Day 22, July 21, 10 miles

Oh my goodness what a day. It was hard to leave the hostel this morning, especially knowing Olfrie was going to weigh so much. We got a shuttle back to the trail at 8:30, which is a late start. We knew we only had 10 miles, but can you believe it, it was a 10 hour day. We headed straight up Liberty Mountain. Three miles of boulder steps. It was hard with a heavy pack. After we got to the top, we took Franconia Trail and climbed to the top of Little Haystack and then traversed Franconia ridge to Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Lafayette. The views from Lafayette were incredible. There were basically views in every direction. We spent quite a while on top having lunch and enjoying the views. After lunch, thunder started rumbling and we were above treeline, so we tried to scurry down, but the trail became too steep for scurrying. We managed to get below treeline before the downpour came. It rained buckets. The trail was a river within just a few minutes. We kept moving. We still had to finish descending Lafayette and then climb and partially descend Garfield Mtn before reaching the shelter. This shelter is managed by AMC and there is a caretaker here that collects $8 per person to stay here. There are 12 people in the shelter and several tents set up. I’m in the shelter tonight because I don’t feel like setting up the tent when everything is so wet. Plus, its suppose to rain more tonight. The hike today was again a hard one, but a great one. A few more bumps and bruises today, but ok. It’s hard to describe, but these climbs and descents are incredibly steep and rocky and rooty, so when they’re wet, it’s a whole different ballgame. I’m hoping things dry out soon. I’d like at least a week of dry trail and dry feet.