Wed., June 26, 2019. Day 41/97. Interstate 93. Lafayette Campground- Tyler. Trail mileage 1818.9. 44.1105N71.6823W. 4.8 miles. 3 hrs 05 mins. 1.5 mph. 1,258.8 / 933.2 to go.

A wonderful day. I got a surprise that was as good, better, than a surprise on Christmas morning. The plan was for me to meet Tyler’s family at Lonesome Lake Hut at 10 am. I left Kinsman Pond Shelter at 7 am. The trail was a good trail and I made good speed. I figured I would be at the hut easily by 9 am, 1 hour before our meeting time. About 1/2 mile before the hut as I came around a corner here came Coltyn right up to me. We almost bumped into each other. I immediately recognized him and his family. Coltyn later said he didn’t at first recognize me. I got a big smile. Riley and Coltyn gave me hugs. It was better than Christmas. It was great. They had climbed 1,700 feet and over 2 miles from Lafayette Campground to meet me. I was impressed. What a great surprise. Like I said, better than Christmas morning. Jocelyn is at girls camp, so she wasn’t there. She will join us in a couple days.

We hiked back to the Lonesome Lake Hut. I checked in with John. His parents were staying there. I introduced Tyler and his family. John gave us all a brownie. That was nice of him.

From the hut we headed to Interstate 93 crossing. It was about 3 miles. The kids were enjoying the hike and left us behind. I slipped when going over a large boulder in the trail and went down. Didn’t hurt, but scrapped the scab off my left knee. I yelled dang, not even ouch. I felt more embarrassed being in front of Tyler and Mindy. I hate falling. I haven’t done it to often, but probably more than I did when I was younger.

After hiking we went back to the camp. They have a great camp. When they set up camp they had a thunderstorm going through. They got very wet. I was sitting in Kinsman Pond Shelter when the thunderstorm passed through. They had put up a extremely large tarp which covered the tent, part of the dining fly, and fire. The tent reminded me of the Kirkhams spring bar tent that we had for the scouts. Tyler said it came from Utah. I am guessing Kirkhams has changed names and it is the same tent. It is very high quality. It will last them for their life time. Their dining fly is also great. With their insect flames the bugs where not a problem. It was enjoyable to sit out. The temperature was in the 70°s.

We had taco salad, which tasted great. Food always tastes good after hiking all day. We then showered. Unfortunately, the water was only warm, but it was great to get three days of sweat and dirt washed off. We then played a game of Phase 10. They had room for me in their tent and a big mattress. I slept great.

It was a great day. I am looking forward to hiking with Tyler.

Pictures:

1. Flies outside Kinsman Pond Shelter.

2. Tyler’s family at Lonesome Lake. Several pictures.

3. Yellow butterflies.

4. Wildflowers.

Tue., June 25, 2019. Day 40/96. kinsman Pond Shelter. Trail mileage 1814.1. 44.1369N71.7326W. 4.0 miles. 3 hrs 20 mins. 1.2 mph. 1,254.0 / 938.0 to go.

Short hike today, though a mountain still to be climbed. I climbed Kinsman Mountain today. It was twice the climbing elevation of Wolf Mountain. It wasn’t as hard though. I think that I as because of fewer bogs and fewer bugs. It was technically hard, and had to use natural hand holds to go up and down. I enjoyed it.

I didn’t hike for very long and got to the shelter before it started to rain. This is the third time I have got to shelters before rain started. So much better than hiking in the rain. 

I didn’t hike very far today so that I could meet up with Tyler tomorrow morning at 10 am at Lonesome Lake. I am looking forward to it. I am hoping the weather is good so they do not have to hike in the rain. If it is raining, hopefully, Tyler will not make them hike and we can do it another day. I do not have phone reception, so I don’t have the forecast.

So far, at 5 pm I am the only person here. I believe others will still show up. It is always nice to have fewer rather than many.

I got about 6 days of blogs written and pictures listed. Very productive. I even snuck in a nap. 

The caretaker is Chief-Boy-RDee. Young guy. He was working hard on a cooking area when I got here. They charge $10 to stay here. You get a hikers card, then it is $5 at future shelters. Also at the huts you get a free bowl of soup and bread. Sounds like a good deal.

