Date: 2005-08-30
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Madison Hut 
Miles today: 7.0

Day three in the Presidential Range - another fabulous day on the trail.I slept well last night, hoping that the thunderstorm and lightening that were going on after dinner would be the last of the really bad weather for the next 24 hours. Therefore there would be reasonable visability for my climb up to Mt. Washington the next day, and the subsequent 6 miles of ridge walking to Madison Hut.It may be that I'm getting soft with all these hut stays, but I did not wake up at my usual time this morning. In fact, I overslept, and awoke to the sounds of the hutmaster strumming his guitar and singing his "get up - it's time for breakfast" song. So I got up and had breakfast. While we were eating, those next to the window started pointing up in awe, as the clouds had finally cleared and, for the first time in two days, we could see the top of Mount Washington. Then I shouldered my pack and was the first one out the door, heading up the trail to the highest peak in the range... 6,288 feet!   Fortunately, as a result of all the uphill over the past two days, my final assault on the summit comprised only 1,200 feet of steep, rocky trail, which I managed to climb in just a bit more than an hour. The top of Mount Washington has a number of buildings. There was a weather observation station, an information center with post office and snack bar, and both a parking lot for cars that can drive up on the road along with a station for the cog railroad train that,several times a day, chugs up from the valley below .The weather at the top is frequently quite severe and entirely unpredictable. You can get snow and freezing weather even during the summer months, exaccerbated by some of the worst winds in the world. In fact, Mount Washington holds the world record for recorded wind speed at 231 mph! There is a sign at the bottom of the trail that warns hikers to turn back NOW if the weather is bad, since many people have died as a result of bad weather at the top. In the visitors' center, there is even a memorial listing the names of all those who have lost their lives on the mountain. So I was feeling good about my decisions so far to bail out after short days, which led to my summiting Mount Washington in dry weather with visability of about 10 miles as opposed to the previous two days of rain and 20-30 feet visability!I called home from the top, and learned about the damage from the recent hurricane in the Gulf Coast, Katrina, which sounds like it is going to be a major natural disaster. I didn't stay long, however, as the weather report called for clouds and rain to move in over the morning, and heavy rain by this afternoon, and I was hoping to make it to Madison Hut before the rain hit.To make a long story short, I made it, but just barely. The trail was just as advertised - rock city! Five and a half miles of rocks, all rocks, nothing but rocks. It was really hard on my knees, especially some of the downhills, and I was hurting by the time it was all over. And, with every passing step, the winds picked up a bit more and the clouds got a little closer and, so that as I looked down from the last peak, I had a glimpse of the hut, but it then disappeared into the mist, and I did not see it again until I was 20 feet from the front door!Once again, I got lucky - they had a vacant bunk - so I was soon settled in, boots off, dry shirt on, eating my first bowl of soup.Since then, a bunch of hikers have come in, including one I haven't seen since Fontana Dam - Snowman! Mouth and his gang have arrived, including Cup-a-Joe, and they are all planning to stay as well. It's great to be amongst friends. Life is good. Oh, and the Hut Crew is now calling me for dinner, so I have to go now.   Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com