Benton, NH (USA)

Almost every year I have a hike that humbles me - the conditions or my lack of preparation makes me doubt that I can finish the whole AT.  Today was that day for 2021...  With an awesome forecast for the Whites this morning, I got an early start and (after driving via I-91, VT/NH-25, NH-10, NH-116 and NH-112) arrived at the Kinsman Notch AT Trailhead (just before 0900).  There weren’t many people parked there, which was surprising because the sun was shining brightly and it was already 60 (!) degrees.  I talked to a young guy (Zack, from Nashua) who was also getting ready to hike and figured out that he was going the same way I was (NOBO).  Since he’d never hiked north of NH-112, he welcomed the company and I ended up with an unexpected “hiking buddy”.  I’d last attempted to hike this section in October 2020 but had been stymied by the snow and ice at the 1.2 mile mark - today, I felt like I was sure to reach my turnaround point (Mount Wolf) because there wasn’t any snow (or mud!).  Still, the climb to the ridge kicked my @$$ - I suggested that Zack leave me behind so I could take my time and he took off on his 33-year-old legs.  Somehow, I ended up catching up to him about 30 minutes later and we continued north together.  There were some good views of Mount Liberty and Mount Lafayette in the distance - the visibility was really great!  Zack told me about a lot of peaks he’s climbed in southern NH but I had a hard time returning the favor - every gulp of air was being used to keep walking and talking was a distraction.  I was experimenting with my Guthook app today - it uses my steps to show where I am in the section, even without cell signal.  However (just like GPS), it isn’t guaranteed to be 100% accurate and this caused some confusion when we reached a place that looked like the summit of Mount Wolf.  Zack had read about the views from there and the place where we were didn’t seem to match the description.  So he stayed in the area to figure out where to take pictures and I continued north (I was feeling pretty good at that point).  About 15 minutes later, I figured out that we were still more than 1.5 miles short and wanted to tell Zack so he wouldn’t go back to his car prematurely - but I didn’t have any way to contact him and had made my way all the way to the bottom of a steep ravine.  Suddenly, though, he appeared and told me we still had a ways to go (this was a relief because I don’t like give bad directions).  We continued north, laughing about the mistake.  Unfortunately, we soon saw that there was another - much taller - hill to climb on the other side of the valley we were crossing.  This was a huge blow to my confidence and determination - similar to the times I’ve arrived at a false summit and almost quit for the day.  Zack was very annoyed with the work of the Great Trail Designer (he had very little AT experience) and I found myself trying to point out positives about our situation.  However, my internal driver was toast - my brain was the only part of me that could summon the desire to keep going.  But, somehow, I did.  Perhaps it was the peer pressure of hiking with someone or maybe it was concerns about the logistics of having to come back to the same remote place again to finish.  Regardless, I took the lead and we made the (VERY steep) climb to the peak.  The sun, which had been hiding behind clouds for several hours, suddenly decided to appear - this took the temps close to 70 and made things even harder.  And we encountered many fallen trees, slippery boulders and several big patches of snow.  It was trial by fire!  While we were intense, we got startled as we passed an older Section hiker guy and his Corgi - they were stitching sections together just like I was (but from the other direction).  We also saw a young dad and his son just before reaching the top.  There wasn’t any view but there was a side trail - Zack was eager to see the views of Franconia Notch he’d heard about but I told him I was going to save my energy for the backtrack. On the way down (solo), I encountered the old guy and his dog - he shared valuable Intel on the hike up Reel Brook Trail and northern side of Mount Wolf.  I continued - very carefully - south, trying not to fall off the steep trail, and wasn’t really surprised when Zack caught me again.  He told me the view was very underwhelming (I hadn’t missed anything) but seemed to be much more in a hurry than he’d been earlier.  So, after we climbed half way up another hill, he told me he was going to “go ahead a bit.”  After that, I didn’t see him again while I was hiking.  In fact, I didn’t see ANYONE!  The area had very few access points so I suppose it’s the reason I got the trail to myself...  I saw a huge moose print - and plenty of other evidence that they were nearby - but didn’t see any animals all day.  From this point, my legs moved like they were on autopilot.  I had leg cramps, pitch/sap all over my hands, wet boots (from the snow and a few streams without bridges) and a building headache.  And I knew I probably wouldn’t see anyone for the rest of the day - sort of a sobering thought.  Eventually, the complete silence of the trail was broken by the sound of cars on NH-112 (below me, but invisible).  I somehow summoned strength to reach my car, completing nearly 10 miles of challenging trail in around seven hours.  Pathetic...  Zack was just pulling out of the lot but he stopped to thank me for helping him get to the top of Mount Wolf - it took even more (mental) effort to be cordial and responsive.  I sat in my car for nearly 15 minutes before I felt like turning the key.  I went home via a backtrack of the route I'd used in the morning (NH-112, NH-116, NH-10, NH/VT-25 and I-91) and arrived at around 1715.  Lots of lessons today - I suppose I should be glad I made it and have chipped more miles off my goal.  But it’s tough to see positive things at this exact moment.  Hope I can get myself in the zone to tackle the (even more difficult) sections I’ve got left in NH...  AT Today = 3.4 miles / Grand Total AT = 1805.2 miles / AT Left = 380.1 miles