The Plan
Sox and his family were spending the week at their lake house in New Hampshire, so this section would require little effort from a logistical standpoint. Mrs. Sox agreed to follow Sox and his youngest son Adam to Crawford Notch to leave a vehicle then ferry then south to Franconia Notch for the start of their hike. My logistics were a little more complex. I would drive up from PA on Tuesday August 7th and spend a night with my friend Sue in Vermont before hitting the trailhead early on the morning of the 8th. I reserved a bunk in the Galehead Hut for Thursday the 9th and a bunk in the Zealand Falls Hut for Friday the 10th. Sox and Adam figured they would start a day behind me and catch up sometime on Friday, so they also reserved bunks in the Zealand Falls Hut for Friday but would tent at the Garfield Ridge campsite on Thursday.
Spoiler alert - the plan went to hell. My 91 year old father-in-law came down with an infection on the Sunday before the hike which required my wife to take off work to care for him. I came up with the following backup plans:
Plan B - depart at 00:30 Wednesday morning and head straight to the Liberty Springs trailhead.
Plan C - depart at 11:00 Wednesday morning and spend the night with Sue in VT. Skip the first part of the hike and ascend to the AT via the Gale River Trail.
Plan D - depart at 00:30 Thursday morning, skip the first part of the hike and ascend to the AT via the Gale River Trail.
Plan E - ditch the hike, lose the Hut reservation payments and move on.
Plan D was the winner. My father-in-law was sufficiently recovered by Wednesday morning and my wife came home that afternoon. Another spoiler alert - getting old sucks!
Sox and his family were spending the week at their lake house in New Hampshire, so this section would require little effort from a logistical standpoint. Mrs. Sox agreed to follow Sox and his youngest son Adam to Crawford Notch to leave a vehicle then ferry then south to Franconia Notch for the start of their hike. My logistics were a little more complex. I would drive up from PA on Tuesday August 7th and spend a night with my friend Sue in Vermont before hitting the trailhead early on the morning of the 8th. I reserved a bunk in the Galehead Hut for Thursday the 9th and a bunk in the Zealand Falls Hut for Friday the 10th. Sox and Adam figured they would start a day behind me and catch up sometime on Friday, so they also reserved bunks in the Zealand Falls Hut for Friday but would tent at the Garfield Ridge campsite on Thursday.
Spoiler alert - the plan went to hell. My 91 year old father-in-law came down with an infection on the Sunday before the hike which required my wife to take off work to care for him. I came up with the following backup plans:
Plan B - depart at 00:30 Wednesday morning and head straight to the Liberty Springs trailhead.
Plan C - depart at 11:00 Wednesday morning and spend the night with Sue in VT. Skip the first part of the hike and ascend to the AT via the Gale River Trail.
Plan D - depart at 00:30 Thursday morning, skip the first part of the hike and ascend to the AT via the Gale River Trail.
Plan E - ditch the hike, lose the Hut reservation payments and move on.
Plan D was the winner. My father-in-law was sufficiently recovered by Wednesday morning and my wife came home that afternoon. Another spoiler alert - getting old sucks!
Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
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