August 15th, 2018, New Hampshire
The stream near my camp was running slowly and was tinted brown. It would have been fine in a pinch but I hoped to find better water at the next opportunity. After packing up I made my way about a mile uphill to Kinsman Pond Shelter. The water source for the shelter was an alpine pond. It was better water and after filtering I drank some and took some to go.
The weather was unsettled and shifted from sunny to overcast, then back again. The trail crossed he two Kinsman peaks, both over 4000 feet then eventually down to Mt Wolf at 3500 feet. After I cross Mt Moosilauke tomorrow, the trail generally stays below 4000 feet until Virginia—-many miles from here.
I learned that there are something like 48 peaks in New England higher than 4000 feet. It is a popular goal around here to summit all of them. We saw some of this in the Presidential Range near Mt Washington (with the cog railway, auto road, and cafeteria up top). There are other popular loops or “traverses” that people try and do in a single day as well. So I have come across many different types of hikers and trail runners over the past week. It has been quite different from the quiet hiking in Maine.
The 48 peak challenge reminds me of another hiker I came across in Maine some weeks ago. I was coming downhill and a hiker was coming up. Except this hiker didn’t look like anyone I had seen on the trail before. He was very heavy, maybe 400 pounds, and huffing and puffing his way up hill. He didn’t see me and I tried to make some noise as we approached each other. He was focused on the trail and working hard so he still didn’t notice me even though we were just 10 feet apart—so I greeted him with “hi, how are you?” He jumped and screamed a blood curdling scream and I was briefly scared he would fall down the mountain. I said, apologetically, that I didn’t mean to startle him and asked where he was headed. He put his hands up and said, almost embarrassed, “I’m just a peak bagger!” I wasn’t sure what that meant at the time but have now seen what a popular activity it is around here.
I also enjoyed another small round of “trail magic” toward the end of the day. I crossed a road in the valley just before my last couple miles. In the trail parking area there was a car set up making sandwiches for thru hikers. Early Bird had completed the AT this year in July after starting in April—in something around 90 days. Most people complete the trail in 4 to 6 months, so she was very fast. In fact, one NOBO who happened to stop by while I was there started in April with her and they remembered each other. He was still heading north and had another month to go. She has now completed all three long trails in the United States, the other two being the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Someone who has successfully completed all three has accomplished what is called the “triple crown.” And here she was a month after completing the AT spending her day providing “trail magic” to other hikers. There were about 8 of us who walked up together and she made us breakfast sandwiches using her tiny hiker stove.
After the trail magic I continued by another series of waterfalls and cascades. The final one, Beaver Brook Falls, continued on and on for more than a mile. You could only see a few hundred yards up stream at a time. But each time I would crest a hill the falls rose above me yet again. The trail followed the falls very closely. The views were constant and amazing.
