Day 145 – NH 25 to Kinsman Notch – Mount Moosilauke

“There’s always gonna be another mountain

I’m always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there

Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side

It’s the climb” – Miley Cyrus

Up at 6:00. Shuttled to Kinsman Notch at 7:00 along with Steady Eddie, Lady Bug, Big Blue, and Jerre Bear. On trail at 7:45.

41 days left … again 🙁

The first mile of the ascent follows a series of waterfalls. Gorgeous.

The climb is very steep and rocky. Handholds and steps bolted into the rocks for several miles. I’ve had harder climbs, but not for 3+ miles. 

I passed the Beaver Brook shelter at 8:10 and 1.5 miles in. I’m doing right about 1 mile per hour. It is utterly quiet. No cars, no trains, no planes. That has rarely happened.

Crossed above the tree line at 10:15 and 4724 feet elevation. Now I follow the cairns. It gets foggy above the tree line and there are no trees, so the cairns are used as markers instead of blazes.

Summited Mount Moosilauke (4802 feet) at 10:20. There are 6 other people up here.

The view is a spectacular 360 degrees of awesomeness. It’s probably low 60s, barely a cloud to be seen, light breeze. A lot of hikers only see this mountain on clouds and high wind. It really could not be a better day. 

YouTube video from Mount Moosilauke

YouTube video below the summit on Moosilauke

I ate lunch and started the 5.7-mile descent to NH 25 and the Hikers Welcome hostel at 11:10. Guessing it will take me 4 hours. Passed Mockingbird and Fullmoon on my way down. They are headed up and then to The Notch hostel.

Crossed the 1800-mile mark. I’m less than 400 miles from Katahdin! Woo hoo!

Hiked the last 2 miles with Lady Bug. She had been sectioning the AT since 2016 and is finishing her AT journey in NH and ME this year. I expect to see her and Jerre Bear a lot over the next week. Got back to the hostel just before 2:00.  Much easier descent than I expected.

My shoes arrived at The Notch hostel. I texted a shuttle driver from the mountain and they will pick me up at 3:30 and drop me at the Notch hostel with a quick stop at a market for dinner on the way. Very good as my right shoe is falling apart even more. I really did not want to hike the Kinsmans in these worn-out shoes. Need the traction plus they are just falling apart! This is working out great. 

Packed up and checked out of Hikers Welcome by 3:00. The hostel is closing for the season on September 10, just 5 days away. I am running a bit late in the season!

Got a shuttle over to The Notch hostel at 3:30. It’s a solid 45-minute drive. I lucked out and got the last room they ate packed. The Rascals are here plus Uno and that large crowd. Mockingbird and Fullmoon are also here along with Lady Bug and Jerre Bear. I moved my reservations for the weekend to Saturday and Sunday night. I can leave stuff here until the weekend, which I will to lighten my load for the next two days in the Kinsmans.

The Notch is the best organized, nicest, and probably largest hostel so far. It’s my new number one. Very, very nice landscaping, decoration, furniture, etc. I have a small private cottage. The main building is a very bright, airy three-story building with several standalone cottages. The middle floor has a large kitchen and two very large common rooms. Also, a large wraparound porch with very comfortable seating. 

Talked to Polar, Newt, and Glass to get a feel for my hike tomorrow. They said it’s hard but not as hard as that nasty rock scramble out of the Lehigh Gap in PA. Just longer. I’m feeling good about tomorrow. 

Talked to Dana and filled her in on my plans through Sunday. Ate the sub for dinner that I picked up at the market on the way to The Notch.

Prepped gear for the next two days. I’ll be leaving some items at the hostel until Saturday. Researched route plans for next week through the Presidentials. I’ve got a plan, but want to sanity check it with people this weekend. Highly dependent on the weather.

Chatted with Uno for a bit and with 23. I feel decent about my plans. Mount Washington is the big wild card due to weather and altitude, but I have a few bailouts planned if needed. 

Technical Notes:

• Mini donuts 560
• Roast beef sub 12’’ 800
• Snickers 250
• Root beer 160
• Root beer 160
• Root beer 160
• Steak and cheese sub 1100
• Chocolate chip cookie 500
• Seltzer 600
• Fritos 300
• Water .7
• Miles 9.5
• Time 6:15
• Elevation gain 3116
• Calories consumed 4700
• Calories burned 5500