I pack up languidly, walking to the edge of the pond, misty in the morning light, several times as the dawn progresses, hoping to get a nice sunrise. I am moving very slowly this morning and exhibiting avoidance behavior at pulling on my damp, cold clothes in the chilly morning air.
I finally get on the trail at seven, later than I intended. Leaving the pond, I stay on the numerous bog bridges as the trail heads uphill. A short while later I am back on the Appalachian Trail and heading north and uphill.
The first climb of the day takes me up to Mount Wolf, where I have to navigate some challenging boulder climbs. My legs aren't sore, but they aren't working very well; it feels like I have weights attached to my ankles, not fresh like I usually feel in the mornings. I also have a headache. Either I'm coming down with something or I am just tired from the climbing yesterday. I have to take smaller steps, which is hard to do on these big rocks.
By nine o'clock I cross Mount Wolf and I've only done 800 feet over 1.3 miles plus the trail from the beaver pond. I am moving at a snail-like pace today, but it is what it is.
The trail through here is not really a hiking trail but a series of obstacles to navigate. It's as if all of the states took all of their craziest and worst trail conditions, dumped them together like dice in a Yahtzee cup, and then spilled the contents out onto this trail.
I'm so glad that I did not do this as a slack pack, which would be almost 17 grueling miles. And I am extremely glad that I hiked in last night to whittle down the amount of miles and gain that I have to do today. I normally can count on a minimum of two miles an hour on my hikes, but with this hot mess I'm lucky to do a mile every 45 minutes in some places. This is going to take me a heck of a lot longer than I originally planned.
I pass Eliza Brook shelter Around 11 A.M, completing four miles and 1,000 feet. I am so ridiculously slow this morning. From here, I start my upward slog to the Kinsman Peaks. I will be gaining 2,000 feet over two miles. Normally 500 feet per mile is steep, so 1,000 feet per mile is going to be extremely steep.
Leaving Eliza Brook shelter the trail parallels the brook for about a mile and I get to look at beautiful cascades and waterfalls as I hike uphill against the flow of the stream. The trail is rocky and steep but not unmanageable except for in a couple places where trees are down across the trail and I have to shimmy under or climb over them while trying to navigate the steep incline.
When the trail crosses the Eliza Brook and diverges from the stream for the last time, I take off my pack and top off my water. I drink some electrolytes and have a snack, hoping that will boost my energy. What I really need is a cup of coffee. This will be the last water until I get up and over the mountain, which is only three miles, but at the rate that I'm hiking today, it will take me many hours.
The trail starts to go straight up on boulders. I debate putting my poles away but there are many times when I'm able to use them. I have to find hand holds on many of the rocks to hoist myself up. My shoes are well suited for this kind of hike, but I still slip In places. I always maintain three points of contact on the rock to avoid a nasty fall. Getting rescued out here would be no small feat.
The next mile is ridiculously steep, with 1,000 feet of gain. Unarguably one of the toughest miles I've ever done on the trail. The climb takes me an hour, and by the time I reach the South Kinsman Peak, I am spent. The sun is shining brightly overhead and it's quite hot at the top. There are a ton of people sitting on rocks and enjoying the gorgeous views.
I see a group of young campers that are part of a summer camp. I saw them when I was hiking up to Moosilauke yesterday. Several of them excitedly chatter at me. Most of them look to be in the 12 to 14 year old range, and they are handling the mountains well. They ask where I stayed and where I am going. When I tell them I'm going to Maine, some squeal with amazement.
I pause and take in the gorgeous views. I can see Moosilauke to the south, and to the east I see the peaks of Lincoln, Haystack, and Lafayette, where I will be tomorrow. This is the second 4,000 foot peak I will be climbing in New Hampshire, with Moosilauke being the first. Every day I will climb at least one 4,000 foot mountain until I leave the Whites, with some much higher.
I continue towards North Kinsman, with a few more crazy rock scrambles over the next mile. I see some alpine cranberries, and I try the small red fruit, which is surprisingly less bitter than the larger cranberries that I've tried in the wild.
The views on the north peak are much less dramatic than the south peak, but still gorgeous. There are fewer people here, but more are hiking up.
I head down the trail and not surprised to see that the trail has lots of rock scrambles down. I need to decide what I'm going to do tonight. This hike is taking much longer than anticipated. By the time I get down to Franconia Notch, it will probably be a very late night doing laundry and taking a shower.
I could stay at Kinsman Pond tonight. There is a shelter available for a small fee. If I stay in the shelter, I can get an early start in the morning and try to get a shower and laundry before I head up from Franconia Notch tomorrow morning.
I arrive at the turnoff for the Kinsman Pond campsite and shelter. I need to make a decision now. I am so weary that I decide to head towards the shelter and if there is room available then I will stay here tonight. I'm really tired and want to go to bed early. Actually, I could go to bed right now, but it's only 3 p.m.
I'm trying to figure out why I'm so freaking tired. I have been regularly gaining three or four thousand feet of elevation in a day for several days back to back. Why is today so different? Why are my legs not wanting to work? And why does it feel like I'm wearing 10 to 15 extra pounds on my back, when I'm actually carrying less than I usually do. Then it hits me. I'm at a much higher altitude than I have been spending the last two-and-a-half months! I am spending more time above 3,000 feet, and while it's not very high in terms of all the mountains I've done, it's the most consecutive days that I've been at this altitude. I have always been very sensitive to even the slightest changes in altitude. This would explain the fatigue and mild headaches.
I enter the campsite, which isn't like any other campsite I have seen, but small tenting areas distributed throughout the woods over a pretty large distance. I pass the caretakers tent, but no one is present. They must be busy with their duties, so I proceed to the shelter. There are a few spots taken in the shelter, but it is otherwise wide open. I start setting up my sleeping pad and a young man tells me the caretaker is running around.
He says the three that are set up in the shelter didn't have any cash, so the caretaker is having them plant a few trees to earn their stay. As I finish setting up a young woman in a green AMC Polo and a clipboard is directing people to a nearby campsite. She tells the other tenters that that are set up in the space that they need to move their tents closer together to make room for more arrivals with the authority of a drill sergeant. The arriving groups of campers are coming in like a bus just let them off at the trail junction.
I introduce myself and let her know that I would like to stay in the shelter. She tells me that would be great and she will be right back to register me and collect my money. When she returns she has the group of young campers I saw at South Kinsman in tow. She gives me a sorrowful look and says "I'm sorry but they are staying in the shelter with you."
On the upside, she gives them a stern lecture about camp etiquette and looks at me and asks me what time I want to go to sleep. I say that I usually go to sleep around 8:00 p.m. and get up at 5:00 a.m.
"Okay, quiet hours start at 8:00 p.m." she says. The campers all nod acknowledgment, ready to shed their heavy packs. Their counselors high five each other with the 8 p.m. curfew.
I got to the cooking area and make my dinner. The young campers are next to me and they are all involved in cooking a group dinner which is super cute. Before they eat dinner they sing a song of thanks, and even though it's only 7:00 p.m., I think I'm ready to hit the hay.
I pull on my buff and put in my ear plugs and I am out like a light to the sound of adolescents giggling and screaming and singing. They are so cute and I'm so glad they're having a good time. I love the idea of taking kids in the woods. As long as I'm not the one doing it.
Today's Stats: 8.7 mile, 3,205 feet gain
Trail Stats: 1,820 miles, 361K feet gain
Milesnto Katahdin: 374 miles
No comments :
Post a Comment