There were zero views today, not a one
The White Mountains are relentless beasts. They are unforgiving in every aspect of their being. Every ascent and descent are death defying and life altering experiences. Every step is the difference between life and death. Don't worry, I'm not being dramatic.
My plan for today was to slack pack Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. I was due to be picked up at 6:15AM, which gave me plenty of time seeing as I was awake and moving at 5:15AM. I packed my bag last night, so that was one less thing to do this morning.
I was picked up at 6:20AM and was walking north at 7:00AM. I spent today walkking with Barefodder and Jack.
Let's get this out of the way now: There were zero views today, not a one. However, if you count seeing the cloud your walking in, then i had views all day long.
The persistent and never ending climb to the anti-climatic summit of Mount Wolf east peak was very steep and had many spots that required me to maneuver around like a chimpanzee. In fact, that's the way all the ascents and descents were today.
Afterwards I began the descent to Eliza Brook Shelter, which is where I had lunch with Jack and Barefodder. It took me four hours to hike 7.5 miles. That's how hard the terrain was. That's how brutal the White Mountains are.
It was then time to ascend to the Kinsman Ridge. All the rocks were steep and slick. As I went higher, the cloud became thicker and the trees became shorter, but I was never completely above tree line.
After summiting South Kinsman, descending a little, and ascending North Kinsman, it was time to descend to Lonesome Lake Hut. This descent consisted of unprecedentedly steep rock faces, which were lathered in water. At the hut I found Cookie doing work for stay. We created a scheme that will most likely have us chasing each other through the Whites.
After drinking a bottomless cup of lemonade I descended to Franconia Notch with Barefodder and Jack.
At the notch we had to walk .7 off the trail to get to a parking lot where we got a ride back to the hostel with a volunteer of a search and rescue team looking for a missing hiker. We were back at the hostel by 5:45PM and eating dinner at Elvio's Pizza by 6:20PM.
Tomorrow I'll aim for Galehead Hut, but mother nature will tell the tale.
Good night, and good luck.
Kirby
Ga>ME 2008.
