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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