Date: 2018-07-20
From: Kinsman Notch

To: Franconia Notch
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

The hike today featured two big climbs. The first was up Wolf Mountain. The 1,700¢ climb over 5 miles made it a nice warm up for the day. A couple of miles into the hike I came over a little rise and heard something thrashing in the thick vegetation. I thought it was way too loud to be a squirrel. I stood still for a couple of minutes to see if something appeared. Then came this big dark beast moving not so gracefully on stilted legs. It was a moose! I was using an evergreen tree for camouflage. As it appeared from behind the tree the young bull stopped, stretching its long neck out and turning its disproportionate snout in my direction. It¢s body language said to me, ¢I just want to lumber down into this patch of tasty broad- leafed vegetation and finish my breakfast.¢ I answered back, ¢If you don¢t mind I¢ll just stay right here and get some pictures and a video.¢ With our agreement in place, the moose continued into the shrubs and resumed grazing away. I watched for a few minutes as the large (small by moose standards) animal snapped off branches with a twist of its long neck and munched away. Soon I heard two rather noisy hikers headed up the trail. The moose looked up in that direction, but kept eating. I let out a whistle to alert the hikers. ¢What was that?¢ The hikers stopped for a second, but were soon moving again. I whistled again. They stopped again, talking about what they had heard. They were at a spot that I couldn¢t see them, but they had a vantage point to the moose. Then one of them yelled out, ¢Look, a moose!¢ With that, my long lanky friend disappeared into the forest. When the hikers came by I suggested that if they wait right here (quietly) the moose might reappear. They moved on. I sent a text back to Epic letting him know to be on the lookout. He told me later that day that when he came over the rise, Mr. Moose was standing in the middle of the trail. I guess he did return. I finished the climb up Wolf Mtn, taking a side trail to the summit, where I took in a great view as I did my morning stretches. The next climb was up Kinsman Mountain, a 2,000¢ climb over 2 miles. It was in the ¢very steep¢ category, with parts of the ascent being extremely steep! Appliance sized rocks replaced suitcase sized rocks as a hiked further up. About halfway up I came to an opening with a great view of the mountain and rocky cliff face. Back in the forest, the climb turned into a rock scramble. At points, I was on all fours in search of a crevice to cling to on steeply slanted slabs of granite. The view at the top was amazing! Franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range were in clear sight now. A glider flew circles above as I celebrated the climb and marveled in the view. But, I wasn¢t finished. The trail dropped down into a saddle and rose to North Kinsman Mountain. I dropped down off the trail to a wonderful place to stop for a late lunch. The warm sun, cool breeze, and magnificent view tempted me to just stay put right here for the night. Gotta keep moving though if I¢m going to make Franconia Ridge tomorrow while the weather is still nice. The final five miles of the hike was a descent of nearly 3,000 feet. The trail passed by Lonesome Lake and one of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) huts. The huts are full service lodges spread throughout the White Mountains. As you might imagine it is a very popular destination for tourists wanting a piece of the outdoors, without the filth. I walked by a dozen or so sweet smelling folks down by the dock, greeted them and moved on before they had a chance to inhale. The descent took a toll on my feet and legs. Both knees and my ankles were sore after taking hundreds of big step downs. I was ready to be done for the day. When the trail softened a bit, I picked up a jog. I reached Franconia Notch at 5PM on the nose. Epic was waiting where the trail crossed under I-93. From there we took a 1-mile side trail to a parking area where our shuttle driver picked us us up. She was kind enough to run us by a grocery store in Lincoln for a resupply. The store was very busy and I was unable to get some of my usual resupply. Then it was back to the motel in North Woodstock. We still needed to do laundry and grab dinner. I was very tired and feeling anxious about being able to get the journal done. I slept hard through the night. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our shuttle driver back to the trail was not ready at the designated time of 0630. So, I was able to finish up the journal before departing for the trail. I¢m ready for a great day now! (and the readers don¢t have to wait:-))Peace & Blessings - NSElevation Data:Ascent - 4,600Descent - 5,140Grade - 11.3Weather:Day - 85 / SunnyNight - 53 / ClearOver The Horizon: Mount Washington