Appalachian Adventure 2002: Section 4
Kinsman Notch New Hampshire to Gorham New Hampshire

July 8, 2002 - July 15, 2002

by Papa Bear

Mount Washington from Mount Monroe The Lakes of the Clouds visible in the col

Click here for a complete album of photos from this hike Click here for an album of woodland and alpine wildflowers Back to Papa Bear Home Page

Click on an entry to jump to a particular section:
Introduction: The White Mountains July 8: Kinsman Notch to Lonesome Lake Hut July 9: Lonesome Lake Hut to Greenleaf Hut July 10: Greenleaf Hut to Galehead Hut July 11: Galehead Hut to Crawford Notch	July 12: Crawford Notch to Lakes of the Clouds Hut July 13: Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Madison Spring Hut July 14: Madison Spring Hut to Carter Notch Hut July 15: Carter Notch Hut to Gorham An Evaluation of the Hike

Fresh Air atop Mount Lafayette Papa Bear atop Mount Lafayette We chatted briefly, but since the weather was rather forbidding where we were standing we moved on down the side trail towards the hut. Of all the AMC huts, this is the only one well off the trail (1.1 miles down the shoulder of Lafayette). But this slope was supposed to be pretty easy and we had budgeted the time and the mileage so down we went. Dropping down below the fog As we moved down it got a bit warmer and the wind dropped and after about 1/2 mile we suddenly dropped below the fog and found ourselves in a beautiful sunny afternoon. It was especially impressive to see the trail meander below us from cairn to cairn through the felsenmeer of rocks and the alpine vegetation. We also learned that moving down over rough rocks is every bit as hard as moving up. We met a number of day hikers moving up. They all seemed to ask how much further it was to the top. I don't think they realized how inhospitable the top would be when they got there. Most had on shorts and T-shirts. One group had 3 dogs, one of which (an older, overweight Golden Retriever) seemed rather tuckered out. I would say he had gone beyond his range - as had the people he was with. We never saw the end of that tale, since we didn't see them coming down later that day. Eventually we reached the level of krumholtz trees where there was a bog and a sizable pond just before the hut. The hut was on a little rise beyond the pond so looking back from the hut there was a lovely little alpine vale with the massive shoulder of Lafayette rising beyond. The sky was beginning to clear above us and the peaks were alternately covered with clouds and blue sky. A beautiful sight. Greenleaf Hut We checked into the hut around 3:00 PM. It had turned into a warm sunny afternoon and eventually the whole ridge above us was clear. I think experiencing the fog and wind and then seeing the clear sky was much better than if it had been clear all along. I had time to just relax and read a little. My notes say "Such a beautiful setting looking out over the bog and pond to the Ridge beyond, sometimes cloud covered, sometimes clear". Amen! I made a note of the wild flowers I had seen in the alpine zone today; Wood Sorrel, Bunchberry, Clintonia, Goldenthread, Sandwort and Mountain Cranberry. I realized that this place is alive with life, although life adapted to a harsh environment. This is the true "old growth" area of the White Mountains. Those few "old growth" forests we love to worry about are hardly 200 years old (at least in the East where uncut forest land is next to non-existent). Some of the plant life here has been unchanged since the last glaciation. At one of the huts, the naturalist told us that scientists have use radio-carbon dating of the lichen on the rocks on the alpine summits to determine an accurate date of the last glaciation, and found some of this plant life is up to 15,000 years old!! We found our places in the bunkrooms. The bunks here were 4 high!. Yikes! getting up there was like climbing Mount Lincoln. The group was as congenial and family oriented as at Lonesome Lake. However since getting here was harder, the children tended to be older, but equally enthusiastic and noisy!. Around supper time, the 3 guys we had met on Little Haystack showed up. It turns out that the youngest of the 3 was actually an AMC guide who was available to guide small groups of less experienced folks over the mountain trails. After supper he was teaching them map reading and mountaineering skills. I never knew these private guides were available. I guess if you've got the $$, you can get anything you want, even above treeline. The hut was laid out with a central dining room facing the mountain, and two bunkrooms going off to the rear. A construction project was underway: a new wing was being added with a completely new composting system for the privies and the kitchen compost. The construction workers were a group of 7 young (30s to 40s) men and women who worked for the AMC and who lived at the hut all week. They were roughing it like us: no showers, no ice cream no beer; not you average construction workers. I was glad to see how some of the money raised by the AMC was being returned to help this segment of the hiking public and which had a strong conservation component. Just before the fog rolled in, we saw a beautiful sunset. Or rather we saw the sun on Mount Lafayette as it set behind us. The whole top of the mountain and the cloud above it turned a rosy red as the sun went down, in a phenomenon called Alpenglow. As the night came on, so did the fog. The temperatures dropped into the 50s. I slept well that night. It had been another great day to be alive. Day 2 Trail Miles: 9.3, Extra miles: 1.1, Total: 10.4 Aggregate Trail Miles: 22.7, Aggregate Total 23.8 Peaks: Little Haystack (4760'), Lincoln (5089'), Lafayette (5249')

