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Aug 24-31, 2019 hike NH
Aug 14, 2019, So on August 14, 2019,we returned to the
wild, though Hanover, NH, isn’t that much a wilderness there.
Home of Dartmouth, it’s quite an urbane college town.
picked up where we left off on trail on a main street
in Hanover. It’s very civilized walking down the city street,
and seeing the AT white blazes on the telephone poles.
After a couple of miles, we are out of town and into
the woods again.
- Aug 15-NH starts like a lamb, but then turns into a
- snarling lion-monster of a hike. I had read all about it
- “you do 90% of the trail with 10% of the effort and
- 10% of the trail (meaning the 160+ in NH and
- 60 or so in Maine) with 90% of the effort.
- Yes! Absolutely true going through NH in 2019.
- Straight up mountains , no switch backs here.
- Rocks rocks rocks,
- And people complained about Pennsylvania rocks?
- NH makes
- PA look like a crushed gravel trail by comparison.
Aug 15-16- Hiked the mountains near Lyme, NH.
Could only think of Lyme
disease. Here the going gets tough-
up rocks, climbing rebar and wooden steps
sometimes nailed
into stone, but sometimes missing.
Aug 17-19-Tough climbs up and down and more rocks.
Why am I here I ask myself, is this really fun?
Aug 20- Big day- Climbing Mt Moosalacki-
this was a milestone mountain to climb. At 4800 feet, it
was 2 mile climb up 3000+ feet.
And straight up and straight down.
But beautiful on top!
Above tree line and we had a gorgeous day with
stunning views.
While it is the toughest hikes, it is the most scenic.
I feel sorry for SOBOs as they will not get views
like this again for a thousand miles.
And then they have to peer through leafy trees.
Coming down you parallel a waterfall for forever.
My Sweety was to meet us on this side and began
to hike up to meet us. Poor thing! It was an
incredibly hard
hike up and it took her a while to meet us.
Then she had to hike back down! Is
Certainly hard on the knees.
There is a sign at the bottom that says,
“Trail extremely tough, if you lack experience
“Trail extremely tough, if you lack experience
do not attempt.” Very true! We ran a
cross a couple who were day hikers and not at all
equipped to hike.
I told them to turn back, not sure if they did.
And quite a day! One I won’t forget.
Aug 21-22. A two day hiking plan, but one that require
us to outrun the weather-a rain storm expected
about noon the first day. Off we went as early as we
could from the motel, made decent progress,
but as expected, the bottom fell out and we were
drenched.
Finally made it to the shelter-and
to our surprise it was filled with about a dozen
college kids
on their freshman orientation hike and camping trip,
getting them ready for the rigors of college life,
I suppose.
Or just trail bonding.
Anyway, didn’t know what to expect here,
no place for us
to sleep and the grounds were a boggy mess.
Later learned that they had to move out and l
eave the
shelter for us hikers. Glad for their
adherence to the rules.
Next day hiked out and back to the hotel.
August 23-25 The trip through Franconia!
This is definitely the crown jewel of the AT.
But first straight up a several mile trail with
plenty of rocks and a camping area on platforms.
Luckily got
there early to secure a spot. As it was all on a very
serious slant!
Slept well and
Whenever they show a photo of the trail, this is it.
5000 ft +, above
tree line for miles and a ridge walk plus mountains
that last an afternoon.
Rocky, but beautiful and we lucked out in the e view.
Just stunning.
But there are many trails up to the top here.
This mountain has been a climbing destination
by the local
non native population for over 200 years.
Since it was a pretty day and a Saturday,
the top ridge was
swarming with day hikers.
Shod with flip flops and thin summer clothes,
they were quite the contrast to me in my
long distance
hiking attire.
After a long day we reached our camping
shelter for the
night and while eating dinner met
Beast, a thru hiker from NY. Very nice guy and
we shared
stories as we often do with fellow travelers
of the trail.
Aug 25- hiking down from Franconia was crazy!
For the
first time
I had to hike
down a waterfall, coming off
Mt Garfield. I had heard a hiker talk about how difficult
Garfield was
going up.
I went down and it was definitely nuts.
It was an 11 mile hike off of Franconia to get to our
stoping place
for the night -Galehead Hut.
A place for dinner and a restful night-our first hut of the trip.
Huts are nice/ they are hiker hostels with dinner
and breakfast. Expensive but very comfortable after a long day
hiking.
They dinner would be served at 6 pm
and don’t be late. We scurried down the mountain at the end of the
day rushing to make dinner time.
I was starving! We are just past 6 and I will say it was one of the top
ten meals I ever had in my life!
Maybe it was hiking 11 miles or just super hungry-it was a pasta
dinner
with the best red sauce! Yum yum!!
Aug 26-A good night sleep-aching knees as usual, but they were fine
by morning and then a very pleasant
(unusually so) and uneventful 8 mile almost flat hike out to the road to
be picked up. An amazing 4 day stretch!
- Aug 28-29- After a zero day staying at the wonderful
- Eagle Mountain Inn in Jackson, NH, and enjoying
- the local creek, we headed out for our last big
- adventure for this year-hiking down Mt Washington-
- Southbound! We have always headed north,
- being very traditional in our hiking ways.
- But Mt Washington is notorious for killing people.
- Worse weather in America, they say,
- at only 6200 feet in elevation.
- Cold and windy on top year round,
- and rain and snow anytime.
- They have a big wall poster at the top giving
- the names of all that have died on the mountain.
- A dubious honor for sure. Most of exposure or
- cardiac arrest.
- I was determined to try not to tempt the fates- so,
- with rain predicted, let’s hike down,
- not up, and cover the south side this year and
- north side
- next time out.
- This we did. And only because there is a private auto
- road that goes to the top!
- It was first constructed around 1860.
They said something like, “leave in the base of the mountain in
summer and arrive on top in November.” And
they are correct.
We left the bottom at about 70+ degrees in the early morning,
my Sweety drove us to the top on a
fairly treacherous road, and we got out to 50 degrees and
high winds! Ran to the tippy top for a photo,
then headed down southbound. And it was no easy downhill.
Like a moonscape.
Above tree line and a billion rocks all around.
My Sweety
was such a trooper she decided to hike with us
part way, and went down the mike and a half to the
famous
Lake Of The Clouds Hut.
We paused there a a break-she went back up
with only cairns to
light you way and we headed on down,
which is definitely a misnomer as I felt we were going up
more than down.
Only a 6 mile day for us, but it was long and hard.
Made it to hike to our Mizpah Spring Hut by
mid day and then the rains came. -
A nice place to be inside, but not as good a dinner
as before.
Still, very nice to be dry and warm.
Next morning, out to finish our hike down to
Crawford Notch
and if was not easy.
Had to navigate the Webster Cliffs, a series of ledges going
down that I was sure I was going to fall off!
Took all day to get off the mountain, but finished our
two week adventure
Did not go as far as hoped, only did 109 miles in two
weeks and was hoping to complete NH.
But it was very tough each and every day.
The rest of NH will have to await another year and
in the meantime
we will stay at the top of Mt Washington in our minds!
Completed to Mile 1860!
