Sunday, July 24th

Kinsman Notch Parking Lot (1804.9 mi) to Liberty Springs Trailhead (1821.3 mi)

Hiking Miles: 16.4

Total Ascent: 4,667.3 ft

Total Descent: 5,147.6 ft

Total Grade: 599.9 ft/mi

Steps: 42,936

BEE GEES – How Deep Is Your Love

Gator/Sunrise: We both got an early start this morning anticipating another challenging hike, this time through the Kinsman’s. Despite Acadicus feeling that we could indeed achieve the 17-mile stretch, I still underestimated the shape I was in to make it without excruciating difficulty. Regarding my hesitation, maybe I was afraid of getting so winded (breathing uncontrollably) that I’d be forced to leave the mountain. However, I kept finding that after I started hiking, I was totally in control of my anxious thoughts and hiking abilities.

The Kinsman’s were are technically challenging as Acadicus described, but not as bad as I worried myself it would be. Fortunately we had clear enough skies to enjoy the incredible views along the way up and at the top. However, a storm was coming through and just after 2 pm, it was almost upon us. As Croc perfectly describes below, we met a Ridge Runner who was sure the storm would miss us, then we found him sprinting past us to avoid its presence.

When we finally reached the Liberty Springs Trailhead, we knew we were close to the Visitor Center for our free shuttle pick up. However we didn’t realize it was at least a half mile (or more) off-trail before we reached that point. The best part about waiting for the shuttle was when Croc brought me back an ice cold Gatorade and soda from the Visitor Center store. I was insanely appreciative of that gesture.

After a brief shuttle snag (miscommunication), a young lady named “Lost & Found” who worked at the Notch Hostel picked us up in her car and brought us there. She was exceptionally knowledgeable about the area and pointed out some key spots where we could stop in town after we freshened up. But after seeing the hostel and it’s many amenities, we opted to stay put for the evening. A calzone I noticed in the fridge was free for the taking, so that cinched the deal for me. It was so tasty and filling.

I passed on the free laundry service. I was too tired to figure out what I needed done (most of my stuff was still clean so I could afford to wait until the next hostel stay. We chilled comfortably in their living room and Croc strategically charted out our next few days using information provided by the Notch. I was too beat to even think at this point so thank goodness Croc had his “focus hat” on. To be honest, I was ready for a “Zero”, and it just so happened that a crazy storm was rolling in for all day tomorrow. Many hikers already decided they were hunkering down tomorrow, but we set our sites on jumping back on trail and wasting no time.

Around 9:30 pm, we called it an evening and retired in the Kinsman Room where six of us stayed for night. It was the last room on the third floor down the hallway, and very quiet. This was such a nice hostel, and highly recommended!

Croc: We woke early (for me), probably around 6:00 AM, to make sure we were at Kinsman Notch by 7:00 or 8:00 AM to reach The Notch Hostel before nightfall and grab a free shuttle. It was going to be a challenging day, but we were ready for it, especially after the nero the day before. It was worth the push because getting those extra miles meant we could stay at a hostel rather than camp in the woods on the tough terrain.

The Kinsmans were no joke. They actually qualify for two of the 48 4,000-footers (North and South) and are rated an 8/10 in difficulty for New Hampshire mountains. It’s probably one of the hardest sections of trails for thru-hikers because it is the first “real” test of hiking the White Mountains and this type of terrain. We may have seen similar chunks of this terrain before, but the consistent up and down of steep rock inclines is what makes it different.

We also started seeing more and more Southbounders as we got closer to Maine. This made sense since they typically start mid-June to early July and were likely reaching our location 30-40 days in. I had been wondering since Day One when I’d feel like I had reached the point in this thru-hike where I wouldn’t trade spots with a Southbounder. Said another way, at what point in the trail would I be happier with what I have left versus what they had left. I honestly thought that point would maybe be around the 1,500-mile range since it’s well past the halfway point, but also understanding the hardest miles are at the end. But still, at 1,800 miles, I felt like the Southbounders I was crossing had better days ahead (i.e., going 1,800 miles south from this location would be easier than going 400 more miles north). Props to the Southbounders though, because I really can’t imagine anybody starting their thru hike in Maine/New Hampshire and not immediately giving up.

As we hiked a very steep incline to get above tree level, we were greeted with amazing views of Franconia Ridge, where we’d be hiking the next day. It not only has one of my favorite mountains, Mt. Lafayette, but it also has a ~4 mile walk above the alpine zone along a ridge with 360-degree views the whole time. However, this was shorted lived since we also saw a looming storm coming in that could easily ruin our day. Not only were the steep inclines slowing us down, but wet inclines would basically bring us to a halt.

As we rested for a bit, we were assured by a trail runner (i.e., someone who runs on mountain trails for fun) that the storm wouldn’t hit us. He was just sitting on a ledge enjoying the view and said that we could stay and probably wouldn’t get wet. I wasn’t so sure he was correct seeing an obvious cloud coming, but we carried on anyway because we had to reach the hostel before 5:00 PM. Less than 5 minutes later, it started to sprinkle, and guess who came running by… the trail runner. I was impressed at the speed he could run downhill, but also found it ironic that he told us it wasn’t going to rain and that we could stay on the ridge, but then he sprinted by us to get back to his car when it did start raining. Luckily, we got below the alpine zone pretty quickly after it started to rain, so we had enough cover to stay dry.

With a little bit of hustling, we made it to Liberty Springs Trailhead by 5:00 PM for our free pickup to The Notch Hostel. The trailhead parking lot was about a mile off-trail, which didn’t help, but at least it led to a Visitor Center where I could grab Gator a Gatorade and diet coke as we waited for our ride. There ended up being a little mix-up since I contacted a “paid” shuttle to come get us instead of the “free” shuttle from the hostel, which would have been fine anyways, but the paid shuttle driver was nice enough to give me the number of the free shuttle since we were still there at the designated “free” shuttle time. Eventually, Lost and Found picked us up and drove us to The Notch Hostel while pointing out places to eat in town. We were planning on going into town, but after getting to the hostel and relaxing for a bit, we realized we just resupplied and there was plenty of leftover food at the hostel. We even scored free calzones in the fridge. So after washing up and putting on our comfy clothes, there was no way we were going out.

By the way, this hostel was amazing. I know that I say I want to zero at every hostel, but I truly did want to take a zero here with all the amenities and the threat of more storms tomorrow. First, this hostel had everyone put their dirty bags, poles and shoes in a shed, so that the hostel stayed clean. Second, they would do your laundry for you if you put it in a bag for them. Third, they had a great kitchen with plenty of leftovers and free pancakes for breakfast. They also had the honor system for grabbing soda and ice cream during the day, and a big living room to just chill in and plan your trek through the Whites. Lastly, they had multiple floors, which really helped with getting to bed early uninterrupted. Although we still had 6-8 people in our room there wasn’t much noise because we were separated from the kitchen, bathroom, front entrance, etc. What also made this hostel great was that almost everyone was doing their own activity/hike. We didn’t just have AT thru hikers talking about their own experiences. We had some people who were just hiking random trails in the Whites, some people hiking the Pemi Loop, some there were mountain biking, and some that just wanted to visit the area. It was an accumulation of outdoorsy people!