Rock Slides from Mount Whitewall in Zealand Notch

Much of the Ethan Pond Trail follows an old logging railroad rite-of-way

As we moved further down the notch we moved to the right side of the valley and entered a lovely area of forests and bogs. There were many board walks here and we passed another campsite on a pretty lake (the Ethan Pond Campsite). We met a SOBO moving up this last slope we were coming down. His name was Moose and he looked a bit beat. He asked how far to the campsite which we told him was just a few minutes more. It was he that told us that the guy with the fancy wooden staffs was Strider, the last of the Switchback Gang. We made our way around Mount Willey, down the moderate descent over its shoulder and out to Route 302 - Crawford Notch. We were done hiking for the day and it was only 3:40 PM! We had made very good time, especially once we got off the South Twin-Guyot ridge While we waited for our pickup, I wrote down the wildflowers (and wildlife) we had seen today: Mountain Cranberry, Bunchberry, Clintonia, Mountain Sandwort, Wood Sorrel, Goldenthread, Star Flower, Labrador Tea and a Red Eft (Red Spotted Newt). I finally found out from my AMC book that what I simply called a "Red Salamander" and which we had seen by the dozens in our section hikes, was a "Red Eft", the land stage of the aquatic "Red Spotted Newt". Papa Bear with Susan, our Trail Angel We were picked up at a little after 4:00 by Susan (our Trail Angel for this section). She is a hiker whom I had met over the internet and in real life she is the new Episcopal Priest at the church in North Conway. She remembered how often in the past someone would pick her up or help her in her hiking. "What goes around, comes around" she said. We stopped at the Chippanock Inn in Bartlett where I left a note for my friend Gary who was coming in that night. We were planning to meet him and his daughter the next morning to hike the Presidentials. We had a luscious dinner at Hooligans in North Conway, and Gary and his daughter Beth showed up and joined us. As usual, another great day! Of course, what else? Day 4 Trail Miles: 14.7 Aggregate Trail Miles: 44.0, Aggregate Total: 46.2 Peaks: South Twin (4902'), Guyot (4560')

