Day 139, Eliza Brook Shelter to Lonesome Lake Hut

Much of the morning, the trail followed the path of Eliza Brook, crossing it repeatedly. There were no bridges, but logs or rocks made the crossings easy.

The three of us stuck together for most of this section. If anyone got ahead, the others usually caught up because there were several spots along the way to stop and enjoy the cascades of water that fell from waterfalls.

Some of these stops may or may not have been prompted by a need for someone to catch his breath.

After climbing nearly 1,000 feet over 1.4 miles, we reached a wide basin. At one end was Harrington Pond, though it was more swamp than pond.

At this point we had reached about 3,300 feet in elevation. The trees were becoming noticeably stunted in their growth.

From the basin, our climbing resumed up South Kinsman Mountain.

From the top of South Kinsman Mountain we found a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains. We could see in one of the valleys the town of Lincoln, which is where Stick, Felix and I had dinner with Stitches the night before last.

It’s said that Vermont can be seen from here on a clear day, but the sky was a little too hazy for that.

We could also see Franconia Ridge, a string of mountain peaks that the Appalachian Trail goes over. Because we plan to go off trail for a resupply tomorrow, we won’t be walking over the ridge until the day after tomorrow.

While we were stopped on the mountain top to take in the views, a section hiker offered to take our photo.

The descent from South Kinsman was much like the climb, over a boulder-strewn trail.

After crossing a saddle, we then headed up North Kinsman Mountain.

At 4,293 feet in elevation, North Kinsman was just 65 feet shorter than South Kinsman, but the views from here were not as good. Much of the summit was surrounded by trees.

We didn’t have a 360-degree view, but from a rock ledge we were able to get a closer look at Franconia Ridge. We could also see Lonesome Lake, our intended destination for tonight.

We arrived at Lonesome Lake Hut just before 4:30 p.m.

The hut is one of several operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club, an organization that has been building and maintaining trails and facilities in the Northeast U.S. since 1879.

When we arrived I bought a bowl of soup and a cup of tea from Tracey, one of the croo, which is the name the staff call themselves.

The huts provide a comfortable place to get out of inclement weather, and if you’re willing to pay to stay for the night, the huts have unheated, co-ed bunkrooms. There are composting toilets, but no showers.

Overnight guests get dinner and breakfast. For their stay, AMC members pay upwards of nearly $150 a night. The cost is even higher for non-members.

Because a stay is so expensive, most thru-hikers are unwilling or unable to pay those rates. This may have something to do with an uneasy relationship that seems to exist between thru-hikers and the AMC and hut croo.

We had heard stories of rude treatment toward thru-hikers, but we kept an open mind when we walked in the door.

Tracey was kind and cheerful, so we asked her if any work-for-stay opportunities were available tonight. She said yes.

In exchange for a little bit of work, thru-hikers are allowed to sleep on the floor of the dining room. If there is any leftover food after the paying guests have eaten, hikers are also given that.

Work-for-stay opportunities are generally only given to thru-hikers, so we didn’t mention that Ralph was section-hiking the Whites.

Though it seemed like a good deal, we began to see some downsides of work-for-stay. First of all, we weren’t allowed to remain in the dining room when the paying guests were served dinner. We were told we would have to wait outside until 7:30 before we would be fed and put to work.

We walked down to the lake and watched the sun fade across Franconia Ridge. Another work-for-stay hiker named Steam joined us.

By 7:30 the sun was setting and the air was turning chilly. We walked back to the hut, but the croo weren’t ready for us. We had to continue waiting outside, where it was becoming harder to stay warm.

Finally at 8 p.m. we were allowed inside.

Though it was cold by now, the leftover food was tasty. We ate our fill of salad, pasta, soup and fresh-baked bread.

After dinner we were given our work assignments. Stick and Ralph washed dishes. Steam scrubbed the stove. I was told to organize a bookshelf filled with books guests can use. These weren’t difficult tasks, but they were all we were expected to do.

Once our chores were done we discovered another downside of a hut work-for-stay. We could not go to bed until all of the guests left the dining room. That meant we weren’t able to spread out our sleep pads and sleeping bags until 10:30, an hour-and-a-half or two hours later than normal.

Clearly, the hut guests were not familiar with hiker midnight.