Hostel Mile 1795.4

To: The Notch Hostel Mile 1804.9
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

When I woke up in the morning, I had a pain in my abdomen, was feeling slightly nauseous and had absolutely no appetite. I knew I had to eat given the calories I would expend today so I forced myself to eat my breakfast. We packed up everything we¢re not bringing on the slackpack today in Nick¢s car and then waited for the shuttle. We caught the 7 AM shuttle to Kinsman Notch and started hiking around 8. Heading south, you get to the steepest part of the trail first, and it¢s about a 1.5 mile climb for the steepest section to the Beaver Brook Shelter. Much of this is alongside the Beaver Brook with its multiple cascades and waterfalls. Although it¢s a steep climb, with steps bolted into the rocks in places, it¢s also a beautiful climb as well. Certainly easier to climb it south bound than descend it north bound. We stopped at the shelter to get water and I forced myself to eat 1/2 of my 6¢ sub. Hit the privy on the way out as well. The second half of the climb is not as steep or technical and you get some views of the summit on the way up. Eventually you emerge into the real Alpine Zone at the top of the mountain. One part of the definition of Alpine Zone is trees that are less than 8 ft tall. Portions of the top have small pines while most is covered in grasses and other small plants. Although the sun was shining, the temperature was upper 60s and there was a good breeze blowing. I was just comfortable with the sleeves down. We stopped for a while to take pictures and to eat. I managed to get the rest of my sandwich down but nothing else. It¢s been fun to hike with Nick today and to get pictures with him at the summit. I have not felt well all day and I am dragging somewhat. I can tell he¢s holding back to hike with me. Abdominal pain gets slightly better when I eat but returns shortly. Have no appetite. Feeling anxious/stressed in the morning at the start of the climb. Not sure if that is from anxiety over the Whites or from stomach and shuttle ride. Both Orchid and Nick noticed that there was a change in me- I wasn¢t greeting the hikers in the other direction. We saw quite a few including: Talus, Waffle, Second Wind (was Neverbetter), Boxcar (Mike from Small Ax early on), and Grits. We started down the trail which is less steep than the climb, but does have a bunch of wet rocks. About a third of the way down, I slipped and fell hard backwards landing on the day pack. Fortunately, it saved me from hitting my head and back on the rocks. Of course I scraped my, wait for it, left elbow. We stopped for water about halfway down and took an extended break for me. At this point there were about 2 miles left, but I was pretty much done with hiking for the day. It was the first time in quite a while that I had the ¢stopwatch¢ in my head. Eventually we made it back to Nick¢s car and drove to the next hostel. Nick, Orchid, and Pilgrim went out to eat, while I took a shower and nap. Pilgrim¢s friend Mark joined them at dinner and he will be hiking with us tomorrow as well. After dinner, Nick picked me up for a resupply run. I picked up food for the next stretch as well as some applesauce, yogurt and pudding. Afterwards I did some food sorting, although I still need to prepare the slackpack for tomorrow, and then went to bed early for the night. Steps 25000Weather Forecast: 86/58