Day 5: July 12, 2002 Crawford Notch to Lakes of the Clouds Hut Weather: (North Conway) Temperature 60°, clear. Summit of Washington clear! W e got up around 6:00 AM and Susan drove Fresh Air and myself the 10 miles or so from North Conway to Bartlett to meet Gary and Beth for breakfast. We all met at the Chippanock Inn where they were staying and had a scrumptious breakfast served by the proprietor of this lovely B&B. After breakfast Susan reluctantly went back to North Conway since this was a work day for her. The rest of us packed our stuff into Gary's car and headed up to the trailhead at Crawford Notch. One of the ledges on the Webster Cliff Trail - View of Mount Willey across Crawford Notch We got started up the Webster Cliff Trail just before 8:00 AM. The trail started out easy but soon we hit some steep rocky sections, which were punctuated by a number of rock ledges which had views down into the Notch and the peaks to the west. On one particular ledge we could look down almost directly at the park buildings below at the side of the road in Crawford Notch. Most of the elevation gain of the day would be in the first few hours of climbing. At around 10:00 we reached the top of Mount Webster, the last and highest of a series of rocky crags. We had been climbing roughly parallel to the Notch and continued to have great views under a beautiful blue sky and sun. After Mount Webster (3910') the trail starts to follow the long ridge which extends all the way to Mount Washington as it turns right roughly 90 degrees towards the east. Now the elevation gain was mostly behind us as we moved along the ridge towards Mount Jackson. We crossed a number of boreal bogs and the trail had extensive board walks along these sections. Gary could not believe how the trail maintainers managed to get all that lumber up here and he swore it must have been air-lifted in. He may be right about that. Your AMC fees at work for you ! There was a steep scramble up Mount Jackson (4052') where we saw several groups of day hikers including at least 4 adults and 4 kids taking a break near the peak. Once off the peak, there were several meadows. We saw an unusual fluffy white flower here which we later looked up and found to be Cotton Sedge, an alpine wildflower. The weather was almost hot at this point. We arrived at the Mizpah Spring Hut and were served up with some hot split-pea soup, which made a great lunch break. We discovered to our delight that Rocky and Moose were there. Rocky had done work-for-stay the night before and was taking a zero day since Moose had hurt one of his paws. We later found that one of the hut croo from Mizpah took them down to visit a vet the next day. I hope they are all right. I expect they are well on the way to Katahdin by now. Mount Pierce, where we move above treeline We left the hut to resume our trek about 1:15 PM. The initial climb up Mount Pierce (Clinton) had some tough rock steps but soon the going got easy with some board walks interspersed with a relatively easy grade. Mount Pierce is the point at which (as they say in that ad): "Now it gets interesting". We suddenly found ourselves above tree line. The trail is relatively easy and the views towards Mount Washington are awesome. The vegetation consists of krumholtz, sedges and a variety of wildflowers. I noted in my log: Mountain Sandwort, Mountain Cranberry, Labrador Tea, Bunchberry, and Hawk Weed. We also spotted a Black-backed Woodpecker, a relatively rare (for a city bird watcher like myself) boreal species. To those of you who may have wondered how Bill Clinton, our last president, might have a gotten a peak named for himself in the Presidential Range: it's not him, it's the New York Governor Clinton, a renowned conservationist of the 19th century who shares the honors with Pierce for this peak. At this point we had joined the Crawford Path, the trail that would take us all the way to Lakes of the Clouds Hut and to the summit of Mount Washington beyond. It was originally cut in 1819 and has the distinction of being then oldest forest trail in continuous use in this country. Imagine: it predates the Appalachian Trail by over a century! At one point it was graded for horses, but for over a hundred years now (after the hotel on the Washington summit burned down) it has been used only for foot travel. Mount Eisenhower Mount Washington beyond It was our intention to follow the side trails to the peaks, so we took the blue-blazed Eisenhower Loop Trail when we got to it. This was a relatively easy climb which brought us about 200' above the Crawford Path (the AT) and added about .2 miles. We were amply rewarded by truly breathtaking views down into Oake's Gulf and of Mount Monroe and Washington ahead along the ridge. We met Amtrak, a thru-hiker there and he took our picture. He was so disappointed to discover that this was not the "official" AT. He asked plaintively: "but why doesn't the AT go up here? It's so much better?" We couldn't give him an answer and he reluctantly climbed back down the way he came up so as not to miss any of the Official AT. Ah, poor purist! Having no such purity ourselves, we proceeded ahead down the loop and gained a small advantage over poor Amtrak (which he would soon make up - he moved fast, as did most NOBOs we saw). We warned Amtrak about the loop trail over Mount Monroe which was ahead so he wouldn't make the same "mistake" a second time. The climb up Mount Monroe Meanwhile we quickly passed the non-descript summit of Mount Franklin (5004'), which in reality is just a shoulder of Mount Monroe, and took the blue-blazed side loop to that summit. Mount Monroe actually consists of two rock crags with a slight separation. The second one is the higher (5398') and affords magnificent views of Mount Washington and the col in between where the Lakes of the Clouds are located; to the right is the steep chasm of Oake's Gulf, and to the left is the more gentle but broad valley leading northwest to the Mount Washington Hotel at Breton Woods, with glimpses of the old cog railway. It just doesn't get any better than this. If the peaks are not shrouded in clouds, this would be the perfect way to approach this hut. The sheer enormity of the mountains and the beauty of the rock face and the green of the alpine vegetation is just a picture of a lifetime. These peaks also illustrated the first real example of what I would call the "rock zone" which rises above the alpine zone. The peak is one huge pile of rocks. And the trail (what trail?) is just a series of small piles of rocks (the cairns) on top of the huge pile - which is the mountain. Although the mountain was certainly a sheer block of granite after the last ice age scrapped it clean, the thousands of years of freezing and thawing since that time has split the surface rock into a myriad of small and large jagged boulders. The only vegetation is some moss and lichen on the boulders and an occasional hardy plant down in some crack between the rocks. The name for this is "felsenmeer", which means literally "sea of rocks". This is a unique and beautiful area. In a way, its sheer inhospitability is the only protection the mountain has against the intrusion of too many trampling foot steps. You really have to want to get up here to make the required effort. As one trail guide put it, in a bit of an understatement: "Trails across felsenmeer slopes can be difficult to negotiate with a big pack, especially in a high wind". We found that Mount Jefferson, Adams and Madison all had this characteristic pile-of-rocks peak. And of course Mount Washington is the biggest pile of rocks of all. (A common nickname for Washington is "The Rock Pile"). It's a little hard to visualize these raw peaks until you've climbed them yourself. So what are you waiting for? Hiking down Mount Monroe to Lakes of the Clouds Hut We were getting tired from a long day and the sight of the hut, our destination for the day, gave us that needed extra little push, so down the rock pile we made our way, soon passing back down into the zone of alpine vegetation. The col between Washington and Monroe gives an extra measure of shelter and the vegetation was a bit more prolific here than along the ridge. I was a little apprehensive about this hut. You'll recall that at Galehead Hut where we stayed the night before last, there were only eight of us staying that night. Lakes of the Clouds Hut (elevation 5050', well above tree line, "Lakes" for short) has a capacity of 90 and I was worried about the crowds. But I needn't have worried about overcrowding in the high mountains: somehow the construction of the hut and the magnificent views made all of us seem so insignificant that the number of guests hardly was an issue. There were about 65 guests that night, and of all the huts this one took the most work, over very rugged trails, to get to, so it was in fact a very good crowd. There was the retired thru-hiker couple Red Oak and Jam, there was big Pete (who complained he was getting too old for this sort of thing), his son little Pete (who was actually bigger) and his friend Eric, and lots of others. But once you moved away from the hut along the trails in any direction you were alone with yourself and the mountains as if the crowds were not there. The croo was also a super group, and the largest croo of any of the huts. I think there were seven of them (plus one on a day off) plus 4 thru-hikers helping with the work and as usual they were terrific. Of all the huts, I learned the most about the alpine environment here from the presentations the naturalist gave. On a little pre-dinner hike that Beth and I took, we spotted Indian Poke, Mountain Sandwort, Mountain Avens, Bunchberry, Star Flower, Labrador Tea, Mountain Cranberry, Dwarf Birch and Canada Mayflower plus a Raven, a Dark-eyed Junco and a Gray Jay (a Canada Jay to older birders like myself). The Dwarf Birch in particular was incrdible: ths alpine variant of a Birch Tree was all of 2" high! We learned that Mountain Sandwort is perhaps the hardiest of the hardy alpine flowers. It colonizes eroded areas such as trail beds. One saying is that if you're hiking from "Lakes" to the summit of Washington and it's hard to see the blazes in the dark of fog or evening, just follow the white flowers of the Mountain Sandwort! As always, the supper was enormous and wonderful and we slept well that night. Day 5 Trail Miles: 11.2, Extra miles: 0.2, Total: 11.4 Aggregate Trail Miles: 55.2, Aggregate Total: 57.6 Peaks: Webster (3910'), Jackson (4052'), Pierce (Clinton) (4310'), Eisenhower (4761'), Franklin (5004'), Monroe (5385')

