The weather was great yesterday but I slept too late to guarantee a parking spot in one of the WMNF lots. Instead, I'd stayed home and "took it easy." This morning, I was up much earlier and made it (via I-91, VT/NH-25, River Road, NH-10 and NH-116) to the Reel Brook Trail WMNF parking lot at around 0815. It was overcast (rain was forecast) and temps were in the 50s (nice). Within 15 minutes, was on my way into the woods. I’d “marooned” a short section on Kinsman Ridge the last time I was here (June 19) and that forced me to hike three miles of Reel Brook (out *and* in) in addition to the roughly two miles of AT I needed to complete (and then add the backtrack). Reel Brook wasn’t too tough and I made great time to the AT intersection. I was feeling good at that point - I estimated about an hour to the summit of Wolf Mountain and another hour back to Reel Brook Trail. As usual, though, the Whites kicked my @$$… Headed SOBO, wasn’t so much the elevation change or the distance (although it was an almost continuous climb from my car), it was the deep mud and *standing water* (!) that I encountered. Every step had the possibility of slips, trips and loss of a boot. It was mentally exhausting to try to calculate the best route for so many hours (yes, it took longer than two). Along the way, I passed a large crowd of NOBO weekend backpackers who seemed pretty happy (can’t imagine why; were they high?). During my short time going south, I also passed 10 NOBO Thru hikers (and two SOBO day hikers when they stopped for a break). I turned around at the sign for the view at Mount Wolf (like during my last visit, I didn’t check out the actual view) and started my backtrack - thankfully, it was mostly downhill…. Thru hikers #9 and #10 (young couple) played leap frog with me during the early part of the descent but they eventually fell far behind, probably due to obstacles that didn’t affect me and my day-pack. I wasn’t in a particularly chatty mood all day but made an effort to greet people whenever I passed them. The lowlight of the day came when I asked Thru hiker #7 (a middle aged, red headed lady) how she was doing - she snapped at me about “why I’d ever ask how she was doing during a difficult hike with a big backpack.” I’ll admit, I was speechless - maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by such a reaction but this is the first time that any other hiker has bitten my head off for an innocent comment I made. I tried not to let it bother me and got far enough ahead of her that she never saw me turn off the AT at the Reel Brook Trail intersection. From there, it was just me and the trees (much quieter)… I reached my car just after 1345, having completed a hike of over 10 miles without any rain - it started on my way home. I retraced my steps via NH-116, NH-10, River Road, NH/VT-25 and I-91 - I got gas at Irving in Hanover at 1500 and was some soon after that. The AT distance today was short but I now have completed a long, continuous section of the trail (between US-19E in Roan Mountain, TN and Little Haystack Mountain on Franconia Ridge, NH) that measures 1425.1 miles! Hoping the weather (and my body) cooperates to add some more distance to that in 2021... AT Today = 1.9 miles / Grand Total AT = 1842.1 miles / AT Left = 343.2 miles
