Post date: Jul 31, 2012 4:30:09 AM
Leaving the campsite, the hike began immediately with an ascent to the first 4,000 foot summit of the day being Mount Liberty, a peak within the Franconia Ridge. The base of Mount Liberty is the location of the "The Flume", a natural gorge extending 800 feet at the base with walls of Conway granite rising to a height of 70 to 90 feet and 12 to 20 feet apart. This impressive formation was visited by “Five Pair" and her family two years ago and well before her hike was conceived.
Upon reaching the summit of Mount Liberty, "Five Pair" experienced her first miles above tree line. "Tree line" is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond the tree line; trees are unable to grow because of inappropriate environmental conditions. Another point of interest regarding the tree line is that the trees growing near the tree line tend to be quite short and squat as the environmental conditions including high winds, cold and extended periods of snow/frozen ground impact normal growth.
For four miles above the tree line she hiked across the summits of Little Haystack Mountain, Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. The above tree line hike was followed by a several ups and downs involving 1500 foot descents and ascents that included three more 4000+ foot peaks of Mount Garfield, South Twin Mountain and Mount Guyot. The hike over the next four rocky miles descended 2000 ft into the Zealand Falls Hut area after darkness had occurred.
The Appalachian Mountain Club, among other things, manages a series of “huts” in the White Mountains that are very popular destinations for hikers and as such accommodations at the huts can be difficult for thru hikers to obtain given the uncertainty in arrival dates creates reservation difficulties coupled with the popularity of use of the huts by hikers for a base for day hiking over multiple day stays. However, the hut crews who manage the locations and cook breakfast and dinner for the guests have the discretion to offer thru hikers the option to sleep on the floor in exchange for help in cleaning up after meals (the “work for stay” option).
A long day of difficult hiking resulted in "Five Pair" hiking up to the Zealand Falls Hut after Hiker Midnight and with hope and trepidation knocking lightly on the door hoping to find the hut crew amenable to a work for stay if full. While this hut accommodates 36 guests, it was in fact full but thankfully, the hut crew invited "Five Pair" in and provided her a dinner of stuffed shells, bread and water. In speaking with the crew they advised that some guests had indicated a mouse was patrolling the floor so as the crew called it a night, "Five Pair" decided that one of the tables appeared quite comfortable and with air mattress and sleeping bag deployed, the day came to an end 16.1 miles from its start.
1830.9 miles complete/353.5 miles to go
Zealand Falls Hut (built in 1932):