Day 6: July 13, 2002 Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Madison Spring Hut Weather: 50°, clear sky, sun. Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson T he Mount Washington weather report was 43°, winds 23 MPH with fog clearing. From the hut we could see that the summit would soon clear. Two days in a row; this was amazing and wonderful. We took a pre-breakfast wildflower walk with the Hut naturalist and we learned a few new varieties: Diapensia, alpine Bluet, Three-toothed Cinquefoil, Rose Twisted-stalk, Bilberry, Blueberry, Bog Laurel and Map lichen, as well as the more familiar Bunchberry, Krumholtz Fir, Star Flower, Clintonia, Mountain Avens and of course Mountain Sandwort Breakfast was the usual great feast and the skit of the day was a musical using Broadway tunes to make sure we 1) folded our blankets, 2) packed out our trash and 3) tipped the croo. I never tired of these corny but ingenious creations. Today's trek was a comparatively short one: the 7 miles over the Presidential Ridge to Madison Spring Hut. But since we would stay a while at the Mount Washington summit, and wanted to do all the side trails to go over the peaks of Clay, Jefferson and Adams, we got started as soon as we finished breakfast. By now the peak had cleared of fog and we left with high spirits. However we were impressed that the first thing we saw as we started up the slope from the Hut was a huge STOP sign . It read "The area ahead has the worst weather in America. Many have died there from exposure, even in the summer. Turn back now if the weather is bad." It was easy on a clear day like today to take this warning lightly, but in my heart it was a sobering thought. We had some great views back down to the Lakes of the Clouds and the hut, but then we managed to take a wrong turn amid the confusing trails that seemed to go every which-a-way on the shoulder between he Hut and Tuckerman's Ravine below the cone of Washington. I think we got onto the Crossover Trail and then took a left on the Davis Path to get back to the Crawford Path, but I'm not sure. In any case we soon saw the familiar white blazes. Interestingly, although white blazes were painted on various rocks and some of the cairns, the tops of the cairns tended to be either painted orange (I'm told it's more visible in the fog) or the top rock would be a white chunk of crystalline quartz. We started up the cone of the mountain, which was the biggest pile of rocks of all. The temperature was around 40 and the wind was picking up as we rose towards the top, probably to between 25 and 35 MPH. I managed to fall on the rough felsenmeer about 100' from the top. I swear my Leki pole did more harm than good, and I managed to bang my elbow. Luckily it was not serious, although it showed me that one has to be doubly careful in this environment. The mountain is just there. It really doesn't care if you fall and break something! As we reached the top, it was an awesome experience with views in all directions. The summit of Mount Washington This elation was soon jarred as we passed over the last of the rocks to see for the first time the road, the cars, the parking lot, the cog railroad station, the whole reminder of what we had left behind at the bottom. I took some solace in the fact that all the development on these peaks was concentrated in this one small spot: the rest of the peaks were close to their pristine state and (except for the summits of the ski mountains) you had to work your butt off to get up to them. Plus there was that little surge of pride and superiority when we looked at these fat-people. We knew when they looked at us that they knew we weren't like them. I must say about the cog railway, that it is so historic and charming (it was first opened in 1869) that I didn't mind it being here at all. With a real (smelly) steam engine and a whistle you could hear across the ridge practically to Mount Madison, it - like some headless horseman riding out of a Washington Irving story from another, earlier time - had it's place on the mountain top. After the requisite pictures we spent about a hour in the snack bar among the fat-people. I felt a strong since of guilt and embarrassment when I washed my hands in the restroom, used a paper towel and threw it in the trash. I had been conditioned by nearly a week in the huts to be aware of even throwing away an unnecessary piece of paper. Getting back to New York City will be quite jarring and I am not looking forward to that thought. Cog Railway with (the flank of) Clay, Jefferson, Adams and Madison When we left to continue our trek, the wind had picked up considerably to I would estimate 40 - 50 MPH. This would buffet us most of the day depending on where we were at a particular moment. It was generally out of the northwest. Ahead of us we could see the peaks of Mount Clay, Mount Jefferson Mount Adams and Mount Madison strung out along the ridge to the north. With the alpine meadow below Washington's cone in the foreground, and the cog railway, which in the distance looked like a tiny toy train belching it's steam and blowing it's whistle, it was a truly impressive scene. I had decided to collapse my trekking poles and trust the additional balance I would get from just my hands over this rough area. We made our way down the steep rocky cone and across the meadow which was especially rich in wildflowers. Looking down into the Great Gulf We got onto the Gulfside trail which generally followed the rim of the Great Gulf, an impressive glacial cirque on the east side of the ridge. No - we didn't "moon" the train when we crossed the tracks. First off, the train was not in sight and secondly it was rather windy. The hike over Mount Clay (5532'), although a blue-blaze, was rather easy. The views down into the Great Gulf was especially grand from Mount Clay, although many spots along the Gulfside Trail also had excellent views of this glacial valley. The wind picked up between Clay and Jefferson. It was steady at about 40 MPH, enough to make it hard to place your feet casually. But we knew it could have been much worse than this on a bad day. We arrived at the top of Mount Jefferson and found a surprising crowd of hikers in the little protected area below the peak. There was a colossal cairn here, about 8' - 10' high, and impressive views back to Washington and onward towards Adams. Everyone seemed to be taking a break here and so did we. I climbed the final rocky pile and bagged this peak (at 5715', the 3rd highest in NH). Mount Jefferson: one huge pile of rocks Mount Jefferson looking towards Mount Sam Adams and Mount Adams The hike down from Mount Jefferson back to the Gulfside Trail was fairly typical, moving over rocky ledges and sometimes just expanses of rocks. The vegetation was naturally more prolific down from the peak and the trail meandered through areas of krumholtz and sedge and was in general more sheltered. The sky was getting a bit cloudier and we saw what might have been some rain clouds to the northwest. In the broad flat area between Jefferson and Mount Adams is a spot known as Edmands Col. Several trails come together here and being relatively protected from the wind the vegetation was particularly noteworthy. There was a memorial plaque honoring J. Rayner Edmands, an early trail builder and a member of the AMC from it's founding in 1876 till his death in 1910. It gave me a sense of how long a history these trails had to see this memorial, itself almost a century old. How many thousands have hiked here in all that time? How many tried to hide here from terrific storms coming over the peaks? How many perished on this spot? Not wanting to be one of them, and seeing the possible onset of rain, we moved along the trail and decided to forgo the blue-blaze trail over Mount Adams and instead stay below on the Gulfside Trail and get to Madison Spring Hut. A short distance from Edmands Col is a trail junction with a large cairn (although not as large as the one on Mount Jefferson) called Thunderstorm Junction. Somehow, I didn't like that name so we didn't tarry. For some reason we will never know, the short section of the trail from Thunderstorm Junction, around the north side of Mount Adams to Madison Spring Hut was much better graded than the rest. Somehow, someone had flattened those sharp rocks or did some monumental trail construction here. It was an unexpected but welcome respite from the usual trail over this area. We got to the hut around 3:30 PM, just before a few sprinkles arrived. No - there was no horrific thunderstorm, but we were glad we came here directly and skipped Mount Adams. After all we must leave some goals for next year. Rounding Mount Adams to Madison Spring Hut, Mount Madison beyond My notes show the wildflowers we spotted today, mostly between Washington and Jefferson: Mountain Sandwort, Bunchberry , Bilberry, Blueberry, Clintonia, Indian Poke, Canada Mayflower, Three-toothed Cinquefoil, Mountain Avens, Starflower, alpine Bluet, krumholtz fir and spruce, Dwarf Birch, Labrador Tea, Mountain Cranberry, Diapensia, various alpine sedges and Map Lichen. Inside Madison Spring Hut at last, we found Red Oak and Jam had also made the trek across from Lakes. We talked to them a bit and found they had started near their farm in Virginia and were planning a flip-flop thru-hike so they would jump from Katahdin to Springer and then hike north, ending at their farm in Virginia. They were the only thru-hikers we met who were paying guests at the huts like us, but then again they were more our age then most of the other thru-hikers we met. Most of the others were about the age of the average croo member. They also, like ourselves, considered South Kinsman to be the toughest peak we had done yet. We made ourselves at home and found that Pete, Pete and Eric had also arrived just before us. They had done Washington the day before however, so today they skipped the peak and took the Westside Cutoff Trail to avoid that. With about 45 other guests we had the usual huge and yummy supper and an early bed. Day 6 Trail Miles: 7.0 Aggregate Trail Miles: 62.2, Aggregate Total: 64.6 Peaks: Washington (6288'), Clay (5532'), Jefferson (5715')

