Summer Vacation - Day 8

[almost no sleep (exhausted) - cold and foggy morning - croo woke us at 0630 with guitar music from the croo - we packed up - breakfast was an even bigger production from last night: skits, more songs, rowdy start to morning - menu was oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon - we all got ready and the men's group said a prayer before our departure (0830) - slow start (following same trailblazer as yesterday) - single file up Fishin' Jimmy Trail (aka AT in this section) - most of the early climb, I was listening to conversations between church friends who obviously were very engrossed in the mentor/mentee idea (felt uncomfortable) - finally got by the crowd and then continued a steady climb of about 1500 feet in just over two miles - misty and wet (but no rain, thankfully) - got to Kinsman Ridge Trail pretty easily and then the group of 31 guys began to splinter - by the time we reached the North Peak of the mountain (about 4300 feet elevation), I was hiking only with Brian - we decided to forgo the photo opportunity (no views anyway) and continued to the South Peak (almost 4400 feet) - we had seen very few people all the way up but ran into a Through Hiker that we saw a few more times in the day - Brian and I reached the turnaround point (still no views) - he got a cell signal and texted his wife - we started down and ran into the serious hikers in our group - they seemed genuinely disappointed that they weren't first to the top (ha!) - we backtracked to the fork in the trail and followed the original trail itinerary (emailed to us a few weeks ago): Kinsman Pond Trail and Cascade Brook Trail (aka AT) - Tim joined us a bit later - when we got back, we learned that no one else bothered to go that way (tired, wet, etc.) and we were the only ones to complete the circuit - we encountered a nice shelter (and some through hikers who had left on March 1 - I learned that all AMC properties cost money (seems pretty silly after all the free ones to the south...) - we continued downhill - it was tough going (creek bed, mossy rocks, overgrown) - fortunately, neither of us fell or got hurt - saw some nice waterfalls - almost no wildlife today, unfortunately... - the last mile or so was a steady climb back up to Lonesome Lake - passed lots of day hikers - it was good to get back to the hut (1430) after almost 10 miles - we were definitely some of the earliest finishers (most turned back and some of them weren't even back yet) - tried to get dry (tough) - also tried to take a nap (to make up for the lack of sleep) but I was unsuccessful (loud singing, etc.) - read the winter camping book again (and finished all 200 pages) - then walked down to the lake to get some peace and quiet - it was foggy until around 1745, when the clouds cleared and we got a beautiful view again (it was very short lived) - dinner finally arrived and it was just as rowdy - menu was bread, salad, pea soup, pork, mashed potatoes and chocolate cake - after we were done, I got ready for bed (0830) - the head start was good: despite heavy snoring by roommate again, I slept much better - loud rain storm in the night helped even more! - AT Today = 4.81 miles / G.T. Total = 462.02 miles / NH 4000 Footer #2 and #3 of 48]