Day 01 summary: drop the bike at Crawford Notch and start the hike at Franconia Notch on Liberty Spring trail.
04:56 – wake up at home in Boston without an alarm. Forecast shows 65% chance of rain on FRI and 45% on SAT
06:24 – depart for Lincoln, NH. ODO 13 to reach route 3 in Burlington, ODO 24 to get to route 495, ODO 34 to reach NH border, ODO 70 to merge back with route 93.
08:25 – ODO 135.9 – arrive at White Mountains Welcome Center and buy a yearly parking pass ($30). They open at 08:30, so perfect timing.
09:03 – Yes! There is a bike path at my starting point at Whitehouse Trail connecting to AT. It means I would be able to ride all the way to the car when returning.
09:51 – 10:09 – hide the bike at Webster Cliff parking at the end of the hike. Wow! This is busy hiking place even on a workday. I stuff bike bag with coconut water and a banana as a treat at the end of the hike
10:19 – 10:52 – After hiding the bike in the woods, I dive into the woods along the disappearing Sako Lake shore. I find a seat on the cliff to relax a bit, to stop the race, to answer incoming anniversary calls. The sky is blue, and all the exciting toils of the trip are ahead.
11:27 – preparations for the hike at the start. Answer last messages and emails and turn off the signal. Enough for now.
12:00 start the hike on a bike path towards AT. To get to the bike path you need to take a little detour towards Flume Gorge and then cut across no more than 30 yards until you can see a black ribbon of the bike path. That way you can avoid taking rugged Whitehouse or Pemi Trail, how it is called here.
12:15 – I walk around a balancing rock on a small side trail facing banks of Pemigewasset River
12:25 the trail started to climb steadily up and will continue to go up all the way to the camp
13:17 So far, I’ve met 8 people on the trail – seven day-hikers were going down the mountain and one strange dazed NoBo in a purple Scottish skirt. He slowly removes his earbuds and barely responds to external signals I would unexpectedly yet to meet him again in three days. There are no mosquitoes. The trail is regular stony, dry path hopping along in a mixed forest. It’s getting a bit warm. So, for better ventilation I roll up expensive Swedish pants,
14:44 After 3.48mi I’ve climbed to Liberty Springs Camp. I eat my porridge from home and contemplate between going ang staying here. I am staying. All tent platforms are to the left of the trail and cooking arear and stealth camping spots are to the right of the trail. I will go around to pick mine.
15:56 I picked my secluded spot for my hammock. The spot is excellent – it is at a dead-end barely visible secret passage, light and airy, comfortable far from cooking area, on the slope but flat for the sleeping spot. A winner all and all.
16:36 my hammock is set – what a spot, private, open, convenient.
17:17 I wasn’t hungry but went to the kitchen to eat a banana and drink some water. I continue to eat my dried fruits and nuts. I am trying to write but instead I am in a conversation with a Swede – a trail name for Karl from Sweeden. He tells me that while hiking his main resource is time just like in medieval times. He not only hikes through states and elevations, but also through the season. And that is even more profound. He tells me about his impression of poor and affluent areas where trail touches off. And of course, the sadness of being away from family and home for so long. In the cooking area there is one very bold mouse that carelessly but alertly scrambles around humans in a search for any morsels of food on the ground. It is impossible to catch without a trap. I finished the porridge from home, cleaned the container and was able to consolidate several containers into one – a space saving technique.
18:44 The young camp caretaker found me and collected $15 for the night. The sun is still very bright through the leaves and trees. It is very quiet now and the road 3.5 mi away is barely audible.
19:07 – 20:03 I am outside the hammock to take last photos of the day. I climbed a few yards up the slope and suddenly found a cell signal. Now I can do Duolingo, talk to Zhenia Kagan and notify Lira that everything is going OK. Al in all – this is a fine finale for a birthday.
For warmth I cover the body of the hammock with a tarp, while rainfly is flying high above me.
Navigate through the List
- 01 Preparations for AT NH trip of September 2025 (2025/08/27)
- 02 08-28 TH - Climb to Liberty Springs (2025/08/28)
- 03 08-29 FR - Franconia Ridge in the rain and wind (2025/08/29)
- 04 08-30 SA - From Garfield Range darkening sky to Zealand hut (2025/08/30)
- 05 08-31 SU - Casual Zealand hike and lucky return to the car (2025/08/31)
- 06 Summary of three 2025 AT trips (2025/09/01)
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