Mile 1,813.0
Elevation 3,750.0 feet
Miles Hiked 12.5
It was 7:30 AM and the hostel was driving a carload of hikers to Kinsman Notch. Some were slackpacking south and others, like myself, were heading north on the trail. Just before the notch, we saw Riz walking on the road, so we picked him up.
I started hiking by 8:10 AM. Rocks were everywhere but I still made decent time. I intended to stay at the Eliza Brook Shelter, but I was thinking if I got there around 3:00 PM, I might go to the next shelter.
At 3:15 PM, I arrived at the Eliza Brook Shelter and then made the bad decision to go for the next shelter, which is four miles further. The next four miles were a hand over hand rock climb to 4,295 feet from 1,809 feet. It took me six hours to go those four miles. Lesson learned.
I couldn’t find the caretaker at the campsite. Hikers are supposed to pay $8 to camp here. Since I couldn’t find the caretaker, I set up in the shelter without paying and went to sleep. I’ll try to find him in the morning.
Some pictures of the views as I went up Kinsman