Shortly after arriving a young man, graduated from high school, with his parents came by. He works at the Lonesome Lake Hut. He cooks. I visited with them for about 20 minutes. He invited me to drop by tomorrow for some free food. He said not to use my card. I thought I got the soup and bread at each hut. Guess I will see.

Pictures:

1. Looking back from South Kinsman Peak. Furthest peak on right is Moosilauke that I hiked two days ago. Closer peak is Wolf Mountain that I hiked yesterday.

2. Panoramic from top of Kinsmans Peak. Note weather is coming. I got to the shelter before it started.

3. Trails, Pond, streams on trail today. Beautiful. I am blessed to be able to be here.

4. Kinsman Pond. Big enough to be a lake to me. Shelter on shoreline.

5. Kinsman Pond Shelter. 

Mon., June 24, 2019. Day 39/95. Eliza Brook Shelter. Trail mileage 1810.1. 44.1009N71.7422W. 7.5 miles. 5 hrs 40 mins. 1.3 mph. 1,250.0 / 942.0 to go.

Today I got to climb to my son’s mountain, Wolf Mountain. His call sign is Wolf.

It was a very tough climb and descent. Much harder than Moosilauke. It isn’t groomed as well. I believe fewer people use the trail. I hope the trails I do with Tyler are better. There were a lot of bogs and the bugs were unbearable. The mountains are less rugged and steep than the Rockies, but they choose to go straight up, and not on the most gradual slope. I think that is the way they were originally done, and no one is going to Improve them.

With that said it was a good day, except for the bugs, for hiking. I enjoyed the weather and mountain.

On top I had cell phone coverage so I sent a text to the family. 

While trying to avoid a bog I hit a tree that I didn’t notice. It had a dead branch that ripped a hole in a side stretch pocket on my back pack. Since I got into the shelter fairly early I was able to sew it. I had just got enough black thread to sew it up and back. It looks good. Hope it does the job for the next week. 

When I got to the shelter I immediately put up my tent, quickly put everything in, jumped in, and zipped it close. Heaven. I was in, and the bugs were out. I was exhausted from the strenuous hike. I took a nap. It was great. The bugs decreased as the sun went behind the hill. I sewed my backpack and had dinner. Another hiker that I knew before leaving the trail stayed at the shelter. Just before Harpers Ferry I had given him some Advil for shin splints that he had. He has figured out that the shoes he had caused the problem. He has different shoes now.

There were about eight at the shelter till a group came in at 10 pm. It was a high school group that was being guide by a service. They had come over Wolf Mountain. I am surprised they didn’t get someone hurt. In the morning they left about 15 minutes before me. Within 200 yards they were stopped on the trail. I guessed one person had a problem so they all stopped. I feel sorry for those good hikers who have to stay together with the slower people. The only leaders I could see were young men, probably college age. I am not sure how much they know about leading a group. They are on a 10 day hike and will cover 80 miles. That is reasonable. A couple girls were carrying climbing ropes. When I said I assumed they were doing some repelling they said they wished, but weren’t. They were for bear bags. I told them to much weight. All of their packs looked way to large for their body size. Most are high school small framed girls. Probably carrying 35% to 40% of their body weight. They were doing 10 miles today, so they will not be at my shelter. If there were here I would probably give some advice to their leaders. Probably the wrong thing to do.

Pictures:

1. View from top of Wolf Mountain. Most of top was covered by trees. I believe that is Kinsman Mountain that I will climb tomorrow.

2. Bog. Yes that is the trail I am suppose to hike on/in.😖

3. Trail and streams. Beautiful.

4. Backpack sewing job.

5. Tent pad. Sat just above Eliza Brook. 

6. Eliza Brook.

Sun., June 23, 2019. Day 38/94. NH Route 25A. Trail mileage 1793.1. Hikers Welcome Hostel. 43.9865N71.8962W. 9.4 miles. 6 hrs 20 mins. 1.5 mph. 1,242.5 / 949.5 to go.

I climbed 3,964 ft and descended 3,118 ft. A 757 ft/mi grade.

I have to start this entry by saying how frustrating it is to use the iPad and the Google Blogger web page. I wasted over 1 hour trying to make a post. I have several posts that I have written that need posting. If you are reading this I got it figured out. Sorry to post so many at one time. I was going to get caught up at the hostel where I had WiFi, but struggled.

Okay, to today’s posting. Today very well could have been my best day on the entire AT. I slack packed Moosilauke Mountain. 

This is the first mountain in the White Mountain Range. The range is 101 miles long. It is where Mount Washington is. I will be hiking with Tyler in this range. This mountain is the closest to the mountains we hike in the west. In the west we hike to some significant point. Today I hiked to the peak of a high mountain. It is lush forest. There are a lot of rocks. One big difference is in the west to climb a high mountain they use switch backs. For some reason in the east they do not. You go straight up the ridge. Much harder and dangerous.

I hiked 9 1/2 miles in about 6 hours. Being the weekend and perfect clear skies with a cool temperature there were a lot of people. Also a lot of dogs. I visited with a lot of people, petted all of the dogs, and told them about our Trinity and back packing. I would have loved to have Trinity with me. She would have loved it. I should mention the way I came up she could not have made it, but the way down she could have made it up and down.

The pictures really tell the store. For the first section we were right next to a waterfall. Steep and beautiful. On top great views. Very windy on top. I had plenty of energy at the end of the hike since I slack packed.

Again, probably my best day on the AT.

On the way back to hostel on the road I saw Pat and Megan again. They are going to do Mountain Moosilauke tomorrow. I might see them again down the trail.

Pictures:

1. Pictures of my hiking Moosilauke Mountain. 

2. My slack pack that I borrowed from the hostel. Very small and light - the shark. Perfect.

Sat., June 22, 2019. Day 37/93. NH Route 25. Trail mileage 1793.1. Hikers Welcome Hostel.43.9865N71.8962W. 9.7 miles. 5 hrs 35 mins. 1.7 mph. 1,233.1 / 958.9 to go.

Much better day than yesterday, thank goodness. I got a good night sleep and woke ready to move forward. I was anxious to get to the hostel and civilization. 

As I started to clean up I found these little slugs on my tent and drop cloth. Fortunately, they didn’t get into the tent. They were very sticky and left a yellow slime when you flicked them off. When I got to the shelter I found two of them that had traveled with me on my ground cover. So, my great camping spot wasn’t quite perfect.

The day’s weather was much better. The streams in the trail were gone, but the bogs weren’t. So, my boots stayed wet.

I arrived early after noon and was able to shower and go into town for resupplies and food. I got a burrito which was yummy. I also bought my favorite Ding-Dongs which I shared. It was a good evening. Tomorrow after I hike Moosillauke Mountain I will do wash.

This is the kind of day that makes a difference in my AT miles. I get some miles in, get to a shelter, do what is needed, and hike the next day. All hikers talk about the number of zeros, meaning zero mile days, and near zero, very few miles. We try to avoid them like a sickness. It isn’t that you hike slow, it is if you stop, whether on the trail, or if you take zero, or near zero days.

It is a great hostel. They have 30 beds, most bunks. Not many people there now. Only 5 one night and 8 the next. I am ahead of the bubble. They also have people tent. They have had over 50 there. That would be tight with only one toilet, one shower, and one set of washing/drying machine. The toilet, washer, and shower are outside. See picture. I need to have my grand children stay here to see what roughing it is. But, it is wonderful after camping for several days. I had the entire upstairs of the bunk house to myself on the first day, and only one person the next. I spread out.

The caretakers were great. Buffalo and Mummum. They supplied a fitted sheet and pillow case. You used your sleeping bag for cover. Luck me, mine opens like a blanket. Towel and temp clothes were provided while you did your laundry. On the trail you have no extra clothes, including underwear. When it is time to wash you need to wash it all. See picture for temp clothing.

I wish I did a better job remembering all of the trail names and the people’s stories. It is very enjoyable to go to the store with them, sit around the table as you eat, and just visit before bed.

Pictures    

1. Outside shower, washer and dryer, sink for washing dishes, hands, and clean up, and toilet.

2. Temp clothes while I do laundry. I thought the Grandpa shirt fit me. Yes, it was to small. 

3. Me in mirror at clean up sink.