Date: 2004-08-20
From: Stealth tenting about 14 miles south of Crawford N

To: Stealth tenting near Franconia Notch
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

14 miles todayStealth tenting near Franconia NotchFranconia Notch, NHI slept in this morning until 6:30 and was packed up and walking by 6:45am.I decided to wait on breakfast until I got to Galehead Hut because I was almost out of water.It sprinkled on and off all night.I got up to where I could see and Mt. Garfield was clear and Mt. Lafayette's summit was in the clouds.I ran into two nobos just before I got down to the hut. Their names were Wife and Beater. They said they had heard about me and I said "Don't pay any attention to what Liteshoe says." They said it wasn't from her and assured me it was good things they heard...I guess Liteshoe hasn't got to everyone yet.I hiked on to Galehead Hut and had two bowls of cereal and one of the hut's croo made me some strong coffee. A girl from the croo brought me out a piece of coffee cake. That really started my day off right. I ended up being there about an hour. I ran into another nobo by the name of Allegeny right after I left the hut. He was happy when I told him about the coffee cake.I stopped and took a 20 minute break at the trailhead to Garfield Ridge Campsite. I tanked up on water...I must have drank half a gallon before I left.I stopped at the summit of Mt. Garfield and took a short break. I didn't stay long because there was a cold breeze. I hiked on at 10:45amAbout half way up Mt. Lafayette I heard someone say; "Stumpknocker."I looked at him but didn't recognize him. He said his name was Postcard. I met him way back on my first day of this thru hike at Hawk Mountain Shelter down in Georgia. He said that even his close friends don't recognize him anymore. He lost 30 pounds on this hike and now he looks like a thru hiker.I stopped on the way up Lafayette and decided to make some macaroni and cheese because it had started raining. I thought if I took long enough that maybe it would blow over and I would get some nice views on Lafayette. I sat there and shielded my stove with my body as I sat on a boulder in the rain. Now that's what makes life so interesting on the trail.I was just about done eating and it was still raining when a guy came up from the south. We talked for a little while and I asked his name. It was Pop Pop. It sounded a little familiar. I said my name is Stumpknocker and he said that we had met last year down south while I was doing my sobo thru hike. He had thru hiked in '01 and still gets out on long section hikes.I hiked on up the mountain and about half a mile before the summit I ran into a day hiker by the name of David that seemed confused. It was raining hard and blowing about 30 mph and he didn't have any rain gear and it felt pretty cold.He wanted to know how much farther it was to the side trail to Greenleaf Hut. I said that he had passed it about half a mile ago. It was hard to see because of the thick clouds we were in. I had him follow me and I showed him where the trail was. He said he couldn't believe how bad it got up here when the weather forcast he heard called for good weather. That made me feel good to be able to help him out. He thanked me and headed down the mountain towards the hut.By the time I got to Mt. Lincoln, it was blowing a steady 45 mph, but the rain had stopped. By the time I was past Lincoln, the wind was blowing the clouds by at about a steady 60 mph.It felt good when I got back down into the trees, but I was having a good time walking in that heavy wind.I ran into Up and Down just before I left the ridge. Up didn't want any part of stopping to talk. She didn't look like she was having a very good time.I ran into a bunch of nobos on the way down the mountain...Sevy, Willow, MC, Heatmizer and Speak Up.The sun came back out and it turned back into a nice day by the time I got to Liberty Springs Campsite.I got water and kept on walking down the mountain to Franconia Notch.When I got to the trailhead, I ran into a girl that looked familiar, but I didn't know her name. It was Sanguin and she said we met on the trail last April.She almost took the trail the wrong way to get to town. I told her how confusing this area was to me the first time I hiked through here and if she wanted to follow me, I would show her the way to the road so she could hitch a ride to town. Boy, that was an easy way to get a girl to follow me!!We talked while we hiked and I found out she is a high school English teacher from RI.I got her to the parking area about 3/4 of a mile from the trail and told her which way to hitchhike to town.I sat down in the parking area and made my dinner. It was tempting to go to town, but I'm looking forward to the breakfast buffet in the morning. After I ate, I walked back in the woods and found a nice stealth tent spot.Another great day on the A.T.