7/26-8/1: Hanover, NH -> Franconia Notch

I’ve made it back to truly familiar territory in my “home turf” of the Whites! I had been looking forward to New Hampshire and the Whites for my entire hike, and they sure as heck did not disappoint. Before I got back to the high peaks of White Mountain National Forest, though, there were several days of unfamiliar NH hiking that served as a good lead-up to the really good stuff.

Uncle Brian and I drove back to Hanover on the morning of July 26th. Not remaining satisfied with my free donut from the day before, we got a delicious full breakfast at Lou’s. Then it was back to the trail, and Uncle Brian joined me for the first mile in the New Hampshire woods! We hiked up to Velvet Rocks shelter together. It was nice to share a bit of the trail together!

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was less of a good welcome to NH. It was a hot and humid day, and it was soo buggy. The trail was also very muddy. I was disappointed that we hadn’t left the mud behind in Vermont, although I shouldn’t have been surprised. It all felt quite un-New-Hampshire-like. It made for a long and annoying day. I hiked later than I had in a long time, and stealth camped for the first time in a loong time among some pleasant pines. Despite the rather unimpressive first day in the state, I was still glad to be back in NH and excited to be only a few days away from my beloved White Mountains.

The next day was a lot better, and the trail felt like classic NH. It rained on and off all day, but the environment of rocks, pines, and moss was gorgeous, even in the fog. I never realized how much I appreciate moss before!

The climb of Smarts Mountain featured stone steps, wooden ladders, and even iron rungs, which I always love to see. It was a lot of fun and felt like a nice warmup for the Whites!

To my horror, though, at one point on the climb, my shirt caught on a tree and the sleeve tore wide open! It was still functional, I suppose, but I was really bummed. I certainly didn’t want to have to get rid of my Shaggy shirt.

It was still foggy on the summit of Smarts Mt, so I got yet another socked-in fire tower. But later, I finally got good NH views at Eastman Ledges. I loved it!

I spent the night in a unique hexagonal shelter. It was a relaxing evening; I was doing some short days to facilitate another extra-special meetup. The next day was even shorter, but even better! It started out with a fun climb of Mt. Cube, which felt very New Hampshire: lots of sheer rock faces and pine trees. It was another good warmup for the Whites, and this one even came with views.

For the rest of the day, the trail was surprisingly chill for NH. It was still hot, humid, buggy, and muddy, though, all of which slowed me down.

Towards the end of my day, I took my longest side trail ever to climb Webster Slide Mt. It was 0.7 miles one way, and a steep, difficult 0.7 at that. I might not have done it in other circumstances, but with good weather and it being at the end of a short day, I figured why not. I was rewarded with some nice views, and more importantly, I feasted on wild blueberries at the top!

I spent that evening at Wachipauka Pond with a couple of other NOBOs, Sonic and Smokey. It was a gorgeous evening in a gorgeous place. Finally, I had hit a good swimming spot in great swimming weather! It felt so nice to take a dip in the pond.

It was a wonderful, relaxing evening with my new friends. We even saw loons in the pond, my first of the trail! I was really excited to see and hear them, until I remembered how loud they are as I struggled to get enough sleep. Oh well.

The next morning, I hiked less than two miles to a road and spent a true nero day at Hikers Welcome hostel. Situated right before Mt. Moosilauke, it’s known as the “gateway to the Whites.” The caretakers are very helpful and knowledgeable about the intimidating upcoming section of trail. Hikers Welcome was a cool, rustic place, perhaps more rustic than I expected. It also had a weird amount of thru-hiking memes (of various quality) on the walls, lol. Since I arrived so early, not many people were there and it was a bit lonely, but predictably, it really filled up as the day went on. I ran into Turtle & Pup, who I hadn’t seen since the Before Times, Lotus, a ton of new faces, and Meadow and Victory, who I was very glad to see again when they showed up late in the day!

There was an unfortunate water main break in town that shut the water off at the hostel in the afternoon. Thankfully, I had already showered; many people weren’t so lucky. None of us could do laundry, which was a bummer, but it was ok since I knew I’d have another chance in a few days. Perhaps ironically, there was a huge rainstorm later that afternoon. Some people that came in during the storm said it was the worst rain they’d had on trail. I was grateful to be neroing.

It was a good day off and a good chance to rest up physically and mentally before the Whites. A bunch of us watched WALL-E. It was so good!! I haven’t seen that one many times, and I found a new appreciation for it.

But soon enough, it was the next morning, and time to plunge into the Whites and the truly difficult parts of the AT. I, for one, was very excited. Not only was I finally going to be back in my home hiking turf and my favorite mountains, but Macy was driving up that morning to hike Mt. Moosilauke with me! I rode with some other folks to Kinsman Notch on the other side of the mountain, where I meet her and she left her car. I left some of my overnight gear in the car too; since it was convenient, I figured I may as well slackpack it. Then we shuttled back to Hikers Welcome to start hiking. I had a good time talking to and learning from the caretaker Legion in the car. He had a ton of good info and advice about the Whites and the rest of the trail, and also gossip about other hostels along the AT, hehe.

It was so, so good to see Macy! I was really excited to hike with her again and share some of the trail experience with her. Meanwhile, she had brought me back some cold-weather gear that I would need for the higher elevations and possibility of more extreme weather. What’s more, she brought me my new shoes!

I may have to retroactively change my favorite piece of gear to my shoes: they have served me so incredibly well. This second pair lasted me just over 1,000 – a thousand! – miles. Now, should I have been wearing them quite that long? Probably not. But they got the job done. I was glad to have a fresh pair for the tough terrain of the Whites and the rest of the trail. The fresh cushioning felt soo nice after so long.

Macy and I started our day of hiking together by fording a creek right off the bat! It was an easy, shin-deep ford, but still exciting to do that with Macy. Then, we immediately got to cross the 1800-mile mark together.

From there, we began the big, steep climb up Mt. Moosilauke. The climb was actually pretty easy by Whites standards, but still felt long and steep compared to the rest of the AT so far. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Sadly, though, people we passed going down told us that the summit was still in the clouds. But by the time we got to the top, it had cleared up! We lucked out with the perfect weather.

Macy had brought a tasty feast for lunch, with fresh sandwiches on real bread and lots of produce. We ate on Moosilauke’s south peak in a nice secluded spot out of the wind. Then it was up and over to the true summit. The traverse to the peak was really cool. At long last, the trail went above treeline! It’s crazy to think that it took over 1800 miles for that to happen. I’m really spoiled getting to hike in the Whites so much.

The summit of Mt. Moosilauke was absolutely spectacular! We could see everything. It was like the entire White Mountains were laid out before us to the east. It was magically clear; even Mt. Lafayette was unobscured, and I’m not sure I had ever seen that before! The views were incredible: the best on the AT so far, and it wasn’t even close.

Way back in Georgia, someone had told me that it was a tradition for NOBOs to wear a dress to go over Moosilauke, since it’s our “first date with the Whites.” I didn’t see anyone doing that (though I know a couple trail friends who did!), and I was not about to. Instead, I greeted the Whites like an old friend. I was so thrilled to be back – truth be told, even more thrilled than I expected to be.

Macy and I had hiked Moosilauke before, in fact, although we had taken different (easier) trails. That first time, the weather had been poor and the summit was socked in, so it was extra special to be there again and see just how amazing it can be. It was just as windy this time around, though. I enjoyed talking to the Alpine Steward from the DOC at the summit, who insisted that it wasn’t always like that.

The descent on the Beaver Brook Trail was uncommonly steep and difficult, even for the Whites. That being said, it was awesome at the same time. We paralleled a waterfall for several miles, all the way down the mountain. Meanwhile, I met another MIT 2020 grad on the way down! It was a cool small world moment.

I felt noticeably stronger being back in these mountains. At the end of the day, I felt much less tired than I ordinarily would have been before after such a hike. It was a good feeling and confidence boost to feel like all this hard work had had a real positive impact on my hiking abilities.

I couldn’t have asked for a better first day in the Whites. I was so happy to share it all with Macy. We capped off the day with dinner in North Woodstock. Macy was understandably very tired, the poor girl. She said that that descent was probably the toughest trail she had ever done. It made for an amusing contrast at the dinner table: on one side, you had me, ecstatic, puppy-dog excited to be there with Macy and back in the Whites, and on the other, you had Macy, absolutely exhausted. Despite this, she managed to sew my shirt back together! I’m so lucky to have her. I was in such a good mood all day. It was one of my favorite days on trail for sure.

I was really glad that Macy was able to join me to hike and get first-hand experience with some of what it’s like on trail. Halfway down the Beaver Brook Trail, she turned to me and said, “I don’t know how you do this.” She later said that hiking with me really recontextualized my hike and gave her a new perspective on what it is I’m really doing. Whenever we talked on the phone, it always seemed like I was happy and doing well, and in her mind, she had sometimes felt like I was just out here having fun away from her. (And yes, I am genuinely having a good time and doing well most of the time. Talking to Macy helps to put me in a good mood, too, which can skew this perception further.) Hiking with me was a good reminder that, actually, I’m working really hard out here, and this stuff is really strenuous! Yup, sure is.

Macy and I said goodbye to each other, knowing that this time, the next time we’d see each other was after I summited Katahdin. It was an exciting feeling, and a little daunting, considering all the big mountains and tough miles I had in between now and then. Macy headed back to our home in Boston, and I stealth camped in Kinsman Notch, setting up my tent in the dark.

The next morning, it was time to tackle an unfamiliar part of the mountains along the Kinsman Ridge Trail. It was another beautiful morning. After a steep but brief climb out of Kinsman Notch, the trail was relatively flat for 8 miles or so. Keyword relatively. And it was by no means easy. It was still as rocky and rooty as you’d expect in the Whites, and also featured many deep, treacherous mud pits. It’s funny – Vermont’s the one with an infamous reputation for mud, and while it was probably more prevalent there, what mud there was in NH felt decidedly worse.

I had lunch at a shelter right before the climb of South Kinsman Mountain, with Turtle and Pup, Lotus, Fresh Prince, and an AMC caretaker, Bean. We all were deciding whether or not to continue over the Kinsmans, since there had been some storms in the forecast for the afternoon. I decided to roll the dice with the weather, since it was looking good, and push on. Spoiler alert: I’m so glad I did!

The first part of the climb up South Kinsman followed Eliza Brook, which again had nice waterfalls all the way up. Thankfully, it was much easier than the Beaver Brook trail. Then, the going got tough. This climb had actually gotten a lot of hate and/or fearmongering in FarOut comments, since it was sorta the first of its kind for NOBOs. It was steep, gorgeous, scrambly, hard, and fun! I love a good rock scramble, and greatly enjoyed hauling my way to the top.

The weather held, and it was clear and fantastic at the top! It was great to get 360 degree views from S. Kinsman and clearly see both where I’d come from in Mt. Moosilauke and where I was heading – North Kinsman and Franconia Ridge.

The summit of North Kinsman was less open, but it had a nice ledge with an amazing view of Franconia Ridge. I sat there for quite a while admiring it. I was happy to bag two more of the NH 48, and pumped to have great weather to experience these beautiful summits.

As I was sitting there, two interesting things happened. First, Chattahoochee arrived! I hadn’t seen him since MD or PA, and it was cool and surprising to run into him again at such a spectacular site. Second, a big storm appeared on the northern horizon heading towards us. I knew it was time to go then. Chattahoochee and I rushed to get off the summit and down to Kinsman Pond Shelter; it was exhilarating! I’m glad to say we beat the storm, although it turned out that we only ever got rained on lightly and briefly.

At the shelter, I enjoyed chatting to and learning from the caretaker Bean who I had met earlier. She was really helpful in explaining all of the unique parts of hiking and using the AT in the Whites – including the fees for several of the campsites, such as Kinsman Pond. I ended up doing a work-for-stay to cover my stay that night. I picked up “microtrash” – wrapper corners, etc. – for half an hour or so. I hadn’t done a work-for-stay on trail yet, and I was happy to seize the chance to do so! I didn’t know ahead of time that you could do those at the AMC campsites, but Bean had clued me in to that surprisingly uncommon knowledge.

It was very cold that night – below freezing! It was the last night in July, lol. That’s what sleeping at 3800 feet can do for you. Chattahoochee and I slept with our water filters so they wouldn’t freeze; it was hard to believe. Just like old times. I love the Whites, with all their wacky weather.

The next day was another good one, and another gorgeous morning. It was a steep climb down to Lonesome Lake Hut, the first hut in the AMC hut system. These fully-staffed cabins are mostly targeted at weekenders and overnighters, and are very expensive to stay at, so they are not usually most thru-hikers’ choice for accomodations. However, they do put out leftovers from breakfast after their overnight guests have had their fill, and we’re only too happy to help them get that extra food off their hands. The huts also usually have soup and baked goods available for purchase. Thru-hikers get a little card that gets them a free soup and a couple of free baked goods from the huts, in addition to discounts on campsites.

I had leftover eggs and pancakes for second breakfast. I also met a day hiker, Mike, who was out to do the Kinsmans, and he very kindly got me coffee and coffee cake as trail magic! It was a great first experience with the huts as a thru-hiker.

From there, I descended to Franconia Notch with Chattahoochee. It was a pretty chill trail, and fun to hike with him. I almost seriously messed up a tricky rock hop across Cascade Brook, though. I was glad to have company for that in case it had gone for the worse.

We crossed under I-93 – our last interstate crossing of the trail! – and took a long bike trail to a parking lot to get into town. At the parking lot, we got beer and fruit snacks from a trail angel before I hitched to the Notch Hostel.

The Notch Hostel was a very nice, clean place, which has developed a pretty stellar reputation. It made for an interesting contrast with Hikers Welcome, though I couldn’t say if I truly had a preference between them. I had a nice, relaxing day at the Notch. It was packed with people. I ran into Blue, who I hadn’t seen since PA, and Blink and Marika, who I had met at the Cookie Lady’s in MA. Other than that, it was a ton of new faces. The Notch caters to non-thru-hikers, too, which is unusual for AT hostels. I think it’s great that they’re trying to bring more visibility and acceptance of hostels to the US and a general audience, but it definitely felt strange to share the space with non-AT hikers when I’m used to being around thru-hikers all the time. While I had a nice time at the Notch, I wished I knew more people there, or that I were around people I felt closer to. That night, I did check something off my AT bucket list when I brought back Mint Oreos to the hostel as trail magic. They made a big hit!

It felt great to ease into the Whites with a few lighter pack days and hostel stays. Now, I was ready to tackle the next section of even bigger, tougher mountains, with a full, heavy resupply. I was fully prepared for the next leg to be possibly the most challenging of the whole trail.

Those first few days of hiking in the Whites reminded be of being at Hostel Around the Bend, strangely enough. I thought I was already having a good time – and I was – but now THIS is a good time!!