Start: Franconia Notch, NH (Cascade Lodge)
End: Liberty Springs Tentsite
Miles: 2.6 today, 1796.4 total
A short day for miles, but a progressive one, nonetheless. I managed to drop another 1.5 - 2 pounds off my pack weight, so that makes 3 - 3.5 pounds lost since Operation Go-Lite began in Glencliff. And I spent a good while talking to Silver Wings about his pack, which weighs 16 pounds without food and water (I think). So, in total, I've gotten rid of my ground cover, rope, poncho container, Pur filter, and sleeping pad. My poncho should adequately replace the ground cover. I bought Polar Pure today to replace the filter, and I'm using my spare clothes right now as a fake sleeping pad. Honestly, the pad was more comfortable, and I'd prefer the quality of water that the filter gives me, as opposed to the iodine-tasting Polar Pure -treated water. However, the lost weight is more important I think. And there's more to be lost! I still haven't found an outfitters that carries a 6' x 10' Equinox tarp, but once I do, I can drop about 3 pounds by replacing my tent with a tarp. And Silver Wings said that the Nalgene bottles I'm carrying weigh 5.5 ounces each. If I replace those with 1-liter soda bottles, I'd probably drop a good 0.5 pound. He also said that stainless steel is one of the heavier metals for cookware. I think he mentioned that titanium was one of the best. And my pot is, you guessed it, stainless steel.
Friday, September 7, 2001
Thursday, September 6, 2001
day 117, Franconia Notch, NH
Start: Kinsman Notch, NH (Al's house)
End: Franconia Notch, NH (Cascade Lodge)
Miles: 16.3 today, 1793.8 total
So we all show up uninvited at this guy's house. His name is Al. Apparently he's a friend of Snack Attack. And Laura is buddy-buddy with Snack Attack, and I'm friends with Laura... and on down the line. Yesterday we hitched in to North Woodstock from Kinsman Notch, showed up at Al's door, and invited ourselves in. Two SOBOs had already stayed a night and were going to stay at least another couple nights. Later Snack Attack, Orkin Man, and Wise Owl (Jake) showed up. So this one guy, Al, has 7 hikers staying at his place taking advantage of him. While it was great taking a shower, using his cookware, etc, I really did feel bad for the guy. I'm thinking of sending him some brownies or something to make up for it.
This morning Al drove Jake and me to the trailhead. We did the 16-17 miles to Franconia Notch and then hitched back into North Woodstock, but stayed at the Cascade Lodge rather than Al's place. The hiking wasn't too bad. Saw 3 glider planes up on South Kinsman (they were off in the distance, not ON the mountain).
A lot of familiar people here at the lodge. Silver Wings, Numbfoot, the Deputies, possibly more. Jake and I had an awesome dinner at the restaurant across the street from Truant's Tavern (don't remember the name). This lodge is old and run-down.
End: Franconia Notch, NH (Cascade Lodge)
Miles: 16.3 today, 1793.8 total
 |
| Heading back to Al's post-dinner, September 5. Laura took the photo. |
So we all show up uninvited at this guy's house. His name is Al. Apparently he's a friend of Snack Attack. And Laura is buddy-buddy with Snack Attack, and I'm friends with Laura... and on down the line. Yesterday we hitched in to North Woodstock from Kinsman Notch, showed up at Al's door, and invited ourselves in. Two SOBOs had already stayed a night and were going to stay at least another couple nights. Later Snack Attack, Orkin Man, and Wise Owl (Jake) showed up. So this one guy, Al, has 7 hikers staying at his place taking advantage of him. While it was great taking a shower, using his cookware, etc, I really did feel bad for the guy. I'm thinking of sending him some brownies or something to make up for it.
This morning Al drove Jake and me to the trailhead. We did the 16-17 miles to Franconia Notch and then hitched back into North Woodstock, but stayed at the Cascade Lodge rather than Al's place. The hiking wasn't too bad. Saw 3 glider planes up on South Kinsman (they were off in the distance, not ON the mountain).
A lot of familiar people here at the lodge. Silver Wings, Numbfoot, the Deputies, possibly more. Jake and I had an awesome dinner at the restaurant across the street from Truant's Tavern (don't remember the name). This lodge is old and run-down.
