Friday, Oct 27
Start/Finish: Falling Waters TH
Miles: 9.79
Elevation gain/loss: 3556
With a beautifully warm, sunny afternoon in the 70s, I took off towards the mountains. I passed by the hut, ascended the slabs, passed by the Kinsman Pond campsite and lean-to, and enjoyed the views from North and South Kinsman. On my way back down, I stopped at the Lonesome Lake hut to refill my water bottles and then headed back to my car as quickly as I could.
When I got to my car, I was stopped by two hikers, worried about their friends behind them who hadn’t arrived at the parking lot yet and looking for emergency numbers. I talked them through the process and their options, and outlined when they should call search and rescue and when it wasn’t appropriate to do so. They calmed down and made a plan to wait for their friends at the trailhead. As I reset my pack for tomorrow, one of their friends arrived looking tired but none the worse for it. I was glad to provide them advice and guidance so they didn’t inappropriately call 911.
