White Ladder

August 31 Mile 1816.5-
If I had ever said in the past that we had had a tough day I was wrong. Nothing compares to the past two day and especially today. We drained every ounce of energy we had on today's hike. The morning started in Kinsman Shelter and ended at a stealth spot just North Mt. Lafayette (5,200 feet).
We stopped by our first AMC Hut on the way down to cross I-93. Lonesome Pond was the name. The hut exceed my expectations. Leftover pancakes from breakfast were free so Shadow and I ate as many as we could. Our food allowance is at a record low. We counted 8 days to get through the Whites and only carried 6 days of food. Here's a short run down on the AMC Huts and most of camping sites. They are owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club which is independent from the forest service. It is illegal to camp above tree line, unless there is a minimum of 2 feet of snow on the ground. Most of the AT runs ridge line to ridge line throughout the forest. On a case by case basis, usually 2 hikers at a time depending on the crew at the hut, you can do what called a work-for-stay program. It's where a hiker does some type of work in the evening, waits outside while the paid guest eats, comes in the eat leftovers, and then is allow to sleep on the floor of the dining area. The morning of the work-for-stay brings a 6:30 wake-up to do more work, wait outside for guest to eat breakfast, then allowed back inside to eat leftovers. The problem is that thru-hikers have little to no options other than this while in the Whites. The huts charge $110 per person which is not in a hiker's budget. The other option is to hike down below tree line to camp. If you choose to do that, you will lose about 1,000 feet or more in elevation to find a flat spot. The shelters, that are few and far between, are $8 per person. There is a constant battle here between hikers and huts to have a safe place to sleep.
On the climb up Franconia Ridge I swore to myself that nothing was worth a climb this hard. I was wrong about that too. Once we reached 4,700 feet (above tree line) the views were spectacular. The sky was full of high, wispy clouds which made it easy to see Mt. Washington and the rest of the presidential range of mountains. While up on the ridge an airplane flew by, turned on his trail smoke, and preformed air show stunts for the few of us up there. It was cool to be so high, you were actually only a few hundred feet below him.


Country Mouse and Shadow still NOBO (North Bound)