Wednesday, September 2 7:14 pm 13.3 mi
AT 1816.0 Stealth Site → AT 1829.3 Garfield Pond
Weather: Rain, and WIND
Trail Conditions: Long, manageable climb up to Franconia Ridge trail, and then harrowing ridge walk
My Condition: The trail hit me right on the chin today, literally
Took a nasty fall today on a river crossing – feet slipped and I hit a rock chin first. Amazingly, no blood – thanks beard for the extra padding! Lucky I didn’t bite off my tongue, or hit my teeth on the rock instead of my chin. Still, it’s sore as heck, and as a stomach sleeper tonight might be a real challenge. The wind on the traverse from Little Haystack to Lincoln to Lafayette was cold, rainy, and the wind was some of the strongest I’d ever experienced. At first, it felt like the spirits of all those who’ve come before were urging and nudging me along – the wind was at my back the whole way speeding me forward. On wet rock scrambles, however, that’s not so helpful. At one point I got turned about and had to walk sideways (horizontally with the ground) to make any forward progress. The rain turned icy at one point as the wind crescendo’d atop Lafayette, and I kept verbally reminding myself to breathe, take it slow, and stay in control as my legs turned to jelly and my fingers went numb. I’d never been so grateful to return to the green tunnel, escaping below treeline and getting out of the extreme elements. The others stopped about 6 miles back, not wanting to risk the ridgewalk in this weather. Fair point! In hindsight, they likely made the more intelligent decision. Puddles checked to make sure I was still alive, said they’ll do a bigger day tomorrow to catch up, but this is the Whites. Looking forward to seeing them again further down the trail, whenever that may be! For now, I hunker down in my tent and dry clothes and warm quilt, grateful to have survived a bad fall and a scary ridgewalk.
Post Trail Analysis
Attempting this ridgewalk, in these conditions, was by far the worst decision I made all trail. Not only did I miss out on some INCREDIBLE views the next morning (thanks Puddles, Blue, and Hummingbird for taking lots of pictures!!), I put myself into quite a dangerous situation. In the heavy clouds, I could only see around me in about a 12 foot radius...when I could see at all. My glasses both fogged up and were covered in water droplets, which would freeze with the wind chill. The wind felt like I had at least one, maybe two, people pushing my pack forward down the trail like a football player pushing the sled. At times, I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to! As the clouds deposited more and more moisture on me, my beard froze solid with the wind chill. Luckily, I was prepared. I had donned the appropriate layers prior to making the traverse, my deep breathing kept the blood circulating and my core temperature up, and I made it through to the other side. Each and every year, the Whites claim many lives. Mountains have a power beyond any of us, and even the most seasoned of mountaineers are at the mercy of the mountains when they venture there. The weather can flip on a dime, and even if you have all the gear you should, the situation can very quickly devolve into disaster. Learn from my mistake – this wasn’t a risk I needed to take. I’m lucky I made it through, and bummed I missed out on a beautiful, clear, non-life-threatening-conditions morning on one of the most beautiful sections along the entire AT. I do hope to make it back up there some day! I spent my first night in a long while completely solo, and with the phone service I had filled out the ATC’s 2020 thru hiker questionnaire. My sore jaw did indeed make sleep more difficult than usual, and would continue to ache until at least a couple weeks after I finished the hike.
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