Oct 24th, 2009 by parryphrase
From Hazard’s notes:
Day 101: August 18, 2009
Travel:
From: Beaver Brook Shelter, NH
To: Lincoln, NH
Beginning: 6:30am
Ending: 5:00pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 17.8
b) other – .1 both ways to Kinsman Pond Shelter
c) AT Mile Marker – 1805.6 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and hot.
People: Big family that were all at each other’s throats, Joe Kickass, Rattlefoot, Crocstar, Wiz-Kid, Chet West, our shuttle to town.
Animals: 0
Money: $12 for pizza dinner, $40 resupply, $10 donation for hostel stay. $1835 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: That family was bickering all evening. Their dad was yelling at them, the boys were yelling at each other, and at one point somebody spilled the pot cooking dinner causing another commotion. I asked Spoon if he heard one of the kids say last night, “You want to cry about that too?” and we had a good laugh about that. Since we were up before the sun, as we ate breakfast the sun was starting to creep over the mountain tops bathing the sky in pink, orange, and red. It was easily the prettiest sunrise yet on the trip. We needed to pump water and while we spent 30 minutes filling up 6 liters of water, all of the thru-hikers had left including Crocstar. It was here that we realized the water filter was too clogged and had a pinhole leak so now we needed to find an alternative system to procure water. We finally made it out of camp and started down the Beaver Brook trail which had the trail run alongside the brook so we had cascading water on our left and a dangerously steep trail in front of us. The trail took us down large boulders and across wet sheets of slick rock. Most places were so sketchy that wooden steps were bolted into the sides of the rock and there were re-bar handholds in some places. Things were so crazy I had to take a video of the madness. When we got down to the N.H. 112 it was time to head straight back up from Kinsman Notch to Mt. Wolf. Every time we got to what we thought was the peak, we were disappointed to see another peak that had previously been blocked from view. This was great training for the next couple of days which would have us go over many false peaks. Once we arrived at Eliza Brook Shelter we learned that Crocstar took a fall down Beaver Brook trail and possibly broke a few ribs. He was in a lot of pain walking with his pack, but there really wasn’t anything we could do much less anyone could do about it so we just kept walking, giving him a good head start. Before we left Spoon bummed some Aquamira from Joe Kickass so we didn’t have to pump water for 30 minutes in the stream. The trail to South Kinsman Mtn took us up the falling stream of Eliza Brook so if felt much like coming down Beaver Brook but in the opposite direction. Once we diverged from the brook, the trail got increasingly harder requiring us to climb steeper rock faces and pull ourselves over larger rocks. A many times I would pull myself up to where the trail flattened out and see the next peak and hope it was the top but when I got there I saw the next stage of our climb. Spoon surged ahead so that he was sitting on the peak waiting for me to make it to the top. We enjoyed our victory momentarily and absorbed the stunning views all around us and then realized we had to get to North Kinsman across a pretty deep saddle. We made it over to North Kinsman and started to head down the steep backside and what amazed me was how the incredible view of the distant mountains would not leave our sight. It was a struggle to keep my eyes focused on where I was placing my feet instead of locked on the horizon. Part way down we encountered our first AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) shelter/campsite which is one of many fee sites along the trail maintained by the club, from Kinsman Notch to Grafton Notch. These sites are very similar to the shelters we are used to seeing on the trail except these sites are much bigger, usually have designated tent pads, and have a caretaker on site. We stopped in to take a look and I was impressed with how new and big the shelter was and it was nestled right next to a beautiful lake. A hiker named Wiz-Kid was hanging out at the shelter taking a break and when I introduced us he immediately knew who we were from a guy named UCOC (Nick). It was great to hear that Nick was so close, but he was heading to a spot roughly 10 miles ahead of us tonight and it would be really tough to gain on him through the Whites. It was also Wiz-Kid’s 23rd birthday today so we gave him good birthday wishes and continued down the trail. A couple miles later we came upon our first AMC hut which is a large, enclosed lodge that sleeps from 36 to 90 people and operated by a “croo” which cooks the meals and provides other services to the full paying visitors. Lonesome Lake Hut in particular sits next to a lake and its bunkhouse is separate from the main building. We took a look inside and saw a bunch of picnic tables and a full on kitchen where some of the croo were preparing that night’s dinner. An aroma filled the air and I had to ask what they were cooking and the croo member responded with, “Oh, I’m just baking up some focaccia bread.” We had to get out of there or else I was going to die from not being able to get my hands on that fresh bread. Spoon indulged in some self-service food and drink and then we left.
