Welcome to Big Show, next on the stairs

Another inconvenience of notch as a hiker hostel? The liter is full. Which means a greater % of tracker possibilities. That is exactly what I got last night. Fortunately, the shelter provided a white noise machine right next to my bed, which was very convenient for my sanity. However, nothing was going to rescue my dream. Kinsman’s notch is at 7 am … acute, which meant that I had to prepare my own breakfast, pack and be presentable a few minutes before that. I tried to pack as much as I could last night, but since the hostel does not allow food in the pack, I still took about 15 minutes to make sure I had everything in my slack. Add about 40 minutes to make and eat food, and then another 20 minutes to allow nausea to decrease, and I knew I had to get up long before 6 in the morning.

In the morning, some of the days that hikers wanted to chat with me about my day, but it was Frank saying «hey, I’m trying not to vomit right now … I’m sorry.» When the transport service was ready, I packed in the truck with Nomad and Chopsticks, another pair of nobles making the same slack as me. Chopasticks has already made a walk and a half before, and Nomad is here as me, in his first.

And so we left! The Kinsmans are the second of the five great «ranges» of whites, and is surrounded by both sides with roads that lead directly to Lincoln/North Woodstock, NH. That is why Slackpack is free, at least. However, notch transport schedule is a bit difficult. We have approximately 7:10 to 4:40 to make the slack, or 9 hours and 30 minutes. While at a «normal» rhythm of 2 miles per hour, that would be fine, whites do not lend themselves to a normal hiking pace. Even people who try FKT can barely break 2.5 miles per hour up here, and that is without a package, with maximum nutrition and fitness, and with pacemaker. So … we are pressured for a little time to do 16 and a half miles! (In addition to an additional mile to get to the Visitor Center of Flume Gorge, the collection point near Francia Ridge).

However, I really thought it would not be so bad, I could get some speed at the beginning before page 4000, right? Incorrect … That ended up being one of the toughest parts of the day, with more than 3000 feet of slope! Fortunately, he had nomads and chopsticks to talk to while we skipped throughout the morning. The two have been walking together for a moment, and Nomad is even an avid poster on the Facebook page of At Class of 2025 (Bajo James Dalberto). It is good to have reached a new set of people for a moment.

When I arrived at Eliza Brook shelter, I was starting to In fact We arrive at an agreement with us not making the schedule, unless we really kick it in high march. But the Kinmans do not provide the opportunity for that. Apart from a brief respite in Harrington Pond (which, at this point it should be called Harrington Swamp) that showed the majesty of the Kinsman’s peaks, the climb was a ball rise. Or, to quote my friend DK of the days of trails, «Have you missed the wonderful feeling of touching rock while you are on your walk? Then, then use this mountain as an opportunity to find some pleasant prists along the rocks …», to be honest, if I would suggest an activity that could do to make a leg to make the AT, they are some basic skills. He will not need it for the whole path, but there are many times when my escalation skills are the only reason I can overcome large steps and climbs. It was useful in New York and Connecticut, and once again it is great here.

The two relatives were majestic in their own way. While originally planning to stop at South Kinsman to take a break for lunch, a cold front that cut the three we forged forward towards North Kinsman, where there is a good winding lodged shelf by the true summit. It’s funny, contributing from here, thinking about how the AT feels at this time. The most sale and possible route is needed to reach some of the outstanding peaks in WMNF, and you can see if the two clearly perpendicular crilinas where we were. But that is the fun of whites … the views and the ground are simply unmatched.

We take a break here, me to lunch and the other two to smoke, while enjoying good views. Something that I appreciated was that its cigarettes were packed, which is a much better behavior than the one I have seen of many of the smoking through the hikers so far. We had about three hours left to cover the last 6 miles, which were mostly of a hard decline. Then, the other two decided to take the Kinsman Pond Trail to avoid some miles, hopefully to catch the ferry. But me? Too pure. I started reserving it in the AT.

«Reserve it» being a strong term, more as he tried to stumble without hurting me. The path here, although it is not as bad as Moosilauke, was extremely steep and easy to slide, where a slip could probably cost him a lot. At least a great rear hematoma. I could quickly get to Lonesome Lake Hut, which is the first of the AMC cabins that a Nobo is found through those found. It is also one of the two that has the bunking area completely separated from the dining room. He quickly turned, before crossing the softer path beyond Lonesome, and the Flume Gorge Visitors Center. There were a lot of postponeers/stay of the cabins enjoying the holes today … although I noticed that many of them did not wear shoes on these paths. And complaining of each small step. You know … Your choices.

The last mile of my day was along the path of the bicycle to the channel, where I sent a text message to the shelter that would literally arrive 2 minutes late for the ferry, and I asked them if they could sustain it for me. Fortunately, they did! Two whole minutes. And I was there right in time … Go.

In the shelter, I quickly took a shower and changed, back to Skyball! And … Superman, from Pennsylvania! For those who do not remember, Superman was a hiker where Marty de Delaware Water Gap and I were extremely worried, since I did not know what I was doing … and began later on the path, where the resources to help are much more limited. Actually, he ended up hooking from Rutland here, since he said that «he would never forgive himself» if he did not arrive in Katahdin. Hm. Well, at least, he picked up a swollen jacket.

Finally, I invited him to dinner, and we set up the bicycles to the Thai place in Lincoln, which was delicious! Forcing food will never be easy, but at least when it comes to the city, it doesn’t make me so dizzy. We both made another refueling career (I am very anxious to run out of food, although there will be breakfast options in the cabins …), and then separate me. I also took some McDonalds to drown in the shelter … just to walk first in a guitar jam. Which … lasted until calm hours. Some of the days that hikers even made fun of me for stopping asking about calm hours here, and simply retiring to the outer porch. Today, I just didn’t have the fight in me.

At least today, I met Scraps, another blogger! Actually, he is planning to end the same day as me, and we just spent the time that chat, looking at others to get away … It is good to start finding a mini bubble of hikers. He has felt strangely alone during the last bit, after having spent the night in Trapero John’s Alone.

Anyway, by the time 11 arrived, and the music finally stopped, I could finally try to close.

(Title lyrics by: Gods, Newjaans)

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