Mt. Lincoln – Being there (7 to go)

So far in this quest to hike the 48 New Hampshire Mountains above 4000ft I’d managed not to get obsessed, to view the hikes more as a relaxed itinerary than as a means to accomplish a goal. To take each one on its own, and enjoy it.

Standing on the peak of Mt. Lincoln at 5087 ft, and in the middle of the Franconia Ridge trail, one of the most beautiful trails, I caught myself calculating whether or not it would be ‘worth it’ to reverse direction, add a few miles to today’s hike and bag Mts. Flume and Liberty instead of continuing North along the ridge to Mt. Layfette, one of the most amazing hikes in all of New Hampshire. With only 7 peaks to go – my obsessive nature was kicking in – Big Time.

Here I was, on a trail I’d dreamed of hiking since I first saw it four years ago, on a beautiful day, and all I was thinking of was getting off it, and on to the next peak(s). If I could get those other 2 today, that would bring the total remaining to 5. An easily doable number by August and my 50th birthday.

But then a vulture drifted by on the updraft, a small tuft of flowers growing in the small protection offered by a granite boulder, and the look on the face of a passing hiker all brought me back. To where I was.