On our first afternoon out of Lincoln we had a strange encounter with a hiker we'll just call "dogman". Ascending Mt Kinsman, we started hearing occasional single dog barks, and assumed we were approaching the campsite. Iinstead, a lone male hiker appeared traveling in the opposite direction. Not seeing a dog, we just thought it was further up the trail, but as he passed he explained that he had heard that bears had been spotted in this area so he barks every couple of steps to scare them away. We thought that was kind of strange anyway, as we love to see and encounter wildlife on the trail, but what was really hilarious was hearing him gradually disappear down the trail below, with the barks receding in the distance. What a hoot (or a woof)!
We were also amused by the dire warnings at the bottom of the Moosilauke trail, warning the inexperienced not to attempt the hike. As we ascended we became more amused; this was one of the easiest ascents we've had so far. The entire uphill along the cascades had wooden steps bolted into the slickrock, and rails, etc. Sweet!
The mountain was very busy with tourists, but apparently most had come up an easier trail which joined ours just before the summit. We had another great 360 view from the top, then a nice descent which brought us down off the mountain into our first meadow in 400 miles. That's a very strange feeling after so much mountain and forest.
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