PM: As we got closer to I-93 and Franconia Notch we could hear the cars speeding around the mountain and it felt like ages before we finally came up onto the highway. After 20 minutes of Spoon sticking his thumb out, and having one idiot serve to act like he was going to hit him, Wiz-Kid emerged from the woods. We knew there was a hostel in the town of Lincoln and the book said to call ahead. Chet answered and told us there was room and I asked him if there was any shuttle in town in case hitching a ride doesn’t pan out. He gave me a number to call and told us the best place to hitch was down the highway a ways and to try our luck there. Our luck didn’t pick up at all and the traffic was really sparse so I just called the shuttle and we were able to split it 3 ways so it was only $5 bucks a person. The shuttle gave us the lightning tour of the town of Lincoln and suggested some places to eat and resupply. At Chet’s he gave a rundown of the rules, we signed his fridge, and then we collected Crocstar to go eat. Lincoln’s services were a little spread out and the main street in town was maybe a half a mile from Chet’s so he provides bikes to hikers staying with him so we all saddled up and rode out. Spoon wrangled a mean tandem bike, while I sat in a 3-wheeled cruiser that reminded me of a cross between a chopper and a big wheel. I took my broken pole with me, hoping the outfitter could help me out, but we found out that they were pretty useless. They didn’t have a single item that we needed. No water purification, no water bladders, no fuel, no Leki poles, no nothing. We went to the town’s “Greek” restaurant but it really was a pizza place that happened to serve gyros. I was so hungry I got an entire large sausage pizza for myself while Spoon had a steak sandwich and Croc ordered bits and pieces from all over the menu. Most of the hikers we had run into the past day or two ended up in town tonight at Chet’s and came to eat at the pizza place so it was nice being in good company. After dinner we resupplied for the next 5 big days through the Whites and made a stop at a CVS to get a dropper bottle for our new purification system – bleach. It only takes a couple drops of bleach in 1 liter of water plus waiting 20 minutes to get clean water. Spoon’s water filter ended up in the hiker box back at Chet’s place. The rest of the evening consisted of laundry, Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream, and trying to recover from a serious stomach ache from eating too much while reading Calvin and Hobbes comics. When Chet turned the lights out everyone settled into their bunk, floor, or couch, and listened to the sound of the fan humming near the back door. Then the fan shorted out or the power fluctuated so that its spin came to a halt and a dismayed hiker let out a whispered whimper, “Noooooo.” It would have been uncomfortably hot with the fan down and out; thankfully someone heard the hiker’s plea and it came back on its own a short time later…
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Oct 5th, 2009 by parryphrase
From Hazard’s notes:
Day 100: August 17, 2009
Travel:
From: Ore Hill Shelter, NH
To: Beaver Brook Shelter, NH
Beginning: 6:30am
Ending: 2:30pm
Number of the hiked:
a) Trail – 15.5
b) other -
c) AT Mile Marker – 1787.8 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and hot. Pretty clear day so we could see for miles.
People: Crocstar, Zipper, Bamboo Moves yoga crew, Joe Kickass, Rattlefoot,
Animals: NH seems to be full of Chipmunks and toads.
Money: $0, $1773 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: Woke up before the sun came up and shuffled around for food and packed up before anyone else but Croc was stirring. We had 8.7 miles of rolling hills and unnecessarily confusing road crossings before we got to the base of Mt. Moosilauke and our 3500′ climb. I actually spent 20 mins at NH 25C going up the road the wrong way then coming back down to a trail up near some power lines and then finally found the AT. I blame the sun because it was blasting me in the face where I should have been looking for the blazes. We all stopped at Jeffers Brook Shelter for an early lunch (10am) and Croc took off about an hour before we started our climb (11am) due to privy inspections and water acquisition. After a few tenths of a mile up the trail from the shelter we hit a short road walk that had a clear view of the monster we were about to face. We got to the sign where the trail turned back into the woods and it told us we had 4.1 miles to the summit so I settled into a good pace to get me to the top.
PM: About half-way up I jammed my pole into the ground pretty deep and my feet slipped so I ended up snapping my right pole again. Thankfully, just like last time, I am only a day away from an outfitter in town so it is a minor inconvenience. As I made my way closer to the summit and got above the treeline the views opened up and I was just in awe. I could see the summit with all the people on top and magnificent views of all the surrounding mountains, the Green Mountains to the west and the Whites to the northeast. At the top I dropped my pack and looked around in wonderment; it couldn’t have been a prettier day. We stayed on top for about an hour, Croc had left the summit before even Spoon had reached the summit. We would find him later down at the shelter in his sleeping bag with his book resting. While up on the summit I gave Cat a quick call to share the momentous occasion and then we got some fruit from some day hikers. Then we came down to the shelter where we found Croc and then took some time of our own to lie around and be lazy. Zipper who we met on top of Moosilauke came in soon after and we chatted for awhile until the Yoga people came in for lunch. They were an interesting bunch full of questions and food that Spoon managed to ‘Yogi’ quite a lot of. We had an apple, carrots & hummus, and a nature bar. After they left we started dinner as the guys from the last shelter came rolling in. A huge family of like 8 kids came in as we were finishing dinner and all of the campsites were taken long before they arrived so I don’t know how that’s going to work. I am however going to bed early again for an early rise tomorrow.
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Oct 5th, 2009 by parryphrase
From Hazard’s notes:
Day 99: August 16, 2009
Travel:
From: Trapper John Shelter, NH
To: Ore Hill Shelter, NH
Beginning: 7:30am
Ending: 4:45pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 19.1
b) other – .3 each way to Hexacuba for a look at the wild shelter, .1 to Ore Hill.
c) AT Mile Marker – 1772.3 culumlative
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and hot yet again.
People: Crocstar, Joe Kickass, Rattlefoot, Carhop, Kermit.
Animals: Nothing special.
Money: $0, $1773 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: The guidebook simply says, “Privy uses old chair.” The book doesn’t lie and there was the remains of an old rocking chair nailed to the base of the privy. Sitting on the chair was quite relaxing, but it made wiping hard. It was another beautiful day and our first mountain was Smarts Mountain. We were climbing for what felt like a long time until we finally got to a rocky outcropping where Spoon stopped to hang is legs over the edge. We were both under the impression that this was the top of Smarts until we were scanning the skyline and realized that the mountain to our left had a fire tower on top and that there was supposed to be a fire tower on top of Smarts Mountain. That sinking feeling was felt by all of us that we weren’t even close to the top and that we were looking at it from far below. We trudged on, making our way to the top of the mountain climbing wooden ladders and steel steps drilled into the side of the rock. When I got to the tower I dropped my pack and joined Spoon who had already made it up the loud steep steps. Panoramic views surrounded us as we had a midday snack. The fire warden’s cabin below us was originally built by the NH forest service but was now maintained as a shelter by the DOC. At some point Spoon thought it would be a good idea to simply drop his snack bag full of crackers to the ground below instead of walking them down the stairs. Needless to say they were pulverized upon impact. Before we made our way back down I tried spotting Mt. Moosilauke without much luck because I realized I had no idea what the top of that mountain looked like. As the three of us were about to leave the tower, Joe Kickass and Rattlefoot were just arriving. The trail took us down the mountain to South Jacob’s Brook where I found Crocstar sitting up on the rocks taking a smoke break. I snapped a picture and then moved on.