Day 7: July 14, 2002 Madison Spring Hut to Carter Notch Hut Weather: Temperature 55°, clear sunny skies M ount Washington weather report: 51°, clear, wind 10 MPH, gusting to 41. It looked like another fine day and Gary and Beth were leaving the trail at Pinkham Notch so we got off soon after breakfast, shortly before 8:00 AM. Red Oak and Jam were trying to make the AMC shuttle at noon at Pinkham Notch so they had taken off earlier and were taking the trail which bypassed the Madison summit. They needed to go back to retrieve their packs at Franconia Notch. Gary and Beth also needed the shuttle to get back to their car but they figured if the missed it they would just hitch hike. Fresh Air and myself we continuing on to Carter Notch Hut so we were not particularly concerned about the schedule. Mount Madison, like the other Presidents we climbed the day before, had a steep rocky felsenmeer cone that was difficult climbing. After a glimpse back down to the hut , we started up. As in a few other cases, there really was no trail at all. Just a route to follow from cairn to cairn. Little piles of rocks on a big pile of rocks. But it was not overly long climbing to the top and we had good views in all directions, especially back at Mount Adams, across the vale from the Hut. Three consecutive days of clear weather on the peaks was almost too much to ask for. Mount Washington across the shoulder of Mount Adams Working our way down the Osgood Ridge from Mount Madison We made our way down the Osgood Ridge and slowly worked our way down through the alpine zone to the treeline. Of course it's not a line. The trees start out as krumholtz dwarf specimens, then they are up to your knees or waist and finally they are up to the level of your head. The ridge line itself, where the trail was, and which is most exposed to the elements was the last to fall below the trees. On the way down the ridge we met two SOBO thru-hikers moving up: Gentle Bear and Care Bear. Then we met Red Oak and Jam coming around the trail from Madison Hut at the base of the peak. Although they were looking for a short cut, they told us it was the worst trail they had encountered yet. So rocky as to be almost impassable. They were worried about the shuttle. I pointed out that the trailhead at Pinkham Notch was actually close to Gorham via the road, and they could probably get a pick up from the Hostel there. They had planned to look for some place to stay in North Conway (and not stay in Gorham till they had hiked through the Carter Range) but this new plan appealed to them a lot, so they stopped worrying about the shuttle. We later learned they indeed had gone to the Hiker's Paradise Hostel that night and had managed to get their back packs back. Just as we were parting, I noticed Red Oak's day pack. It looked just like the one I had borrowed last month at the Welcome Hikers Hostel in Glencliff from Packrat when I slack-packed Moosilauke! I asked Red Oak, and sure enough it was that same pack. Cool coincidence! As we moved below treeline, it became rather warm and we changed into lighter clothing. At a certain point the trail takes a sharp right turn onto the Osgood Cutoff Trail. At that point we heard a man screaming and cursing as we approached. When we got there we found a man sitting on a sleeping bag with all his pack's contents spread out on the ground around him. Most of the stuff seemed to be canned food: soup, raviolis, you-name-it. He was yelling at a young teenager, perhaps his son. Something about how he had to carry all the food and his pack weighed 70 lb and the rest of the group must come back and on and on. He seemed a very unhappy camper - to the point of derangement. We could only imagine what frustration and conflict we had happened upon. Lucky for him the weather had been so temperate. I would guess he could sit there for a good part of a week before starving. Assuming he had a can opener! The young kid took off into the woods, who-knows-where. Never did find out how that tale ended. The Bridge over the Peabody River We were now moving through a lush forest. Many streams were running out of the Great Gulf and Madison Gulf and the biggest, the Peabody River had a neat suspension bridge we crossed over. We then climbed one more scenic rock ledge (although a scenic rock ledge down here in the forest hardly compares to the magnificent views we had for the last several days above tree line) and crossed the summit road. The last few miles past the road were very easy, almost flat down what was called the Old Jackson Road. Since Mount Jackson was way on the other side of the mountain range, I don't know how it got it's name, but we didn't care. We eventually came upon sure signs that we were near the road: a number of fat day-walkers. Not even day-hikers, just walkers, you have all seen them - not more than a half mile from their cars. We reached the visitors center in Pinkham Notch around 12:30. Too late for Gary to get the shuttle, but no one was worried. It had been a pleasant and easy morning of hiking, and Gary and Beth had had a rewarding 2 1/2 days of hiking. We all agreed we would do the huts again next summer and get more of our friends to join us. A last look at Mount Washington from near Pinkham Notch Carter Notch Hut, tonight's goal, differed from the other huts in that it was a "self service" hut. This basically meant we had to bring our own food and sleeping bags. The hut provides a kitchen and bunks (but no blankets). To plan for this, we put together a day's worth of food for each of us and planned to mail it to the AMC Pinkham Notch visitor's center to pick up when we got here. Fresh Air however decided to do some vacationing in the area prior to our hike, so he simply dropped by and arranged to leave the stuff the week before. We didn't want to hike the whole week with sleeping bags either, and we really didn't even want to drag them over the Wildcats and Carters if we didn't have to, so we each picked up a lightweight (6 oz.) bivy bag at one of the huts. Given the temperate weather and the fact that Carter Notch Hut was not in the high mountains (its elevation was "only" 3288') we reckoned this would solve our problem. So when we got to the visitors center, Fresh Air retrieved the food from the staff and we packed it into our day packs. Lost Pond from the Lost Pond Trail When we finished eating lunch and said goodbye to Gary and Beth, we walked across Route 16 to continue our trek. The time was about 1:20 PM. The first mile or so from the road was along the Lost Pond Trail, an easy trail that led along a brook and to a pretty