Kancamagus Highway Yo-Yo

On Friday March 18th at 12:02AM, I left downtown Lincoln, NH with the intention of traversing the entire The Kancamagus Highway on foot, twice, in a calendar-day.

Since moving to North Woodstock 3.5 years ago, I’ve driven across the “Kanc” hundreds of times and frequently find myself hypnotized by its natural beauty, rich indigenous history, and potential as a massive calendar-day endurance project. A quick Google search will give-up many accounts of runners traversing the Kancamagus Highway on foot, one way. What seems to be missing however is any reference to a person or persons traversing the highway and then immediately turning around and traversing it again; a long out-and-back often known as a “Yo-yo” in distance-hiking parlance.

This is where my interest in the project begins to deepen significantly.

The distance, coupled with the iconic nature of the highway and the fact that seemingly no one had attempted a “Yo-yo” before made this the perfect project to close out the winter with.

Thursday night started with my typical 4-9 shift at the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock. When I clocked in I noticed that Kimberly Lesnewski and her granddaughter “Little Foot,” would be in the house for the night. Little Foot is a hiking-phenom who at 4 years old just became the youngest individual to complete the NH48.

That’s the cool thing about not only living in the White Mountains but working at a Hostel like the Notch; you’re constantly rubbing shoulders with like-minded individuals who are as equally passionate about the mountains as you are.

It was inspiring to have a little bit of time with those two and safe to say once I got off the clock, I was hyped and in the mood to cruise.

In terms of style, the most practical approach for this project would have been to go fully supported. The entire route is on a state highway, and a hiker or runner could have access to their designated support crew at any given moment. I decided to take the opposite approach and commit to an unsupported attempt; meaning I would carry everything I needed on my back (except water) for the entire length of the traverse. Although more difficult, an unsupported attempt seemed feasible considering the Pemigawassett and Saco Rivers parallel the Kancamagus for the majority of its length and are both easy to pull from if you need to refill your water bottles or bladder.

The “Calendar Day” superlative was also another important component of this project to me. When the goal is to travel 70+ miles between 12:00AM and 12:00AM it forces an extremely early, usually midnight start; something that introduces its own obvious set of challenges on any long distance pursuit.

I left downtown Lincoln on foot under a nearly full moon just a few minutes past midnight. The temperature was in the low 40’s with very little wind, but I was prepared for colder conditions atop Kancamagus Pass, the routes high-point at 2,800 feet.

For the first 7 hours of the eastbound traverse, I had five cars pass me; less than one per hour. Through the course of the night, the moon was so bright that I only turned on my head lamp when I heard the faint rumble of a car approaching in the distance. The road looked and felt like something out of a dream; a softly illuminated abyss perpetually calling me forward.

I listened.

On a one-way, warm-up traverse of the highway two months ago, I pushed a little too hard out of Lincoln up to the pass, so this time around I made sure to focus on walking and running equally, as to better ease my body into the grueling task of a 70-mile road walk.

Shortly after the sun came up at 7:00AM and several miles in distance over Kancamagus Pass, the 6th vehicle of the day drove by, immediately slowed down, and started to approach me in reverse.

The human-element of the Kancamagus Yo-yo was the one that presented the most concern for me in terms of my own personal safety. There are long stretches of the road where you are far from development without cell phone service, and ultimately at the mercy of any stranger or passerby you come into contact with.

When the car finally caught up, my defenses came down as quickly as the window did; it was Matt Jannarone.

Matt, along with Rebecca Schubert, and now Will Robinson all completed the Single Season Northeast 115 this winter and it was a morale boost to see a familiar face as I approached the marathon mark.

Matt told me he was headed to the Lincoln Woods trailhead to join another young accomplished White Mountains hiker, Gordon Simpson, on his Winter 48 completion.

Gordon is all of 7 years old. These kids absolutely blow me away.

Gordon and I first met last Spring when he and his father Robert stopped by the Notch Hostel for a short visit and tour. Right before leaving, Gordon ran over to his Father’s truck and reemerged with a bracelet that he insisted I keep with me.

The bracelet had on word printed one it: “BELIEVE.”

I’ve worn that bracelet on every trail in the White Mountains Guide and across two Direttissimas since then, and when Matt told me he was headed to link up with Gordon and his crew, I knew he had to take it for the occasion.

I left our chance-meeting feeling buzzed and fully focused on reaching the Saco River Ranger Station and the official turn-around point of the traverse.

From the top of Kancamagus Pass down to the Eastern Terminus is about 20 miles of gentle descent, and with a conservative pace I reached the Station at approximately 9:30AM.

It was here that I made my one and only mistake of the day: I started overthinking.

For a period of about 10 minutes, I was having trouble processing the idea of doing everything I just did through the night, AGAIN.

35 miles on the pavement had worked my quads and shins, and I could feel the beginning of subungual hematoma (or blood blisters) forming under both my big toenails.

I knew the second half of the traverse was going to feel much different than the first.

My solution for these kinds of mental blocks is simple and remarkably effective with practice: acknowledge your elective hardship, accept your elective hardship, and unless you’re risking injury, just keep moving forward.

It only took 5 miles, a sandwich, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and a liter of ice cold Saco River Gatorade for my mind to catch up with my body at the beginning of the eastbound traverse. Once the two were reunited, the block in my vision lifted and I was able to see the day for what it was again: an intentional traverse across the ancestral lands of the Abenaki and Wabanaki Confederacies and an opportunity to go deeper within myself when faced with physical, mental, and emotional resistance.

When I tell you that the 20 miles from the Ranger’s Station back up to Kancamagus Pass felt long, I mean it felt LONG.

Excruciatingly long.

Because I was now running UP the gentle grade that I ran DOWN on the eastbound traverse, my pace slowed considerably. This is also when I noticed the sleep deprivation from the day and night before starting to affect my physical performance. The circumstances were inevitable of course, but no matter how much I felt like I was slowing down on the second half, I knew I could still make the “calendar day” cut-off if I just kept moving.

The volume of traffic picked up in the early evening and as I inched closer and closer to the top of Kancamagus Pass for the second time I noticed storm clouds building overhead. There was a system scheduled to move into the area on Saturday morning, but I wasn’t anticipating any precipitation during my traverse on Friday and I left my rain gear behind because of that.

All the more reason to stay consistent and really start to focus on finishing the remaining miles as efficiently as I possibly could.

The 13.5 miles from the pass back down to Lincoln were easily the most painful of the entire traverse but were also punctuated by two encounters that offered fleeting moments of joy and psychological reprieve.

Just before the Hancock Trailhead and infamous “Hairpin Turn” my homie Gina pulled over with her dog Timber and made sure I was out there by choice and not stuck walking. I think I all but ignored Gina in that moment and rushed over to Timber to give him some love and half-hearted arm wrestling match through the back window. Gina is an under the radar, White Mountains badass who amassed nearly two full rounds of the NH48 this winter.

About 90 minutes later, a mile or so before the the Lincoln Woods parking lot, Matt Jannarone passed me again, slowed down, and put his vehicle in reverse. He was fresh off of Gordon’s Winter 48 finish and asked if I wanted a ride into town before he headed east across the Kanc.

I told him I absolutely wanted one, but that I wasn’t going to take it. No matter how uncomfortable I was in that moment, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself in the mirror if I got in his car and drove into town. The gesture was deeply appreciated though.

When all was said and done, I traveled 71.8 miles and climbed 4,500 feet; solo and unsupported in an elapsed time of 21 hours.

Grateful for these opportunities to go deeper, give fully, and appreciate this National Forest from a more unconventional, fringe-edge perspective.

This effort is dedicated to Richard J. Barrett Sr.