Appalachian Trail - Day 118 - Kinsman Pond Shelter to Garfield Ridge

Day: 118

Date: Sunday, 20 August 2023

Start:  Kinsman Pond Shelter (AT Mile 1820.3)

Finish:  Garfield Ridge (AT Mile 1835.9)

Daily Kilometres:  21.7  (Ascent 5397', Descent 5699')

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

Total Kilometres:  3008.4

Weather:  Sunny, warm and breezy.

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Snickers/Trail mix/Pop tarts 

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

Highlight:  Our journey along the Franconia Ridge to Mt Lafayette (5260') was spectacular.  We were above the treeline most of the way and could see mountains near and far, including Mt Washington, and our trail winding along the ridge and up to the summit of Mt Lafayette.

Lowlight:  We failed to reach somewhere to camp before darkness fell and then it was hard to find a campsite in the dark.  The trail was also steep, rocky and wet, and it was no fun trying to negotiate steep slippery rock slabs by headlamp. At one point we were literally descending in a waterfall.  It was after 9:30pm before we found a just adequate spot to erect the tent.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

It was a night of disrupted sleep in our shelter which was filled to overflowing with late arrivals.  Some people also got up well before dawn so they could climb Kinsman Mt to watch the dawn.

We packed up as quietly as we could and left at about 6:40am.  We were hoping for easier trail, but it was very difficult and it took us nearly four hours to do the first five miles down to the Permigawasset River and the Interstate Highway, including a couple of tricky fords, in one of which Julie fell partially into the water.

From the valley we began our long journey up to the Franconia Ridge and Mt Lafayette.  It was slow going on the rocky trail, on which we had plenty of company.  Being a sunny Sunday, many day hikers were out on the trail and Mt Lafayette is a popular destination.  Most of them were on their way back down from the ridge since they would have started early, and our ascent started around 11:00am.

When we finally reached the ridge, the trail was rocky and boggy whilst in the forest but, once we emerged above the treeline, the walking became easier and the views were fabulous (see above).

As we approached Mt Lafayette we could see a group of about twenty people slowly wending their way up the last stretch to the summit and when they reached it they began singing as a group.  When we reached the summit, we discovered it was a group of nuns from Washington DC on a summer outing.  One of them was originally from Parramatta in Sydney.

By this time it was getting late and we still had four miles to go, and a climb over Mt Garfield, to reach somewhere to camp. As has been the case for the last few days, it took longer than we thought and we ended up hiking way later than we wanted, though we did get to enjoy a lovely sunset.  The White Mountains are certainly living up to their tough reputation.  Even though our mileage expectations are low, we are still having trouble meeting them.