McAfee Hikes

Date Written: 8/31/2024 | AT Mile 376.2 | Day Total: 15.4 miles | Gain: 5044 ft

Good nights sleep last night. There were a few people that walked by late last night and early this morning. There was one that hiked by that didn’t seem to have a headlamp, I thought it was an animal at first.

It’s pretty foggy this morning. It’s supposed to rain early in the afternoon. I’m going to hike over Franconia Ridge today. It’s a Saturday today so it’ll probably be busy along there.

Before the ridge I had to climb up and down Mount Garfield. It was a pretty steep incline and decline. Had a little view on the way up before entering the clouds.

The hike up to Mt Lafayette was in the trees for a bit but went above tree line sooner than I expected. I was climbing up rocks again which was fun. The not so fun part would be the weather. It’s fogged in and the mist stuck to everything. Can’t forgot about the wind! It was whipping probably 60mph+ I was able to lean into the wind and not fall. I have a video up there that shows the gusts well but pictures don’t show wind very well…

The closer I got to Mt Lafayette the more day hikers I started to see. It’s crazy what people wear and bring up in this crazy weather. Supriseingly the summit of Mt Lafayette wasn’t too windy. But I passed by quickly because there were probably 20 people up there.

Everything was covered to a layer of moisture. It was difficult to take pictures because the screen of my phone and hands were wet. It wouldn’t register my touch. Therefore not many pictures were taken on the following peaks. They would have looked very similar anyway: fog and rocks and lots of people.

There so were soooooo many people on the ridge. I probably passed over 100 people up there. I was stoping every 15 yards to let someone by. I saw a few dogs, two of them were big but there was a small chawwawa. It was being carried through the wetness and crazy winds… poor thing.

Once below tree line the wind was dissipated because of the trees. While I was up there I had my rain jacket on to keep my body at a comfortable temperature. I had lunch along the descent down from the ridge. I made a hot lunch consisting of gourmet noodles with chicken and olive oil (aka Ramon).

The descent coming down was steep and had lots of rocks. I just took my time because it was wet and slippery. My shoes are on their last leg and have holes all over the sides of them from brushing up against rocks. My stitch from a few days ago is still holding up fairly well but another large hole has developed on the other side. They just need to make it another 16miles to town where I’ll be able to pick up some new ones.

I crossed under Interstate 93 and took a little break under the bridge away from the rain.

The hike up to Lonesome Lake Hut was graded very well. I climbed 1300ft but it was over 3 miles. I will be delivering my last letter today. It came all the way from Carter Notch Hut and was delivered to Jackey, a brother of the letter giver. It was just after 4pm so I asked if they were offering work for stay tonight and they were! They have a full house tonight 48 guests. After all it’s a holiday weekend so what can you expect. There’s a ton of kids here and even a baby.

The rain has holted so I dried off the table outside and snacked on some food and cleaned myself up.

I will be seeing my mom and dad tomorrow and taking a zero (zero mile day) in Lincoln NH for my birthday. I’m really looking forward to seeing them and eating some good food!

I talked with Charlie, a kid staying at the hut. He keeps coming outside during dinner and asking questions about gear and thru hiking. He’s awesome!

I cleaned off the tables and sweep the floors for my chore, took very little time. I ate leftovers with the rest of the crew and chatted. They had potatoes, dejon chicken, salad, and coconut bars. It was yummy.

Sleeping in the dining room away from the rain tonight.