August 14th, 2018, New Hampshire
It was another misty and rainy morning. I was glad it was cool because the hike went immediately up the 4500 foot Mt Garfield. After climbing and descending, the trail then climbed Mt Lafayette at 5200 feet then short down and ups above tree line over a few more peaks. Visibility was very poor and once I was up top it started raining. Luckily there had been no thunder all morning as I walked for maybe 3 miles on the exposed ridge.
Then I began the long descent toward he valley below. The map showed the trail intersecting with Interstate 93 and I could hear the traffic for a good part of the hike down. I passed a number of NOBOs, day hikers, and other backpackers as I went down.
Around mid day the sun finally broke through and the rain stopped. At the bottom of the valley the trail crossed a fast moving river and then went under the highway.
There was only one AMC hut remaining on my way—Lonesome Lake Hut. At this point I was undecided whether to try and get a “work for stay” at the hut, which includes a meal, or hurry my way up and hope they had soup and baked goods left when I arrived. So I just hiked along as quickly as I could and would decide after getting there.
The hut was located on beautiful Lonesome Lake.
I arrived to the hut about 3:15pm and saw they still had a few heavy duty brownies for sale plus some kind of hard rolls. They also had a potato, broccoli, and cheddar soup as well. So I decided to make good with what was available and skip asking for a work for stay. With this extra food I expected I could reach Glencliff, New Hampshire within two days without food resupply. Although the town of Lincoln was a full day closer, it happens that I already had a box waiting for me in Glencliff. If I stopped in Lincoln for food, I would still need to stop in Glencliff for the box—and I wanted to avoid stopping twice in two days, if possible.
I went about a mile further up from the hut and found a place to camp near a stream. I was now 22 miles from Glencliff with a couple steep mountains in between. And once I reach town, my time in the White Mountains National Forest will be finished. At that point the mountains get smaller and it will only be another 40 miles to Vermont.