Garfield Ridge Campsite

Snake Whisperer, Shelter Monkey, Cranky Pete and I all caught Dutch's 7:30 shuttle back up to the bike path at the Franconia Notch State Park visitors center and took off. Would you believe it started pouring as soon as we got there? So much for the sun in the forecast! We split up soon after hitting the AT trail because it began its steep climb to Franconia Ridge. I felt very strong today and powered up the climb to Liberty Springs Campsite. Not too long after that I crossed above treeline and onto Franconia Ridge.

Now they say optimum hypothermic conditions are 40-50 degrees, cool breeze, and rain/mist. Unfortunately those are exactly the conditions I found all the way up to Mt. Lafayette.


So it was good that I felt strong becuase my body heat is what was keeping me from getting in a dangerous situation. I realized this and made it a point to never rest for very long. I was beat when I reached the summit at 11:45 and I began descending a little dissappointed that the forecasted sun had never arrived. That being said, hiking in the clouds above treeline was almost ethereal/other worldly. It kept reminding me of a scene from Lord of the Rings.


Luckily during my descent and then climb of Mt. Garfield, the clouds parted and I got my first real views of the trip. It was outstanding.

Because I was worried about being hypothermic, I had not stopped to eat or really rest this morning at all and by the time I reached the campsite at 2:30-3:00, I was feeling weak and kind of cold. I tore into my food and got out of my wet clothes and all was well.

During the long afternoon I had to kill, I chatted with the caretaker, Claire. She thru hiked the AT in '03 and was cool to chat with. In the offseason she manages the waste disposal and recycling operations at a science station at the South Pole! Sweet.

The rest of the time I read The Brothers Karamazov (or at least part of an abridged version) and chatted with the few others who came to the shelter. It started to get very, very cold so I crawled into my sleeping bag early. I bet by the time we went to bed it was in the lower 50s and probably will get into the 40s during the night.

I still haven't decided where I will hike to tomorrow. We will have to see if I want to stay at Ethan Pond or spend a 2nd night at the hiker hostel at Crawford Notch.

Mileage - .7 Franconia Notch State Park to the AT, 10.3 miles on the AT