Date: 2015-08-14
From: NH 25

To: Kinsman Ridge
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

11.5 for the day doesn't even begin to indicate how pooped I am. It really feels more like I did 21.5. I left the hostel early to get up and over Mt Moosilauke while it was cool. I knew, but had completely forgotten about the ford of Olivero Brook, immediately north of NH 25. Sigh. I changed into my crocs and crossed, and the water was not as cold as I expected so that was something. It was 6:30 when I finally started hiking on the trail.The first part was uphill, but just your run of the mill uphill, not the Moosilauke special uphill yet. I had some difficulty finding the trail at a road crossing and when I was trying to figure out where it went, Shimmy walked up. We joined forces and managed to locate a blaze. At one point we ended up in a cool old cemetery (the inscriptions were all too faded to read). And then, just like that, we were at the start of the climb, which was 3.9 miles. Piece of cake (copyright Cherokee)! Shimmy took off and I followed at a more sedate pace. It wasn't so much that the trail was steep here, though it definitely was, but it was completely relentless. I don't think there was a single step that was not up, from the sign announcing the distance until the summit. It was also rocky, and often I looked up to see what looked like a dry waterfall bed, and that was the trail. It was actually pretty fun. I saw a sign for the south peak and since it was only 1/10 of a mile, decided to check it out. The 1/10 was a total lie, it was more like 3/10, but there were nice views at the end. You could also see the north peak, which is the actual summit. It was .8 away and looked quite a bit higher than the south peak.The early part of that last .8 was a ridge walk and super easy ( I think I just completely contradicted my earlier statement about all steps being uphill until the summit, oops!), but the last part was up again, albeit not as steep as before. The summit had great views but was very windy. Shimmy was there, as well as two other hikers we didn't know, and I almost fell over getting to the summit sign. It was not as cold as I expected, so that was a bonus. All the same, I did not linger because I knew the downhill was going to be tough. All told, it took me 2:45 from the '3.9 miles' sign to the summit, including my south peak excursion. Little did I know the descent would take me longer than the climb, despite being a shorter distance.Happy with my progress so far, I started going down, thinking I should definitely try to get to second shelter today. It would be a 17 mile day, but it was only just after ten when I left the summit and I had already done 5.5 miles. I was about to get a dose of reality in the next few hours though!The start of the descent was regular trail and I met and chatted with several people going south. Among them Uncle D, who was slack packing southbound (smart man) and a couple of day hikers who asked about my hike and more specifically my pack.But then! Then started the part of the descent that the mountain is famous for. Very steep, very rocky and in parts, very wet. I knew there were blocks and rebar to help you make your way down but I hadn't even made it to that part yet before my knees were profoundly unhappy. I'd been going almost two hours, I was tired and ready to have lunch at the shelter when a southbounder told me I had missed it. Doh! So I had lunch at a nice-ish spot a few minutes later and tried to get in a better mood for the rest of the hike.I reached the blocks not long after lunch, but even then it still was a long way. For much of the climb down, the trail is next to a waterfall, which I'm sure is quite pretty. But I was so intent on not slipping and/or falling that I only occasionally glanced at the falls.Finally, almost four hours after I left the summit, I got to the road. And as my reward, there was a nice composting privy in the parking lot, complete with toilet paper. From here, it was either just under 9 miles or just under 7 miles to the shelter I'd been aiming for, depending on whether you believe the signs or the guide. I didn't think I'd make that in either case, so when there was an unexpected stream, I filled up so I'd be able to camp anywhere. Except of course sites were thin on the ground. I did see one but it was taken (the nerve! Didn't they know I was tired?). A little later I saw another potential spot and decided to just make it work. It was only 4 o'clock but I was done. And here I am now, after a little comedy of bear bagging (I definitely should not have bragged a few days ago that I had gotten pretty good at that, and that's all we'll say about that!). I have great reception here, totally unexpectedly, so I texted with Gary and tried to firm up plans to meet a friend tomorrow, it requires me hiking 14 or so miles, which I am quite aware is more than I managed today in about 10.5 hours.Wish me luck!Open map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?