little pond called Lost Pond. For awhile we found ourselves among some day hikers and fat-people but soon left them behind. A few rambunctious kids showed us how fast they were by surging ahead of us, but they too soon tired and we were by ourselves beyond the range of the walkers and into hiker territory. The AT then turned left on the Wildcat Ridge Trail and we soon started to climb. At this point the trail guide then used a term I have not seen before: "an exceptionally steep ascent". We chuckled and figured the guy who wrote that probably had never hiked the trails we had been on for the last week. After what we had finished, what could be so bad? Well, I soon wrote in my log book a term I never have used before either: "Zounds!" Yes, it was very long and very steep. Maybe even very very long and very very steep! I wondered what came after "exceptionally steep"? Perhaps "incredibly steep"? or maybe "unbelievably steep"? Well exceptionally steep was enough for today. As I said in the introduction to this trip report, the two places that were the toughest climbs were not in the Franconia Range or the Presidential Range, but South Kinsman to the south, and Wildcat, right here, exceptionally steep Wildcat, to the north. But what can you do, just climb climb climb. Mostly rock steps and ledges where you had to scramble up hand over foot. But exceptionally steep or not, we eventually reached the top of the ridge and the first of the five Wildcat peaks known as Wildcat E. Wildcat Ski gondola near Wildcat D summit We descended easily and just before the next peak, came to the top of the ski gondola, which was operating. Thus once again the fat-people had an easy way up, but for some reason there were only a very few of them. They eyed us and probably wondered "how did they get up here?". As we hiked past the gondola building back up into the woods towards Wildcat D, we met two SOBOs (Popeye and Monster) coming down. With a smile in her voice Popeye asked "Did you take the easy way up?". I answered in the same tone "No, are you taking the easy way down?". We knew who we were, just on sight. No fat-people us! Wildcat D had a viewing platform where a few folks who had come up via the ski gondola were checking out the view, but since we had so recently been there, where they were looking, we just went on by. It's not that we don't appreciate a nice view but we were a bit worn down and wanted to move along. Across Carter Notch to Carter Dome (Lower Carter Lake and the Hut in the Notch) We descended easily to Wildcat Col, a low area between E, and D to the south and C, B and A up ahead to the north. The official 4000 footers are peaks A (or just "Wildcat" at 4380') and Wildcat D (4063'). The others don't drop down sufficiently from their taller brothers. Some rock climbs and a fair amount of board walks brought us across this col and then it was up to C, then quickly down and up at last to B and A which were rather close together. There were great view from Wildcat A: a steep gorge down to Carter Notch and the Carter Lakes and the rock face of Carter Dome across the Notch, one of tomorrow's big climbs. Brrr! Looks impressive. The trail down to the notch was gentler than I expected: it was well built and actually had switchbacks! However the easy trail was interrupted at one point by what looked like a very recent slide. Glad we weren't here then! Near the bottom of the climb we had a nice view north through Carter Notch. The U-shape of the Notch is a classic example of a valley gouged out by glacial action. I thought how fortunate we are that some of these notches such as Zealand, and Carter did not succumb to the fate of others like Franconia and Crawford and have highways built through them. Upper Carter Lake near the Hut At the bottom of the descent, in Carter Notch, we passed by first the upper and then the lower of the lovely Carter Lakes, and just a little beyond, the Hut. We met the caretaker Lydia who checked us in. There was a woman with her kids there and otherwise we had the place to ourselves. There was a big kitchen and lots of plates and utensils and everything you could possibly need. From the looks of it, I would guess this was originally built as a full service hut. The bunkhouse was up the hill and we had a room to ourselves. We got situated and then went down to the main building and cooked supper. Gosh, I miss someone else making super large meals! Oh well, I'm supposed to be a camper, so I just did it. What does it take to boil water over a gas stove anyway? As we were eating, Sion, a thru-hiker (NOBO) showed up and they gave him work-for-stay. There was practically nothing to do, and furthermore Lydia gave him a huge amount of food that was stashed away here (possibly left by others). The hut croos have great respect for the thrus. Eventually two more thrus showed up, and 2 other hikers (after 10 PM) and they all got fitted in, but only Sion got the free stay. Still it was only $19 per night here so it wasn't too bad for the others and it was a great little place. Remember the regular campsites in this section are $8 per night anyway, so $19 for a real hut, with kitchen and bunks was not too bad. We asked Sion what his name meant. He said it was his real name. Now there's an idea! It turns out Sion did work-for-stay at Madison Hut last night but we never met him there. He went on at great length about how great the croos were and how much fun it would be to be on a croo next year. He was thinking he would apply to the AMC for a croo job: apparently being a thru-hiker is a big plus. Coming down to Pinkham Notch today he told us he had taken wrong turn: he had failed to take the right turn at the Osgood Cutoff Trail (where we saw the "screaming man") and went all the way out to Route 16 - way to the north of Pinkham Notch. He did perhaps an extra 5 miles getting back to the trail (a total of 19 miles for the day - and unlike ourselves, he carried a full pack - minus food he didn't need since he was "working" the huts). As has been mentioned, the AT often does not appear on trail signs, just the local trail names do. But there are always white blazes if you are careful to find them. Don't get lost on this section! And yes, Sion had also seen the "screaming man" sitting by the side of the trail amidst his vast collection of canned food! I read a bit and then got to bed around 9:00 PM. Need I say it was another great day? Day 7 Trail Miles: 13.7, Extra miles: 0.1, Total: 13.8 Aggregate Trail Miles: 75.9, Aggregate Total: 78.4 Peaks: Madison (5363'), Wildcat E (4041'), D (4063'), C (4270'), B (4270'), A (4380')

