Day 33 - Friday, July 15

Linda

This morning we were on the trail at 7:00. Mike was a few minutes behind us, and we left Ray and the other guy in their sleeping bags. Got across North and South Kinsman, then met a through hiker, Brian Gregor, at the top. Talked to him for over an hour. We found out that he's going to the University of Oregon when he finishes, so we exchanged addresses, and will get in touch with him out there once we get settled in Corvallis. Small world.

The day was almost shot from there as far as mileage goes. Mike caught up with us while we were talking, and we went down toward Eliza Brook Shelter. It was a killer downhill, but the brook was gorgeous. We came to one waterfall and pool too pretty to pass by. Stopped for an early lunch by the water, and wished we had time to jump in. The rest of the day was so hot and humid that we just snailed along up and down a million little hills. We had intended to get over Moosilauke, but after Kinsman Notch, we pooped out at Beaver Brook Shelter .2 mile from the road. It was very nice, and empty when we arrived, but by the time we went to bed, there were 14 people in the area.

We took advantage of the abundance of water, and washed off in the brook. Felt good to be semi-clean with clean hair, too. Les and Pete came in after spending 2 days in North Woodstock. They skipped a whole section and have been partying since we saw them last, so I won't worry about them any more. Got to sleep around 9:00. Hope tomorrow is a bit more productive, even though we did do 11 miles.

Ron

For some reason today was a slow day. The heat and the long hard climb down Kinsman made for a slow and lethargic day. The around Eliza Brook Lean-to was beautiful and the water looked so inviting. I would have jumped in, but our lack of mileage made me move on. We did stop for a while and eat lunch by the brook.

Early in the morning when we just got on top of Mt. Kinsman we met a north bounder named Brain Gregor. We found out that he was headed out to Oregon when he finished the trail, we were headed out there ourselves and promised to get together out there sometime.

The climb up Wolf Mt. was slow and tiring. The mud and lousy trails kept the pace slow. Plus it was one of those mountains that never ends. There were peaks after peaks. When we finally made it to Kinsman Notch we knew it was too late to make it to the top of Moosilauke Mountain.

Tonight we are camped at Beaver Brook Lean-to. It is a surprisingly nice shelter for being only two tenths of a mile off the highway. Ray's feet were really hurting when he arrived at the shelter. We persuaded him to lay over a day or two here to allow his feet time to heal. We hope he makes it, but he's going to have to take better care of himself.

(11.9 Miles - 385.2 Total)