PM: By the time I got to the side trail to Hexacuba Shelter, Crocstar was pulling out his lunch. Spoon had already walked up the .3 mile side trail to the shelter and I wanted to take a look at this unique shelter myself so I dropped my pack and made my way up. Hexacuba is the only hexagon shaped shelter on the trail which is also paired with a pentagon shaped privy. After I took some pictures, Spoon followed me back down to the trail where we had some lunch. Afterwords we filled up our water and headed up the short 1000′ climb to the summit of Mt. Cube which had us traverse over exposed, steep rock faces. The trail took us down to a road where we passed an older hiker that we recognized from passing a few days in a row. I had to know why we kept running into this guy the past few days and I learned that his name was Carhop and that he had been thru-hiking the trail by driving up the trail and hiking southbound to another car that he would then drive up to the next section of trail. He had not told his employer what he was doing and spent his mornings working remotely as if he was actually at home and then hike from 3pm until late into the night. He slept in hotel rooms every night and I can only imagine when he actually had time to sleep. It just goes to show you that anyone who wants to hike the trail bad enough can do it. Even if you have a job you can’t quit. We said goodbye and good luck and made our final approach to Ore Hill Shelter which was buggy enough for Spoon and I to pitch our tent just in case. One of the things Crocstar bought in Hanover was a bug bivy that allowed him to sleep in the shelter sans mosquitoes. None of us would be having a sleepless night again, especially the night before we were to enter the White Mountains. At the shelter we met an older hiker woman named Kermit, who had hiked in the White Mountains before and had her nephew hiking with her this week. We picked her brain about what to expect in the Whites while her nephew made a fire. Joe Kickass and Rattlefoot made it into the shelter that night as well. I would learn that Rattlefoot got his name from the time he accidentally stepped on a rattlesnake and somehow managed to not get bitten. Spoon and I retired to the tent early because we were going to start a new schedule of waking up at 5am to get ready for hiking through the Whites. The trail will be getting harder and we’ll need to end our day of hiking around 4:30pm to get a spot in the huts. I had a tough time relaxing in anticipation for climbing Mt. Moosilauke tomorrow.
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Oct 5th, 2009 by parryphrase
From Hazard’s notes:
Day 98: August 15, 2009
Travel:
From: Hanover, NH
To: Trapper John Shelter, NH
Beginning: 10:45am
Ending: 6:00pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 16.7
b) other – .2 each way to Moose Mtn Shelter, .3 to Trapper John Shelter.
c) AT Mile Marker – 1753.2 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Another sunny and hot day. We’re on a roll.
People: Short and Sweet & Greybeard, Crocstar!, Joe Kickass, Rattlefoot, Pooh & his daughter.
Animals: Nothing new.
Money: $25 resupply, $1773 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: Woke up around 7am and went upstairs where S&S and Greybeard were already stirring. We had promised to stack wood before breakfast in thanks for their hospitality so we laced up our boots and joined Greybeard outside. We worked for a good 30 minutes making a sizable dent in the wood pile before S&S called us in for breakfast. She had made a spread of pancakes and turkey sausage with orange juice. Spoon and I discussed our plans for the day including the need to get to the grocery store and where we were headed tonight. Shortly after breakfast Crocstar called me and he said that he had made it into town and was at the post office. We needed to get moving to make it out of town in a reasonable time so we asked Greybeard to take us to the grocery store. On the way we passed Dartmouth College and while sitting at a stoplight we spotted Crocstar on the side of the street. We pulled over and told him it was good to see him and what our plans were for the rest of the day. He had had a crazy last couple of days even pulling a 30 mile day through VT to try and make it to Hanover by today. Today he still needed to get some chores done and then was going to take in a cup of coffee somewhere and just have a breather from rushing down the trail the past few days. We said goodbye and hoped we would see him up the trail soon. The local grocery was actually a food co-op loaded with local and organic foods. Unfortunately we would be buying none of those things and resupplied with the usual. After we repackaged our food we headed out toward the soccer fields where the trail disappeared into the woods. The trail leaving Hanover was tough because it wasn’t marked very well, a lot of trees had fallen across the trail, and it was steep. It got so bad that we managed to get ourselves turned around and found ourselves back at a signpost we had past a few minutes ago. We actually were going in circles. How frustrating. The DOC (Dartmouth Outing Club) used to use orange and black blazes to mark the AT along their section but now that is no longer in practice. We saw some of the blazes while hiking but most have all but faded away.
PM: The trail took us up knotted ropes, across boreal bogs, dense pine forests, and lush green meadows. Not bad for our first day in New Hampshire. We climbed up to the top of Moose Mountain (elevation 2,222) and got a brief look at the surrounding mountains. We then headed down to Moose Mtn Shelter which had a side trail that reconnected with the AT. Spoon has been so intent to hike the whole trail (purist) that we hiked to where the side trail rejoined the AT and hiked back south on the side trail to reach the shelter. Once there, we had a few snacks for a late lunch and read the register. It looked like a lot of people were headed to Trapper John Shelter tonight, at least 5 mentioned in the register. Guess its going to be a full house tonight. I went to make use of the privy and when I approached it I was amazed that it was a huge throne that you stepped up onto where you sat in between 4 large tree trunks holding a roof over your head. It was really a sight to behold and a sight you could see from where someone had set up their tent, so I was quick. We continued on down the trail past Goose Pond and then uphill to Holts Ledge where we got another spectacular view. We headed down toward tonight’s shelter and arrived at the side trail for it at the same time as Ringo, an older hiker, and blazed past him hoping there were still spots available in the shelter. When we got there we were surprised at how many people were standing around the shelter, talking and having a really good time. Something seemed off and it wasn’t until I noticed the Long Trail Ale’s a bunch of people were drinking, the McDonald’s wrappers lying around, and the assorted baked goods spread across the ground that I knew this was Magic! An AT thru-hiker alumni named Pooh had packed in these delicious treats for us and brought his young daughter with him. He was a delightful guy to talk to and was full of good information and tips for the trail ahead. Plus you really can’t go wrong with a guy that brings black and white cookies (although not from New York). Just as I was taking a big bite from my Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Crocstar comes walking into camp and Spoon and I greeted him excitedly and commanded him to partake in the festivities. He happily obliged and took a beer and claimed some pastries because the food supply was about gone and Pooh was going to make his way back to his car soon. We thanked him for such a great surprise and awesome generosity. Since we had eaten so much food (I had 2 burgers, fries, apple slices, and reserved a black and white) Spoon and I decided we didn’t need to cook dinner and we retired to our sleeping bags early. None of the people hanging around the shelter planned to sleep there so the three of us had lots of room to spread out.
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Oct 5th, 2009 by parryphrase
From Hazard’s notes:
Day 97: August 14, 2009
Travel:
From: Wintturi Shelter, VT
To: Hanover, NH
Beginning: 7:30am
Ending: 9:00pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 26.2
b) other – .2 back to trail, .2 each way to Cloudland farms.
c) AT Mile Marker – 1736.5 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and hot all day. Just beautiful.
People: Tennessee Ed & Sis, Tim, “Short and Sweet” & Greybeard, Elizabeth.
Animals: Iron bridge jumpers.
Money: $6 for ice cream & soda at Cloudland, $7 for sandwich and lemonade at the deli, $10 burger at Molly’s. $1748 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: Angry girl didn’t make eye contact with either one of us all morning. Since she was giving us the cold shoulder and we didn’t want to talk to her anyway, we turned our attention to Tennessee Ed and Sis who were also in the shelter last night. Ed was an old fellow who had been section hiking the AT for over 30 years and if it hadn’t had been for the rain earlier in the season he would be finishing the trail on this outing. His sister, who is from High Point, NC, has been joining him on these 1-2 week hikes for over 15 years. We set off down the trail towards VT 12 where Tim was starting his day hike this morning. We ran into him a couple miles down the trail and we were really stoked to see him. He greeted us and handed us a Gatorade and a bunch of snacks, including homemade cookies from his wife, so we sat down and had a snack. Sadly this was the last time we’d see Tim, but three days of him looking after us was really special and part of which makes hiking the trail so rewarding. So thank you Tim for all that you have done! The rest of the morning we waded through a couple of cow pastures and drifted over some hills, where I got stung by a bee, until we got to Cloudland Road.
