Day 162
Start: Flume Gorge Visitor Center
End: Garfield Pond
Miles Hiked: 9.3
Miles on AT: 1833.5
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Well, it was finally time for me to leave the Old Colony Ski Club. When people say it’s a vortex they aren’t lying! I had only planned to stay for one night initially, but I got sucked in and stayed for 3 instead. After saying goodbye to everyone, the president of the club gave me a ride back to the trailhead. But first, he had to take me to see the place where the most important event in town happened. Can you guess what it was?
Trust me, I was surprised, too! Apparently, this was the spot of the first widely-reported UFO abduction in the US, and my ride made sure I never forgot it!
After our laugh, it was back to the trail. I had a big day ahead of me and I was excited for it. I had heard so much about Franconia Ridge and today would be the day when I got to experience it for myself. But, first, I had to climb. This time, the trail was still steep, but nowhere near as bad as the Moosilauke climb. Maybe I was getting used to Whites climbing or maybe I was just happy to be out on another beautiful day.
I was in such a good mood that I even decided to bag an extra peak when I reached the end of the first climb. Mt. Liberty was a 4k-er that was just 0.2 miles from the trail junction, so I figured why not climb it and see the view. Comments in FarOut insisted that it wasn’t a hard sidequest and well worth the effort. And they were right! I could see Mt. Lafayette and the rest of Franconia Ridge, a nice preview of what was to come. Plus, the fall colors were starting to pop up here and there on the surrounding mountains.
The sky was clear, the weather was warm, and I had a perfect day in the Whites ahead of me. What more could I want? I continued on towards Little Haystack Mountain and Mt. Lincoln. There were a few day hikers out enjoying the weather, and when I arrived at Little Haystack Mountain, I was among a small crowd. It was lunchtime, so I enjoyed my summer sausage and cheese sandwich on a rock in the sun. I loved it.
As I continued hiking, the day continued to get even better. The Whites are gorgeous! Walking along Franconia Ridge felt like being in a whole new whole world. I had reached a huge AT milestone and it was so rewarding. The tough climbs were now being rewarded with wide open space and 360 views for nearly the whole day. I stopped so many times to just enjoy feeling on top of the world. There were a few people out on the trail, but I felt like I was in my own little world. This was the kind of experience I had been craving while on the AT and after over 1800 miles, I was finally getting it. All of the time and effort and struggle that it took to make it this far made this experience so much sweeter.
Mt. Lafayette was awesome! As I gazed at the mountains around me, I could make out Lonesome Lake, where I had been yesterday, and the Kinsmans. Ahead was Mt. Garfield and even more Whites beauty. While I sat enjoying the view, a familiar face said, “Hey, Princess!” It was the section hiker I had met at Hexacuba Shelter, now hiking SOBO with the hiking partner that had picked him up. They kept on moving south while I gathered my things to continue on north.
As soon as I left Lafayette, the trail became quiet. There was a crowd of about 15 people on the summit of Lafayette, but now I had the trail all to myself. My plan for tonight was to make it to Garfield Shelter, but the descent from Lafayette sapped a bit of my energy. In the Whites, you can’t always descend on your feet if you’re a cautious hiker like I am. Because there were a lot of areas of steep, slick rock, I had to sit and scoot my way down until I got to walkable trail. The rest of the descent wasn’t terrible, but I had heard that getting down Mt. Garfield was a headache and I wasn’t sure I was up for more technical descents, especially since it was getting late.
Instead of making it to Garfield Shelter, I stopped just before the peak and set up my tent in a stealth site. It was still relatively early, but I was happy with the miles I had completed. After a couple of hours, more and more hikers showed up. Crow and his hiking partner (I had seen them a couple of days ago) showed up as well as 2 section hikers. I ate dinner with them and then more people stopped by. I met Mud, who I’d heard about but never met, for the first time, and had fun just hanging out. It felt like old times, way back when the trail was a bit more crowded. I loved it.
Soon, night fell and it was time to sleep. Tomorrow, I would climb Mt. Garfield and see what that descent was all about.
And that’s day 162.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.