Grafton Notch Loop
40 miles. 9 summits. 13,000 feet of elevation gain. 4 days. 3 nights. Solo. September 21-24, 2020.
“It was the work of the quiet mountains, this torrent of purity at my feet.”
― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
Day One
12 MILES. OVERNIGHT LOW 38˚F.
“Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance.” ― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
Day Two
11 MILES. OVERNIGHT LOW 48˚F.
“I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all. The woods do that to you, they always look familiar, long lost, like the face of a long-dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water, most of all like golden eternities of past childhood or past manhood and all the living and the dying and the heartbreak that went on a million years ago and the clouds as they pass overhead seem to testify (by their own lonesome familiarity) to this feeling.” ― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
Day Three
10.4 MILES. OVERNIGHT LOW 50˚F.
“the sudden vast diamond silence of the forest” ― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
Day Four
11.3 MILES.
“Late afternoon, it was I not the void that changed.” ― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums