Date: 2003-09-01
From: Nauman Campsite

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: fog

This is an entry for 2 days. We hiked late into the day on both of these days and I am in tow now, able to write.Leaving Nauman Tentsite we has a stiff uphill, but soon popped out in an open sort of area above treeline. I could see my breath and the surroundings were breathtaking. It was to be a glorious day. We continued on skirting the mountains of Pierce and Franklin. Most of it was above treeline, occasionally going through low shrubby trees. The morning was beautiful. I could see so many mountains and it just felt good to be out there. I came across a guy playing a guitar sort of thing and stood and listened to him for some time, then moved on because of the cold. Finally I rounded a bend and came to Lake of the Clouds Hut. It is at about 5,000 feet and the highest and biggest in the hut system. As I was walking up I heard the 4 people out front yelling my name. It was Fly, Smoothie, Sonic and Guana! Cool! I hadn't seen them since North Woodstock. We stood around and talked and they went on to the summit of Washington and I had some cocoa. I really wanted to stay in a hut so I asked about work for stay etc..., but no animals are allowed in the building, sooo I had to do what I wanted to put off - go up Washington. At this point I would be above treeline for the next 15 miles or so. This is no time for messing around. I put on my long john bottoms beneath my shorts, bought some fleece gloves and away we went. When we got to the summit it was socked in with clouds, but never mind, they had a snack bar and phones, so we all pigged out. Then it was 2:00 pm and we had to make some miles, because there was nowhere to camp in sight. We headed down through the rocks and through more rocks. It makes the ones in PA look appealing. We crossed over the cog railroad tracks, a old timey train that takes people to the summit. Finally about 5:00 pm we decided to camp. Guana found a nice little sight down in the low shrubby trees. We were at about 5,000 feet, exposed somewhat, but needed a place. The wind was blowing pretty steady and my tarp was flapping. How I wished for my tent at this moment.The night went by uneventfully. I got way down in my sleeping bag with all my clothes on and was very comfortable. The next morning brought thick fog, so we decided to stay together until the next hut. It was a good thing because the rock piles they build everywhere so we could find our way, called cairns, could barely be seen from one to the other. We stopped in at Madison Springs Hut to warm up, then on over Madison, and that mountain was tough. There was no real path through the rocks, just blazes to take one in the general direction of the trail. It was socked in too, but we got to the top and then came the down. Holy moly, it was time consuming and difficult. We finally got below treeline then the down seemed even steeper. Downs like that are tough on the knees and I am not too fond of those. We finally got to Pinkham Notch after I thought I would never get there. We had dinner there at the AMC facility and a hiker named Sheepstuff had found me a ride into Gorham. Ahhhhh, a motel soon and 2 days off. I chose to miss the Wildcats as we needed the rest.I found a room at the Northern Peaks and slept like a dream.Happy trails!------------------------------Sent from my PocketMail MobileE-Mail Handheld (www.pocketmail.com)