Day 8: July 15, 2002 Carter Notch Hut to U.S. Route 2 (Gorham) Weather: 60°s, warm and breezy, blue sky and clouds Carter Dome, Hight, South Carter, Middle Carter, Lethe, North Carter, and Moriah I n the morning it looked and felt like a weather front was moving in. We were up early and cooked breakfast and were off by 6:45 AM before anyone else had stirred. The summit of Carter Dome, Carter Range extends behind We had a fair number of peaks to climb today, Carter Dome, all the Carter Ridge and lastly Mount Moriah. Carter Dome (4832') was the first and highest of the peaks. It proved to be a steep exhausting climb. Luckily we were doing it first off as opposed to late in the day. It was 1 hour to the summit . At this point we had an easy traverse along the ridge to Mount Hight (4675'), a secondary peak. The vegetation was definitely alpine with Mountain Sandwort, Canada Mayflower and Bilberry, although we were technically not above treeline. We got some good shots of both Balsam Fir and Black Spruce, showing the greyish Fir cones growing up, and the redish Spruce cones growing down. The views were very nice, mostly towards the northeast along the Carter Range, and back to the southwest to the Presidentials. We descended steeply to Zeta Pass, a very pretty glen where there was actually a bench to sit on at a trail junction where we took a break. For most of the day we were hiking along the Carter Moriah Trail. We then climbed South Carter, the first of the Carters (not counting Carter Dome). This had a tree covered summit and it was hard to tell when we actually got to the top, but we found a sign indicating "South Carter" (4458') so that was it. There followed an easy walk along the ridge with numerous boreal bogs with board walks. We got to Middle Carter (4600') and met Rawhide, going south. He was actually a NOBO but had just taken some time off the trail in Gorham to get something fixed, and he was hiking back to Crawford Notch where he had left the trail. We passed over Mount Lethe (4570'), really just an exposed ledge which was a shoulder of Middle Carter. At this point it started to rain lightly. We hiked over to North Carter (4530') (another sign) and as we started down, the rain increased so I had to put on the pack cover and my rain top. The rain seemed to intensify on the down slopes, making the tiresome downward climbing slippery and dangerous. We passed a father and daughter going up the mountain and they seemed pretty wet and not altogether having a great time. At the bottom of North Carter the trail got easier and the rain let up as we passed over a number of board walks. These were a relief from the usual rocky terrain since they were so easy to walk on. Papa Bear at the Imp Shelter We decided to take a lunch break at the Imp Shelter, even though at .5 miles off the trail it was rather out of the way. The trail down to the shelter was actually rather nice through some lush woods and the shelter itself was right up slope from a good north facing view over a steep cliff. There was actually a bench and a fence at the viewing spot, and the shelter, facing the same way, had a chair built in right in the middle facing outward. It resembled nothing more than a rustic throne. We checked through the register and saw many many familiar names, both NOBOs and SOBOs we had previously met. We got going again, climbing back to the trail, and passed another area of boardwalks. We were approaching Mount Moriah, the last major climb of the day. We met Crater (or maybe it was "Critter") who was a section hiker moving south that day. He said he was jumping around the different sections of the Whites. Just before we got onto the trail up Mount Moriah, at the point where the Stony Brook Trail intersects with our trail (the Carter Moriah Trail) at a three way board walk intersection, we ran into a large group (maybe 12 or 15) of boys from a camp. I thought the leader said Camp Brooklyn (could that be right?) on Lake Winnapisauke. They were hiking up Mount Moriah today as well, and as we climbed slightly ahead of them we could hear the boys exclaiming at the wonder of each new view they came to. Eastern Garter Snake on Mount Moriah, showing unusual coloration Unlike the Carters, Moriah was a series of long sloping smooth rock faces. This climb was more like what we had seen in Vermont than the more recent climbs through the Whites. Shortly before the summit, on one particular sunny rock, we saw three snakes sunning themselves. One was a small garter snake and the others were a large brown and a large gray specimen. We later found that they were all color forms of the Eastern Garter, but it was wonderful to see such variety all on a single slab of rock. We soon came to the place where a short side trail led to Moriah's summit. It started out with a steep rock scramble and I headed up to "bag" the peak solo, since Fresh Air had bagged this one some years ago. The trail was steep but thankfully short, and another trail from the north joined just before the top. Having bagged the peak, I quickly rejoined Fresh Air and we started down. The AT turns right onto the Kenduskeag Trail at this point and we descended over long tiring steps interspersed with board walks. Naturally since we were on a tiring down slope, it started raining again and the rain became quite heavy at times. Finally the trail leveled off and we crossed and recrossed the Rattle River (where the AT joined the Rattle River Trail) three times as it flowed down the mountain. We arrived at the Rattle River Shelter about 3:15 and since the rain had abated, we got out of our sweaty gain gear. There was an older camper there who had pitched his tent inside the shelter and he went on a bit about his liver transplant and his hiking. Since the mosquitoes were starting to get ferocious, we left as soon as we could break away, and did the last very easy two miles rather quickly. We made it out to Route 2 at 4:35, not bad for the 16 or so miles we had done today. I called Hikers Paradise on my cell phone and the guy said he'd be right over. Well, a half hour passed and he didn't show up and just then Sion showed up off the trail. He was glad to see us and was tired like ourselves after this long day (which he had done much quicker since I'm sure he didn't get going till after 9:00). He wanted to go to the Hostel too, so I called again and the guy double checked where we were. Seems before he had gone to the other trail head (about .2 miles up the road) where the trail comes in from the north, rather than where we were at the Rattle River Trailhead. This time he really did show up right away and we got the cook's tour of Gorham. He had been in this business for years and showed us every restaurant, which ones were too expensive, which ones were good, all the food stores, the bus stop, everything we needed to know. Hikers Paradise in Gorham After checking into the Hostel (only $14 including the free pickup) we went upstairs to the bunkroom ("Leave you boots on the porch under penalty of death") and met a whole bunch of other hikers. NOBOs, SOBOs, Sectioners, those off the trail with sore ankles, lots of them. Sion met an old friend and they all had a grand time talking trail talk. After cleaning ourselves up a bit, we walked into town and had a nice dinner at the Pizza Restaurant. Sion came by on a bicycle (he "bought" it from the Hostel for $1) and we all unwound a bit. We were done hiking for now, but he was heading further tomorrow on up to Maine and ultimately Katahdin. Gorham was a huge milestone for all of us. We had finished (most of ) New Hampshire, one of the toughest but most rewarding sections of the entire trail and this was one big accomplishment. Everyone felt really high. The next morning we would get the 6:55 AM bus to Boston and ultimately back to NYC. This section was done and we were very happy indeed. Day 8 Trail Miles: 15.0, Extra miles: 1.1, Total: 16.1 Aggregate Trail Miles: 90.9, Aggregate Total: 92.5 Peaks: Carter Dome (4832'), Hight (4675'), South Carter (4458'), Middle Carter (4600'), Lethe (4570'), North Carter (4530'), Moriah (4049')