PM: We had heard about how Cloudland Farms had the best Ice Cream in Vermont, so naturally we had to verify this statement for ourselves. We climbed up the hill, past the construction crews, to the little store attached to the stables. Spoon bought blackberry ice cream and a maple soda and I got strawberry ice cream with a raspberry rhubarb soda. All of it was insanely delicious as the ingredients were all organic and then we added some M&Ms and cookies to the pint from Tim’s goodie bag. Hanging between two trees was a hammock that I couldn’t resist taking advantage of on such a beautiful day. I called my dad to talk to him about our extraction from Maine since that was coming up in three weeks and then I called my mom. It would have been nice to just lay around talking on the phone all day but we needed to get into Hanover by tonight so we gathered our stuff and headed back to the trail. We continued on over the rolling hills of Vermont passing miles of rubber tubing attached to the trees to harvest syrup. It looked like an interconnected network of hose that would funnel the syrup downhill to the farmers below. We came out near VT 14 and started walking down the residential street toward the heart of West Hartford passing some nice homes and even a red barn with the words “Leslie Marry Me!!” painted on the side. As we walked down the hill towards the main street we saw a group of kids standing around the middle of Iron Bridge and then to our surprise one just jumped off plummeting towards the river below. As we walked by, commenting on how crazy they were to be jumping off this bridge, I couldn’t help to think how much fun it must be but at the same time how scary far it was to the water from this height. We turned the corner and found ourselves walking straight towards a deli called the West Hartford Village Store. I went inside and was soon in line ordering a sandwich called “The Woodstock” (menu description is in Photos section) and had a lemonade to go with it. Spoon ended up ordering the same thing and we both sat down and enjoyed the rare luxuries of a deli sandwich. By the time we were done it was getting late and we were risking another late night of hiking. We picked up the pace and were able to get to Norwich, VT shortly before dusk. As we walked down the quiet neighborhood street we noticed a cooler sitting outside someone’s house that looked to be trail magic. It was! Inside were slices of watermelon and chocolate cake. While we sat down taking in the delicious snack, the owners of the house were outside and came over to greet us. We came to learn that this was “The Brain’s House” who had thru-hiked a few years ago and his parents were Short & Sweet and Greybeard. We got to talking and I asked them if there was any cheap place to stay in Hanover and Greybeard gave me the short answer of “No” but if we wanted we could stay with them for the night. Wow! Spoon and I excitedly accepted their offer. They even said to just throw our packs in the garage if we wanted to finish our hike into town and get a burger at one of the restaurants and just give them a call when we wanted to get picked up and brought back to their place. This was an unreal offer and we couldn’t be happier to have a place to stay that night as we were worried we might have to hitch out of town just get a motel. Now we were walking pack-free into Hanover to look for a place with some burgers and after a couple of poor suggestions from college students we landed in Molly’s. We were seated in the back next to the kitchen as always, but got a server named Elizabeth that was really excited to hear about our journey on the AT so far spending close to 15 minutes chatting with us and ignoring her other customers. Spoon and I both ordered the meatiest and cheesiest burger on the menu which had different album artwork on the front and back that was really cool. Once we were satisfied from our dinner I called Greybeard and he picked us up and brought us back to Norwich. Showers were had in between telling stories of our recent travels. We got to see pictures from the Brain’s parent’s recent trip that summer through the White Mountains of which we were about to enter. They even took care of our laundry while they got us pumped for the trail ahead. Before too long it was after 11pm and we needed to get some sleep, so we retired to the downstairs where air mattresses awaited. When the lights went out, I was out.
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