Webster Cliffs to Mount Washington

Can I just say, that I love ibuprofen. I have never been a fan if taking unnecessary meds, but after the last few days... my knees were 'uncomfortable'. Took some Motrin last night and again this morning and today I felt 1000 times better!! I am a convert. I will be completing the Whites over the next week assisted by Vitamin i.

Here are some random hiking photos from the last few days...

We hiked by the Mizpah Hut at about 9 this morning and they were offering leftover eggs, hash browns and oatmeal to thru hikers. What a welcome surprise!

Hiked on up towards Mount Washington and about 5 miles later, came to Lake of the Clouds Hut. This is probably the most  photographed of the huts. The mountain covered by clouds in the background is Mount Washington. 

It was overcast and there were thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon so we were booking it up to the top. The weather up there did not disappoint.

Can you find me in these pics? :)

As we got to the top, the clouds really moved in and it was incredibly cold and windy.

Right as we walked inside the restaurant, the rain started up. SO happy to be inside! Temps dropped, and it started pouring and later hailing. I may be a little stubborn about weather, but I'm not completely stupid. (no comments please)

We decided to take the shuttle down from the top to Pinkham Notch. We will take it back up in the morning to continue the hike down from Mount Washington. 

South Twin Mountain to Webster Cliffs

It was chilly last night!! Slept great and it was really tough to drag myself out of my sleeping bag this morning!! 

We came to Zealand Falls hut at about 11 and loaded up with water. There were several thru hikers there, so they pulled out the leftovers from last nights dinner for us! Salad, green beans and marinated chicken breasts. Bonus!!!!

Not much climbing today, but a lot of descents. Knee buster day!! We did get about a mile of this today.

This is what heaven looks like on the trail. Totally flat, dry, rock and root free trail. Doesn't happen often so I thought it was definitely photo worthy.

New Hampshire is the land of Christmas trees. The smell here is just so incredible!

We hiked about 13 miles down to Crawford Notch. We were all pretty wiped out, but big climbs tomorrow, so we pushed on to get a few of those miles out of the way. ( a notch, by the way, is the same thing as a gap in the south. It's the space between two mountains and often times where the roads are. Notches are good when you are getting off at the road to head in to a town. Notches are not so good when you have to hike up out of them. Notoriously steep)

Anyway, we hiked up a few steep miles and ended the day at Webster Cliffs where we are stealth camping. Absolutely incredible views and a great place to end the day. 

We got our tents set up in the woods behind the cliffs and then sat out on the rocks to have dinner.

This may be the best spot I've ended a day at on this whole trip, and there have been a lot of competitors. Looking out over the White Mountains that seem to go on forever.... tough to beat.

Tomorrow we climb over lots of mountains, the biggest of which is Mount Washington. It is the second highest point on the Appalachian Trail. It is also where the highest wind speed ever recorded on earth was. 231 mph!! Yowsa! It is similar to Pikes Peak in that there is a cog train that people can ride to the top. Where there are people...there are restaurants. That is motivation for tomorrow morning!!

Ended the day sitting on Webster Cliffs, watching the sunset. No complaints :)

Franconia to Stealth Site past south Twin Mountain

Back on the trail today! Yahoo! It was a day of serious climbing, up and down. It started off overcast, but when we got up to Franconia Ridge, we had some moments when the clouds would clear and the views were spectacular!

Franconia ridge is a few miles of trail that is above tree line. It was cold and incredibly windy up there! My pack is a little heavier than ideal weight, but I was grateful for the extra weight today. There were times when there were 40-50 mile an hour sustained winds. It literally blew us over a few times. I would go to take a step, and my foot would land about12" from where I had intended! It was fun, but tiring! Here is a view looking back at part of the ridge.

Photo of me, 50/50, Murphy and Right Here on Franconia Ridge.

We climbed over several mountains today as we made our way in to the Presidentials within the Whites. Climbed Liberty, Lincoln, Lafayette, Garfield and South twin mountains. After two days of rain, the trail was muddy and there were spots where it was like a stream. The climb down from Garfield was especially steep, and there was a point that we had to stop to be sure we were still on the trail because it was a waterfall. Not like a waterfall... it was an actual waterfall! 

We got to the Galehead Hut at about 5. Work-for-stay was already taken which was ok because we still wanted to get a few more miles in. Filled up on water, got a snack and started the last hump of the day up South Twin Peak. We did 15 miles today which is pretty decent in the Whites and they were hard earned miles. The profile tomorrow looks a little kinder. Got a good look back at Franconia Ridge from the peak.

Found a good stealth site about a mile down and pitched our tents. Had my woolies mailed back to me at Hanover and thank goodness!!! It is COLD tonight! Kind of like back in March in North Carolina! Sleeping in woolies, hat and gloves!

Franconia to.... nowhere

So.... We begrudgingly took a zero today because of storms in the forecast. And it really did storm most of the day. Made me feel better about not making any forward progress, but worried about those that I know are up on the mountains. There are mountains not far beyond these trees believe it or not.

And later in the day...

There are about two stores, two restaurants and two banks in Franconia. So, we pretty much spent the day watching movies. The good news, I heard from Dragonlady and J5 (hiked with them for a week or so at the beginning of this adventure back in Georgia) They were holed up nearby because of the weather so Murphy and I met them for breakfast!

Walked to the stores during a break in the rain and stopped for a little twister in the city park :)

Weather looks much better for the next few days, so we plan on being up and out early tomorrow and do some long days to make up mileage. Got a double rainbow tonight, so I think it's a good sign!!

Kinsman Pond Shelter to Franconia Notch

We got on the trail at about 7:45. 

Two miles down to the first of the huts in the Whites. Lonesome Lake Hut. The huts are rustic lodges throughout the mountains, offering bunks and meals to vacationers and hikers. They are a little pricey, so not many thru-hikers stay at them, but if you land there at the right time of the afternoon, they offer a work-for-stay program for a few lucky hikers. They also sell leftovers to hikers if they have any. We were there at about 9 am and got some pumpkin/chocolate chip bars. We checked the forecast while we were there, and there were thunderstorms forecast. Franconia Ridge is not where you want to be in a thunderstorm. Dangerous plus no view!

We hiked a few more miles down to the notch and decided to head in to Franconia for the rest of the day. As we walked to the visitor center to catch a ride, it started raining and then pouring. We felt good about our decision. 

We are staying at the Gale River Motel. Small, but meticulously kept. I heard there was someone else from Kansas staying here tonight and have been stalking the cars in the parking lot, but haven't seen Kansas plates yet :)

Ran into a little Kansas here in NH though...

It cleared up here in Franconia, but there were still lots of clouds hanging over the ridge.

Mambo is about 12 miles ahead right now, so he is up there. He says it was pelting rain/hail today, cold and very strong winds. I'm happy to be where I am. And my feet are not mad either. They have enjoyed a day of being propped up. Sometimes at night, we get random, shooting pains in our feet. They are taking quite a beating.  Pretty sure they will never be the same after this, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

So what are we watching while we relax.... A documentary on hiking the White mountains. The obsession continues. Ridiculous!

HUGE congratulations to my friend Karen and her new hubby, Bob!!! I am so happy for you guys!! Hope you have years of great adventures ahead of you!

Lincoln to Kinsman Pond Shelter

Day two in the Whites! Started from  Kinsmans Notch at about 9:30. Some good ups and downs to start the day, but a little walkable trail. 

I figure any walkable trail here is a bonus!!

We took a blue blaze side trail to Gordon Pond. We heard it was a great spot for moose sightings. 

It was a nice pond, but not a moose in sight. Lots of scat and moose tracks though.

We passed the 1800 mile mark!

We hiked several miles up and down the then we started the climb up Kinsman Mountain. It was amazing!! Lots of steep, rock climbing beside a waterfall.

Waterfall on the left, trail on the right.

It was a few miles of rock scrambling, so pretty slow going, but great fun! If I am going to be climbing a steep mountain, I would rather be scrambling than just walking up a steep, dirt trail.

About 5:30 we reached the south peak and had an incredible 360 view of the mountains around us. Absolutely stunning!

We got to Kinsman Pond Shelter around 7 and decided to stay in the shelter because it was a nice one. Nice spot to end for the day.

We could see our destination for tomorrow off in the distance. Franconia Ridge. Another of the intimidating names that I've  been hearing about since I first started reading about the trail. 

The trail follows the exposed ridge for a few miles above tree line.

There is rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Hope they're wrong! 

Hikers Welcome Hostel to Lincoln, NH

The day began at the Hikers Welcome Hostel

And then started the trek up Mount Moosilauke. We only planned on doing 10 miles today since this would be our first encounter with the Whites. It was a pretty steep climb but just incredibly beautiful. We have been climbing up and down mountains for months now, but "The Whites" sort of like the "The Smokies"  have this sort of aura about them. They are much bigger, taller, and steeper and for whatever reason, cooler!!! It's one of the places we've worked so hard to get to on this journey.

View of the summit from the south peak.

Murphy and I hiked north, while 50/50 and Mambo slack packed south. We ran into them mid hike today.

From there we hiked on to above tree line, to the summit. Passed a lot of cool cairns marking the trail on the way up.

Breezy and chilly up there with incredible views of the mountains we have looming in our future.

The beginning of the climb down was some nice trail and then we started down one of the steepest descents in the Whites. Beaver Brook Trail. It was long and a real knee-buster. 

It ran right beside a waterfall which was beautiful.

So... granted it's only been one day, but my initial thoughts. Hiking these mountains reminds me a lot of the Rockies. Longs Peak in particular. Steep, boulder filled climbs. Then, throw in the water element (waterfall) to add another degree if difficulty. BUT, there is plenty of oxygen to be had with the lower elevation, so that is a definite plus!!

Today is 50/50's birthday, so we are staying Lincoln, eating Mexican food and ice cream.

Hiking on tomorrow.