North Kinsman

This weekend was the beginner backpack weekend. Our group was three leaders and 5 hikers.  We stayed at Kinsman Pond Shelter, which is about 1.9 miles past Lonesome Pond Hut. Total hike to get to the shelter was 3.1 miles with 3740 feet of elevation gain. Then, we went to the top of North Kinsman with just day packs.  Total hike miles for Sat was 4.25 miles, then today we went back down.

I think I overpacked a bit, my pack was over 35 pounds, which is a little nuts!  At first I thought that it just wasn't going to work out, but once I got used to the pack it was fine. Thank heaven for all those squats! It took us a long time to get up because one of the hikers (not me!) was really struggling. We had to keep resting, and eventually the leaders carried some of her gear for her. Later, at the camp site I saw that she had things like her driver's license with her! I think maybe she REALLY overpacked.

Backpacking is definitely a mixed bag. Hiking up I was working really hard. When we got to the campsite my legs were feeling a little jelly-like. But once I rested and ate something, I felt a lot better. And it was SO nice at the campsite, away from everything, relaxing, full of nature :)  I was hoping that we would do both North and South Kinsman, so I could peek-bag a little, but no such luck. It was getting a little later by the time we got to the top of North Kinsman, and the head leader wanted to get back to camp in time to cook dinner. I was a little disappointed and a little relieved. I wanted to hit both of the Kinsmans, but at the same time I was pretty tired!

I was thinking, "this is totally cool, I could do this by myself." I mean, there were a lot of people at the hut, and everyone was friendly, so it felt pretty safe. But then around 1 am I heard something rustling around my tent, and I was like "I can't do this myself! It's too scary!!"  So, we'll see.