Franconia Notch

We left the Hiker Welcome Hostel on the morning of September 20th and hiked to the top of Mt. Moosilauke. Even though the mountain was more than 4800 feet high, we did not get much of a view because we were in the clouds. I called David and Cindy, friends of ours that were living in Bethlehem, New Hampshire and they asked us to stay at their place for a few days.

On the way down the mountain I met a woman who looked very familiar. She was another good friend of mine that had married an American and was also living in the area. Suzanne had learned of our whereabouts from Cindy and decided to find us. She had met Kim (my wife) in the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain and they hiked up the mountain to meet us.

We all hiked down the mountain together along side a beautiful waterfall that cascaded down the steep incline. We decided to take the rest of the day off.

We took Curly Dan back to the hostel and then went to David and Cindy’s for some R & R. When we arrived there, we soaked in their hot tub. Suzanne and her husband Bob, David, Cindy, Kim, Naomi and I all ate a delicious  gourmet meal of stuffed tomatoes, steak and potatoes. Lots of fun!

The next day after a hearty breakfast, Suzanne drove us back to the hostel and we hiked 9.8 miles in 3 hours and 3 minutes. Kim and Suzanne met us and again drove Dan back to the hostel before going to David and Cindy’s. We feasted on chicken and the best roast veggies I have ever eaten. Mmmm!

Cindy, David, Naomi, Kim & Lorne

The next morning we had to drive more than 30 minutes out of our way to pick up Dan. We hiked from Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. The trail was extremely difficult but the views were magnificent. In fact, I believe they were the best vistas of the whole Appalachian Trail. It was a great day.

There was a slight mix up in getting picked up but Suzanne arrived on her mountain bike and said she had seen my car at a different parking lot. We turned around and shortly afterwards my cell phone rang and it was Kim. She picked us up and took us to a grocery store so we could get some ice cream before we went to David and Cindy’s for supper.

It might seem strange to eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream before supper but our appetites were massive, in fact insatiable. We knew we were eating them out of house and home, so we would try and subdue our appetites (to no avail) before we descended on our hosts like a hungry hoard of locusts.

The next morning, even though I was up at 6 am, we did not get to the trailhead until 10. It was pouring rain. We hiked for an hour up a steep mountainside before I heard Naomi blowing her distress whistle. When I hiked back down the mountain a ways, I found her crying. She said that she was sorry but she could not do it.

Now as you can imagine, you cannot hike 1,800 miles (2897 kms.) and spend four months in the wilderness without having some ill affects. My body had several areas that had infected rashes. I was so emaciated that you could see all the veins running up the side of my chest. But you also suffer some psychological ill affects. I know that Naomi could have continued to hike that day. We had hiked through worse. She was in better physical shape than I was, but she was a pitiful sight to behold, crying in the cold rain. I called Cindy and she picked us up and took us back to her place.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing.