Days 117-118: Birthday on the Ridge!

Day 117, 8/23/23

I93 to Stealth Campsite

10.4 miles, mile 1,835.6

It’s my Birthday! And what a birthday it was being able to hike over the best part of the entire trail, Franconia Ridge. I am so lucky to live in NH, but living in NH does make the rest of the AT south of here seem pretty underwhelming when it comes to views. We slept in at home and didn’t start hiking until 10:30 a.m. I planned a short mileage day because there is 5,300 feet of climbing crammed into 10.4 miles, and I wanted to be able to take my time up on the ridge. The weather couldn’t have been better, the views were incredible, and I enjoyed the slower pace. We did have our packs for the first time in four days of slackpacking, but with only one night of food it didn’t seem too bad.

We started our morning by hiking up the seemingly never-ending Liberty Springs trail. The last time I hiked up to Mt. Liberty was for sunrise in winter, so all the rocks were nice and filled in with snow. That was not the case this time. We did make it up to the junction for Franconia Ridge in about an hour and a half. After a snack break, we continued the two miles up to Little Haystack Mountain, the start of the ridge. I enjoyed my breakfast casserole that I packed out for lunch that Mom made this morning for birthday breakfast.

Once we had some more food in us, we hiked up to Mt. Lincoln. Just like Liberty, the last time I was on the ridge was also for sunrise! The conditions were so perfect for the sunrise hike and were also perfect today. It was sunny with a breeze and clear skies. I took my time between Lincoln and Lafayette, stopping to take in the views. I also took my time going down off of Lafayette because it was very steep. Just like Liberty Springs, the Garfield Ridge Trail is another stretch that seems a lot longer than it actually is. It is always daunting to see the peak you need to climb up too looming over you. Garfield is an amazing mountain with 360-degree views of the Pemi Loop. We stayed up there for almost an hour sitting in the sun taking in the White Mountains around us. Then we walked down the steep descent off of Garfield, passed the tentsites and found a great place to set up near a water source. Two other thru-hikers, Deadbeat and Ape Man, showed up shortly after and also set up here. We haven’t seen Deadbeat since PA.

The temperature is supposed to get down to the lower 40’s tonight. I made sure to bring my fleece, puffy, and hat. I also got a sleeping bag liner ordered because my Nemo Switchback foam pad doesn’t have a high R-value, and my Thermarest is out of commission. Hopefully I’ll stay nice and toasty tonight.

Day 118, 8/24/23

Stealth Campsite to Crawford Notch

17.2 miles, mile 1,852.8

After having the luxury of my own bed and slackpacking for so long, I did not sleep very well on my foam pad in 43 degrees last night. My sleeping bag liner got delivered, though, so I will be adding that to the pack. I was warm enough with my wool base layers, fleece, and puffy on.

I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. so we could be hiking around 7:00 a.m. because I really like South Twin and wanted to take a long break up there. Dad planned to be in Crawford Notch at 4:30 p.m. to take us back home for the night to take one (possibly two) zeros due to weather. I am not silly enough to go into the presidential range in the rain. After seeing so many hiker rescues this summer, I know better.

The first half of today was a lot harder than the second half. We had the short 0.8 mile climb up to South Twin with 1,300 feet of elevation gain crammed into it. I’ve only ever come down that trail, not up it. The trail was poppin with overnight backpackers. We took a long break at the Galehead hut before the climb, I had a cup of coffee and some snacks, so the climb went by quick and didn’t seem bad. As I’ve been walking along, I was thinking about the AMC huts and how they get all the supplies up there. Some of these huts sleep 90 people and have breakfast and dinner included in the (very expensive) cost to stay. I asked one of the workers and he said twice a week the whole crew hikes down the Gale River trail, loads up their packs with food, and hikes back up. Then he said the bigger things get flown in by helicopter and placed outside on a gravel pad.

After another snack break on South Twin, we continued on the Twinway trail to Zealand Mountain. Zealand is one of the 48’s I haven’t gotten yet, so we took the 0.1 side trail to check another one off the list. Then hiked down to Zeacliff, which is an incredible view of some of the other surrounding 48’s. I ate my lunch here enjoying the sunshine, the view, and the breeze before realizing we still had 8.5 miles to hike, and it was 12:30 p.m. I refilled my water at the Zealand Hut, and then we cruised down to Crawford Notch and got there around 4:00 p.m. We walked past a really cool rockslide, and the trail was FLAT for a couple miles! Flat! In the Whites! It was a great break from the steepness the last couple days have brought.

When we got down to the Notch, there were four other thru-hikers we had met the other day that had been waiting for a shuttle back to Lincoln (45-minute drive) for a couple hours. I told them we were driving right by and offered for them to get in when my Dad got here. They were super happy to get a ride, and it was great to get to know them a little better. I’m so excited for another zero at home!