Wednesday, September 5, 2001
day 116, Kinsman Notch, NH
Start: Glencliff, NH (Hikers Welcome hostel)
End: Kinsman Notch, NH (Al's house)
Miles: 9.5 today, 1777.5 total
First day in the Whites and, man, was it amazing. I'd probably have to say that this has been the best day, in terms of scenery, so far. It beats Grayson Highlands. And this was some tough terrain, too, especially coming down Moosilauke into Kinsman Notch. Moosilauke was the theme of the day. Skipper and I left Glencliff around 11am. I managed to drop 1.5 lbs by sending home my ground sheet and some other items. But then we were hiking... It took a few miles to get to the base of the mountain and then we started going up. But no need to dramatize that, because the ascent really wasn't too bad. It was long, but not terribly steep. Then, up on the ridge, you walk half a mile to 1 mile just below treeline until it finally breaks and you walk up a bald, grassy mountain-top with cairns(?) as the trail markers. The coolest part was when I was along the ridge and I could look ahead and see a tiny Six String climbing up the bald part. He was like a monk. Six String, Laura (when she finally made it), and I hung out on top for a good 1-1.5 hours before coming down. And that's the hard part. Very steep, a long way down. Parts where you could fall and break your face. The trail paralleled a waterfall / creek most of the way down. Got to the bottom around 5pm and waited on Laura for quite awhile. From there we hitched into North Woodstock. I'll explain...
End: Kinsman Notch, NH (Al's house)
Miles: 9.5 today, 1777.5 total
 |
| Moosilauke summit. Left to right: Six String, Laura (Skipper), me |
First day in the Whites and, man, was it amazing. I'd probably have to say that this has been the best day, in terms of scenery, so far. It beats Grayson Highlands. And this was some tough terrain, too, especially coming down Moosilauke into Kinsman Notch. Moosilauke was the theme of the day. Skipper and I left Glencliff around 11am. I managed to drop 1.5 lbs by sending home my ground sheet and some other items. But then we were hiking... It took a few miles to get to the base of the mountain and then we started going up. But no need to dramatize that, because the ascent really wasn't too bad. It was long, but not terribly steep. Then, up on the ridge, you walk half a mile to 1 mile just below treeline until it finally breaks and you walk up a bald, grassy mountain-top with cairns(?) as the trail markers. The coolest part was when I was along the ridge and I could look ahead and see a tiny Six String climbing up the bald part. He was like a monk. Six String, Laura (when she finally made it), and I hung out on top for a good 1-1.5 hours before coming down. And that's the hard part. Very steep, a long way down. Parts where you could fall and break your face. The trail paralleled a waterfall / creek most of the way down. Got to the bottom around 5pm and waited on Laura for quite awhile. From there we hitched into North Woodstock. I'll explain...
Tuesday, September 4, 2001
day 115, Glencliff, NH
Start: Hexacuba Shelter
End: Glencliff, NH (Hikers Welcome hostel)
Miles: 14.7 today, 1768.0 total
Well guess who yellow blazed to Glencliff. "I'll take 'Skipper' for $500, Alex." And she does it again. Oh well. The hostel here is pretty cool. It's called "Hikers Welcome", which is kind of like naming your dog "Dog". But they've got a great selection of CDs that we played. Stevie Ray, Hendrix, Allman Brothers. And they've got a fridge stocked with candy bars, granola bars, crackers, sodas, V8, Ben & Jerry's. They also have a backpack making and repairing company called Moonbow. Some really wacky stuff. They make a lot of all-in-one packs. Like packs that open up / unfold into tents with sleeping bags inside. From looking at their catalog, their lightest pack / tent / sleeping bag combo weighs 5 lbs. The thing is, with the right gear, you could go even lighter than that. A Go-Lite pack at 1 lb, my Western Mountaineering 20-degree bag at 2 lbs, and a tarp (setup explained yesterday) at 1 lb - that's 4 lbs for the big three.
Met Sodapop. He's been doing some slacking out of here. Tonight we've got Laura, Sodapop, Ross (Phaedrus), Sojourner, and Six String. There are some others, too, but I don't think they're in for the long haul. Packrat, one of the owners, has some photo albums of his hikes. He's done the AT, the LT, PCT, Colorado Trail, and maybe more. Pretty cool stuff.
End: Glencliff, NH (Hikers Welcome hostel)
Miles: 14.7 today, 1768.0 total
Well guess who yellow blazed to Glencliff. "I'll take 'Skipper' for $500, Alex." And she does it again. Oh well. The hostel here is pretty cool. It's called "Hikers Welcome", which is kind of like naming your dog "Dog". But they've got a great selection of CDs that we played. Stevie Ray, Hendrix, Allman Brothers. And they've got a fridge stocked with candy bars, granola bars, crackers, sodas, V8, Ben & Jerry's. They also have a backpack making and repairing company called Moonbow. Some really wacky stuff. They make a lot of all-in-one packs. Like packs that open up / unfold into tents with sleeping bags inside. From looking at their catalog, their lightest pack / tent / sleeping bag combo weighs 5 lbs. The thing is, with the right gear, you could go even lighter than that. A Go-Lite pack at 1 lb, my Western Mountaineering 20-degree bag at 2 lbs, and a tarp (setup explained yesterday) at 1 lb - that's 4 lbs for the big three.
