Day 144 – NH 25A to NH 25

“You ain’t lived until you’ve watched those northern lights

Set around the campfire and hear the coyotes call at night

Makes you feel alright” – Chris Ledoux

Up at 6:30. Packed, had breakfast, and got ready to leave by 7:30. Shuttled to the trail and hiking at 8:00.

Doing 9.7 miles to Hikers Welcome hostel. Goal is to be there by 2:30.

Sunny, 55 going up to 75.

41 days left!

Possibly my favorite sign I’ve seen in a long time. Bathroom sign at the Barn Door hostel.

Trail magic at 8:45 by Cape Moonshine road. 

Got to NH 25C at 10:15. Had to make emergency shoe repairs. I love duct tape! I have new shoes arriving Friday, hopefully. I’ll have to do Mount Moosilauke and The Kinsmans with these old shoes. At least it’s supposed to be dry when I do those two days. 

Summited Mount Mist at 11:45.

Arrived at NH 25 at 1:40. Short road walk to Hikers Welcome hostel. Got settled into a bunk, started laundry, and showered. Old school outdoor showers. Haven’t seen that in a while.

Replaced the tips on my trekking poles. That was much easier than I thought it would be. 

Tortilla showed up around 6:00. I have not seen him in a month. 

Shuttled to the store and got dinner, breakfast for tomorrow, lunch for tomorrow, and a few supplies. Hung out at the fire with staff and other hikers.

It was very nice to hang out by the fire and chat. Most of the folks are around my age, and Miss Janet, the owner, had tons of good stories as well as a lot of trail wisdom. I have not had this experience since TN.

After a lot of talking with staff and other hikers, plus my research and the weather, I have made some changes to my schedule:

• Slacking Moosilauke SOBO tomorrow 
• Staying at Hikers Welcome tomorrow night
• Shuttling to Kinsman Notch Friday morning 
• Hiking the Kinsmans in two days instead of attempting slacking it in one day
  • Camping at Eliza Brook Shelter or Kinsman Pond Shelter Friday night 
• Arrive at Flume visitors center Saturday midday 
• Stay at The Notch hostel Saturday night
  • It’s supposed to rain Saturday night and all day Sunday 
• Zero on Sunday at The Notch
• Start Franconia Ridge on Monday 

This costs me two days on my schedule, but my original plan to do the Kinsmans in one day was just not realistic. Plus, a foul weather day. I feel a lot better about this plan and got positive feedback from some experts.

All that said, I’m feeling anxious about the next few days 🙁

Technical Notes:

• Chocolate chip muffin 450
• Coffee 30
• Snickers 250
• Italian sub 400
• Italian sub 400
• Coke 140
• Root beer 140
• Dinner 1200
• Cider 260
• Seltzer 400
• Water .7
• Miles 9.7 
• Time 5
• Elevation gain 2319
• Calories consumed 4000
• Calories burned 4750