An Evaluation: T here was less equipment to evaluate since we just used day packs for this section. But there were still aspects that deserve some comments. The Huts: By now you know my opinion if you've read this far. The huts are great! If you can afford to cross the Whites this way, I highly recommend you do so. Not only will you be free of the burden of heavy pack, making and breaking camp, and cooking, but you will learn a lot and see young members of families being exposed to the great outdoors in a very positive way. Even if it's only once, do it. You'll be glad you did. Conditioning, bodily complaints: We were up for the arduous nature of this section, partly due to our having previously hiked the 500 or so miles of the AT from the DWG this season (although by doing it in sections you lose some of your gains between sections), and partly due to the fact that we used daypacks. My left ankle bone on the outside got sore somehow about midway through. It wasn't a muscle soreness, more a bruise. I must have hit it on a rock but I don't remember when. It hurt like hell when my boot was tight against it, so I left my left boot rather loose, ordinarily not a good idea. I was also probably taking too much vitamin-I (Advil). My urine got very dark the last day (which was scary) but when I stopped the Advil it cleared up after a day. Just don't overmedicate! Camera: I love my Nikon digital camera, but alas it stopped working after about a day and a half. The problem seemed to be mechanical, not electronic: the lens wouldn't open when you turned on the camera. I could still view the pictures and upload them to my computer. The camera is currently in the shop. Luckily my partners for this hike took plenty of pictures so there is a good pictorial record of our adventure. All those peaks: The AMC gives a certificate to those who have hiked all the 4000 footers in New Hampshire (which number 48 on their official list). A peak "doesn't count" if it does not drop at least 200' below a higher neighboring peak. This eliminates a few of the peaks we did such as Franklin and Clay. Here is the list of peaks we bagged (including Moosilauke from our last section hike). I have listed them in the order we hiked them, south to north. Those in brackets are the ones that "don't count". Moosilauke (4802), South Kinsman (4358'), North Kinsman (4293'), [Little Haystack (4760')], Lincoln (5089'), Lafayette (5249'), Garfield (4488'), South Twin (4902'), [Guyot (4560')], Jackson (4052'), Pierce (Clinton) (4310'), Eisenhower (4761'), [Franklin (5004')], Monroe (5385'), Washington (6288'), [Clay (5532')], Jefferson (5715'), Madison (5363'), [Wildcat E (4041')], Wildcat D (4063'), [Wildcat C (4270')], [Wildcat B (4270')], Wildcat (4380'), Carter Dome (4832'), [Hight (4675')], South Carter (4458'), Middle Carter (4600'), [Lethe (4570')], [North Carter (4530')], Moriah (4049'). That's 20 official 4000 footer peaks out of 48, plus 10 that "don't count". Not bad, if I do say so. By the way, my legs think they all count.

Click here for a complete album of photos from this hike Return to Papa Bear Home Page