- A Vortex is a trail town that sucks you in and won't let you go. Lincoln, NH was a vortex for me.
- Everyone I talked with in the Whites used the same word to describe the trails: Brutal. I can't come up with a better word. The trails were truly sadistic.
The difficulty of the trail during the last five or six days was several orders of magnitude greater than what I've experienced on the Appalachian Trail (AT) or any trail I've hiked. Parts of the descents were potentially life threatening where a trip or slip could lead to a serious or lethal head injury. I questioned and still question if this was worth the risk. But ... for some reason I hike on.
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On my way to Mt Lafayette. |
It turns out that it really doesn't make it that much easier. At the start I felt less stress on the joints which was welcome. What it didn't do was allow me to hike faster. Half way through I realized I was going to get to Franconia Notch at or shortly after sunset. The rest of the hike was a forced march down a rocky trail in a race against the fading sun. Needless to say my first slack packing experience was not very fun and stressful.
On the way down from North Kinsman Mountain my left knee began to hurt. Eighteen hundred miles and now my knee starts to hurt. At this point I started to ask why I was doing this. Had my body reached its physical limits? Was it time to go home?
I arrived at a parking lot just as the last light of the sun was fading. As I pulled out my phone to call a shuttle a car pulled up and asked if I needed a ride to Lincoln. I said sure and they took me back to my hotel. Trail magic.
I called the Wife to talk about my thoughts. She encouraged me to keep going. I was not totally convinced that keeping going is the right option but continue I will ... for now.
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The mountains go on forever. |
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Even panoramas can not capture the sweeping views. |
The climb up Little Haystack Mountain, Mt Lincoln, and Mt Lafayette went well. The difficulty started when you descended Lafayette. The rocky descent slowed me to a crawl and the knee pain returned.
After one last climb and decent of Mt Garfield I arrived at Garfield Ridge Shelter. It was a ten mile day and I got there just before dark. It was a cold night with a frost advisory. I stayed warm in the shelter.
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Yes, fall colors are making an appearance. |
I stopped after less than ten miles at the Zealand Falls Hut. The huts are run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). They are beautiful cabins/lodges with running water, some solar electricity, and food. They are also expensive. Fortunately the AMC offers a few spots for thru-hikers to work for stay. I washed dishes and was allowed to eat cold leftovers and to sleep on the floor once the paying guests went to bed. The food was excellent.
That night the stars were out in force. I slept well once the class of middle schoolers finally quieted down.
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How many colors do you want? |
I left the hut and soon joined the Ethan Pond Trail. Wow. The trail was smooth and rock free. It climbed slowly over seven miles or so. I blazed through this section averaging over two miles per hour for the first time in a long time. I was bummed when the trail returned to its rocky ways.
The extra speed gave me time to climb Mt Webster and Mt Jackson in time to arrive at Mizpah Springs Hut. I decided to shell out the fee and get a bunk and hot meal here. After eating a great meal I went to bed early. My bunk room in this three story hut was empty. It was nice to have a quiet and warm place to sleep.
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The sun is struggling to get through the clouds. |
The day started foggy and cloudy. There were hardly a view for the first five miles. I stopped at the Lake of the Clouds Hut to use the privy and to refill my water.
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I'm heading for those mountains. |
The next six miles were a slow, rocky slog up, down, and around mountains. I snapped off a trekking pole and smacked my right knee on a rock in the process. I was able to repair my pole somewhat but my knee bruised and would hurt the next few days.
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The Madison Springs Hut at the base of Mt Madison. |
I shared the floor with two non-AT hikers. One girl was doing the forty-eight mountain challenge doing the forty-eight tallest mountains in New Hampshire. She was curious about the AT and we discussed our hiking experiences.
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The view from Mt Madison. That is fog in the valleys. |
The way down was brutal. I felt like I was constantly starting to fall. I'm not sure if my sense of balance was working properly. I averaged a half a mile an hour down this rocky, sadistic trail.
Part ways down I ran into Tarzan and Sista' who had flip flopped (jumped north to Katahdin and then hiked south). We chatted a while before my struggle to get down the hill continued.
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Despite the yellow arrow, the Appalachian Trail is not the Camino de Santiago. |
I got to the Pinkham Notch visitors center and called a hostel for a pick up. At the hostel I found George who I hadn't seen since Harper's Ferry. She'd been stuck in the hostel vortex for twelve days. We hugged and smiled our way through our reunion. She had flipped at Kent, CT and would be heading south ... eventually. She was not only completing her AT but also hiking home to North Carolina.
Day 174 - I expected to be sore from my fall when I woke up but the swelling near the bruised calf had gone down and, while stiff, I was not as achy as I thought I would be.
I took the hostel's free shuttle to Walmart for resupply. I changed my plan slightly adding a day. I'm not sure how easy or hard it will be. I'm hoping it will be a little easier than what I just went through. Southwest Maine is not supposed to be easy but I can't imagine anything harder than the Whites.
Pictures can be found in my 2019 Appalachian Trail Google Photos album.
Total Distance: 1,872.6 Miles (3,013.6 km)
Section Distance: 69.1 Miles (111.2 km)
Section Elevation Up: 22,961 ft (6,998 m)
Section Elevation Down: 23,098 ft (7,040 m)
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Note: The extra blue line pointing to Lincoln was due to me forgetting to turn off my GPS. |
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