Appalachian Trail - Day 117 - Kinsman Notch to Kinsman Pond Shelter

Day: 117

Date: Saturday, 19 August 2023

Start:  Kinsman Notch (AT Mile 1808.8)

Finish:  Kinsman Pond Shelter (AT Mile 1820.3)

Daily Kilometres:  18.5

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  2986.7

Weather:  Cool, overcast and occasional drizzle.

Accommodation:  Shelter 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Muffins

  Lunch:  American subs

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - left knee quite sore; Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None

Lowlight:  Too many to mention

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were picked up by our shuttle driver for the trip back to the trail around 6:45am and were there by 7:15am.  At the same trailhead, as we prepared to leave, other vehicles turned up from one of the hostels with Appalachian Trail thru-hikers who were going to slackpack the section we were hiking, carrying little or no gear and being picked up at the other end of the section.

It brought home to us that, in contrast, we had full packs including four days food and were about to hike one of the toughest sections of the AT (hence so many thru-hikers were slackpacking).  

From Kinsman Notch the AT was to follow the Kinsman Ridge trail up and over two mountains - Wolf Mt and Kinsman Mt.  It turned out to be a slow, miserable, wet and muddy day.  There were periods of drizzle and the trail was very wet and/or boggy almost the whole way.  Where it wasn't wet or boggy it was beset by rocks and roots.  There was lots of crawling up rocky slabs, and Dave had a couple of falls.  Julie also ended up knee-deep in a bog at one point.  Neither of us was happy and the drizzle and clouds meant few views.

In all, walking from 7:30am to 6:30pm, with two 30 minute breaks, we covered 12 miles!

Kinsman Pond Shelter, which was pretty much our only option for the night, is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, who charge a fee to stay and enforce rules about considerate camping.  For instance, we had to cook away from where we sleep (so bears aren't attracted) which meant sitting in freezing conditions under a leaking tarpaulin cooking and eating our dinner.  Not pleasant.  Then the shelter filled up with late arrivals so we are sleeping cheek by jowl with people we never met.  Everybody's gear is wet so there's stuff hanging everywhere.

Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow.  Slackpacking never looked so good!