Weather: Sunny at the trailhead, followed by fog, drizzle and rain (rain gear out)

Day 1, ditched cars at (1) Lafayette campsite (2) Five corners/Rte3) entrance for Garfield Trail. Hike is rugged but not too difficult. Hike to campsite is about 3 hours. Dan was a while ahead of me with Ed and Kerry behind by about 10 minutes. There were a few river crossings that needed rock hopping and assistance from a stick for some slippery rocks. Dan pointed out some branch off plant of lyco-podium that grew a little taller.

From the split to Garfield summit and the campsite was a sign that read 0.2 miles to the campsite. It was a very steep descent for a hundred feet or so before reaching the campsite. One shelter, a platform for the caretaker (who was not there) and seven platforms for tents (1,2,3)/(4,5) & (6,1) plus one compose latrine. By the time I reached the camp I was bonked. Dan stood there with a bag of M&M and Planters peanuts mix – hit the spot. Camp had a convenient water hole (spring).

Camp was easy to set up. With our luck the sky cleared and the sun came out. Kerry was content to stay at the campsite while Dan, Ed and I traversed the peak. My knee was hurting from the descent to camp but with the sky clearing this was a rare chance to see the Notch when it was clear. The ascent back to the split was tough even without the packs. The ascent to the peak wasn’t bad. When we got back to camp Kerry had just awakened from her nap and a hiker and two dogs (husky mix or something) had begun to set up camp on the platform next to ours.

For dinner Dan cooked up some pasta.

That night Dan and I decided to check out the peak after dark and so we headed up to the peak at dusk. Dan with his flashlight a me with the NiteRider (32W of power). There were a few others at the peak when we got there at 7:30. And the wind was picking up. If you had no wind gear (we did) then it was c..c..cold! There was a remnant structure at the peak that provided some shelter against the wind. When the sun began to dip, everyone except us crazies went back to camp. We could see the thermal layer across the mountains radiate skyward. No clouds as far as the eye could see. From the peak smoke from every illegal campfire could be seen on the sides of the other peaks. We could see Mt Washington (?) to the north, Twin City to the NW, Owlshead to the E, Lafayette to the SE, Cannon to the S, Franconia city to the SW and City of Littleton to the WSW. It began to get dark and cold and we descended at 9pm.

Ed did not consume enough food the previous night as he found out on the trail the next day. He stopped to wait for Kerry and I and in the mean time began to cool off. We (Kerry and I) were 10 minutes behind hiking at our own pace. Ed started slowing up after the wait but kept on trucking. When we reached the peak of Lafayette, there was a hoard of people with boat shoes and sneakers on looking at us as if we had been hiking for weeks. When we reached Green Leaf Hut (?) Dan was taking a nap against the building. Ed spent what seemed like his life savings on candy inside the hut, of course I helped him consume them.

Descent sucked for me since my knees felt like exploding.

Search for food found us at Gordi’s Steakhouse...okay but awesome at the time.