Met Sodapop. He's been doing some slacking out of here. Tonight we've got Laura, Sodapop, Ross (Phaedrus), Sojourner, and Six String. There are some others, too, but I don't think they're in for the long haul. Packrat, one of the owners, has some photo albums of his hikes. He's done the AT, the LT, PCT, Colorado Trail, and maybe more. Pretty cool stuff.
Monday, September 3, 2001
day 114, Hexacuba S, NH
Start: Moose Mountain Shelter
End: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles: 17.9 today, 1753.3 total
Little bit of climbing today. My legs feel worked, like I just did the leg press. First there was Holt's Ledges, a fairly short (< 2 miles) climb with some decent views at the top. But then the majority of the day was spent either climbing or descending Smarts Mountain. That was a pretty substantial climb (though I know in 2 days this climb will seem easy). Had a fire tower on top and the weather was clear. Numbfoot and I guesstimated that we could see at least 80 miles, since we could see Killington behind us.
Spent a good portion of the day thinking about how to be like Ray Jardine. I really want to get my pack weight down, and I'm thinking a lot now about hiking the PCT. Oh man. The two biggies left on my back are my tent and the pack itself. If I switched to a tarp, I could replace the tent and take off at least 3 pounds. Sojourner talked to me about how she did that and is glad she did. She says she's using an Equinox 6' x 10' tarp and an emergency blanket as a ground cover. She says the tarp weighs 9 ounces and the blanket is next to nothing. I want to do more research on Go-Lite and any other ultra-light packs. I could knock off a good 5 or even 6 pounds with one of those. So that's 8 or 9 pounds I could drop with those two items. Makes my mouth water...
End: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles: 17.9 today, 1753.3 total
Little bit of climbing today. My legs feel worked, like I just did the leg press. First there was Holt's Ledges, a fairly short (< 2 miles) climb with some decent views at the top. But then the majority of the day was spent either climbing or descending Smarts Mountain. That was a pretty substantial climb (though I know in 2 days this climb will seem easy). Had a fire tower on top and the weather was clear. Numbfoot and I guesstimated that we could see at least 80 miles, since we could see Killington behind us.
Spent a good portion of the day thinking about how to be like Ray Jardine. I really want to get my pack weight down, and I'm thinking a lot now about hiking the PCT. Oh man. The two biggies left on my back are my tent and the pack itself. If I switched to a tarp, I could replace the tent and take off at least 3 pounds. Sojourner talked to me about how she did that and is glad she did. She says she's using an Equinox 6' x 10' tarp and an emergency blanket as a ground cover. She says the tarp weighs 9 ounces and the blanket is next to nothing. I want to do more research on Go-Lite and any other ultra-light packs. I could knock off a good 5 or even 6 pounds with one of those. So that's 8 or 9 pounds I could drop with those two items. Makes my mouth water...
Sunday, September 2, 2001
day 113, Moose Mtn S, NH
Start: Hanover, NH
End: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles: 10.8 today, 1735.4 total
Man, it is cold! I'm wearing my New Balance fleece -type of thing on top of my long underwear shirt AND a Duofold t-shirt. Lucky orange pants are on, too. I mean, I'm doing ok in these clothes, it's just the fact that I have to use them at all is what's amazing.
Wanted to get to the Trapper John Shelter tonight, but there's no water there. I pulled in here at like 4:15 to cook an early dinner (the big water-user in camp) with the hopes that I could eat and clean up leaving enough time to hike the remaining 6 miles comfortably. No such luck. So I'm stuck here tonight. I should easily be able to make up the mileage tomorrow, though, so no big problem.
We've got a full house tonight. When I got here, there was a 40-ish man already here. He had a short day from the Velvet Rocks Shelter. He's doing a section from Hanover to Pinkham Notch. Then Ross (from Burke) showed up. He also had a short day from Velvet Rocks. He says his legs were unusually tired. Says he's going to give big bucks to The Hiker's Paradise in Gorham so he can slack all the way through the Whites. Sojourner (not sure how to spell that) came soon after that (a woman). Then Numbfoot and Six String showed up. Then a couple SOBOs trickled in. So there's 8 of us altogether; 4 in the shelter, 4 tenting / tarping. It's cold.
