Breakfast at Galehead Hut was pancakes, eggs and sausage, oatmeal and coffee. The morning weather report carried a warning against hiking on Franconia Ridge because a storm was moving in. I took the hutkeepers advice and bypassed the dangerous (all above treeline and known for violent storms) ridge. He suggested I hike an alternate route into the valley, around the mountain base via shuttle and then hike up to Lonesome Lake, my planned (and reserved) destination. Since it was already raining heavily with a strong wind, I took his advice.

Garfield Ridge trail and upper Gale River trail started out very steep, wet, slippery, rocky and treacherous. My damn glasses kept fogging up, causing me to lose depth perception and vision. I took them off - can't see with them or without them. As I descended the mountain, the trail became more boulders and dirt then turned into a nice path in its lower section. You could see and hear the beautiful boulder strewn, fast running Gale River along most of the trail. The shuttle took a group of us around the base of the mountain and dropped us off at Lafayette State Park.

I met some nice people today - despite the rotten weather. A nice young couple from Connecticut, then a couple from Germany and a couple from Texas. The Texans were looking forward to a Cog Railroad ride up Mount Washington.

The hike up to Lonesome Lake was in heavy fog, visibility less than 30 feet. You could not even see the treetops in the forest. I made it to the hut by early afternoon with time to take a sponge bath and relax. Dinner was great - homemade herb bread, beef stew of sorts, mashed potatoes, hot coffee and dessert. The hut was empty except for Sharkbait and Bill, hikers that had been taking "zero days" there, with hut keepers Kateland and Emanuel and a male hutkeeper. I had a little cabin all to myself and turned in right after supper, around dark.

Footbridge over Lonesome Lake outlet leads off into the fog, near Lonesome Lake Hut.