End: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles: 10.8 today, 1735.4 total
Man, it is cold! I'm wearing my New Balance fleece -type of thing on top of my long underwear shirt AND a Duofold t-shirt. Lucky orange pants are on, too. I mean, I'm doing ok in these clothes, it's just the fact that I have to use them at all is what's amazing.
Wanted to get to the Trapper John Shelter tonight, but there's no water there. I pulled in here at like 4:15 to cook an early dinner (the big water-user in camp) with the hopes that I could eat and clean up leaving enough time to hike the remaining 6 miles comfortably. No such luck. So I'm stuck here tonight. I should easily be able to make up the mileage tomorrow, though, so no big problem.
We've got a full house tonight. When I got here, there was a 40-ish man already here. He had a short day from the Velvet Rocks Shelter. He's doing a section from Hanover to Pinkham Notch. Then Ross (from Burke) showed up. He also had a short day from Velvet Rocks. He says his legs were unusually tired. Says he's going to give big bucks to The Hiker's Paradise in Gorham so he can slack all the way through the Whites. Sojourner (not sure how to spell that) came soon after that (a woman). Then Numbfoot and Six String showed up. Then a couple SOBOs trickled in. So there's 8 of us altogether; 4 in the shelter, 4 tenting / tarping. It's cold.
Saturday, September 1, 2001
day 112, Hanover, NH
Start: Hanover, NH
End: Hanover, NH
Miles: 0 today, 1724.6 total
The amazingly wacky thing that I didn't get to write yesterday was that Laura's here! And she hiked SOUTH to get here. I knew that she had been taking it slow, but c'mon! Apparently she hiked north out of Hanover Thursday. At some point she realized she left her Polar Pure here, so she hiked back yesterday. Later she admitted that she was also thinking about hiking south with a SOBO named Riff Raff. But then she decided to stay in town (probably to be with me cause I'm so cool). So we hung out the latter half of yesterday and most of today.
We're all staying at the "Panarchy House", a coed fraternity house. Hikers get the basement. Not many Dartmouth students around because Dartmouth is on the trimester system. Got a "White Blaze" at Ben & Jerry's. Ate dinner last night with Panda at Everything But Anchovies and there again tonight with Laura. A lot of hikers coming and going these couple days: Ross (Phaedrus), Andrew (Endeavor), BO (SOBO), Snack Attack, Orkin Man, Six String, Leatherfeet, the Deputies, Numbfoot, Wise Owl (Jake)... probably more... Silver Wings, Ronny... ok, enuff for now. Spent a lot of time at various computer terminals on campus. Also read some of Ray Jardine's PCT book at the Co-op Outfitters. It got me all excited about dropping pack weight and buying corn pasta. Had a really long, good shoot-the-breeze session with Laura tonight. Sounds like she's going to try to hike with me some.
End: Hanover, NH
Miles: 0 today, 1724.6 total
 |
| Front porch of the Panarchy House. Left to right: Jake (Wise Owl), me, Laura (Skipper) |
The amazingly wacky thing that I didn't get to write yesterday was that Laura's here! And she hiked SOUTH to get here. I knew that she had been taking it slow, but c'mon! Apparently she hiked north out of Hanover Thursday. At some point she realized she left her Polar Pure here, so she hiked back yesterday. Later she admitted that she was also thinking about hiking south with a SOBO named Riff Raff. But then she decided to stay in town (probably to be with me cause I'm so cool). So we hung out the latter half of yesterday and most of today.
We're all staying at the "Panarchy House", a coed fraternity house. Hikers get the basement. Not many Dartmouth students around because Dartmouth is on the trimester system. Got a "White Blaze" at Ben & Jerry's. Ate dinner last night with Panda at Everything But Anchovies and there again tonight with Laura. A lot of hikers coming and going these couple days: Ross (Phaedrus), Andrew (Endeavor), BO (SOBO), Snack Attack, Orkin Man, Six String, Leatherfeet, the Deputies, Numbfoot, Wise Owl (Jake)... probably more... Silver Wings, Ronny... ok, enuff for now. Spent a lot of time at various computer terminals on campus. Also read some of Ray Jardine's PCT book at the Co-op Outfitters. It got me all excited about dropping pack weight and buying corn pasta. Had a really long, good shoot-the-breeze session with Laura tonight. Sounds like she's going to try to hike with me some.
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