Date: 2017-09-03
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut 

To: Mount Washington Summit/Gorham, NH
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: light rain

9/3Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Mount Washington Summit1.5 milesTotal miles:  1856.9The forecast was not good when I got up this morning. The rain was supposed to start later in the morning, so Gravity and Polecat (who were also at the hut) and I decided to hike to the summit and then calling it a day from there. There was a strong wind and cool temperatures, but the sun was shining when we left the hut.  The gusts continued to increase as we gained altitude. The sky was chaotic, and I was able to observe three simultaneous weather phenomena behind me. There was a rainbow to my left, while a shaft of bright sunlight illuminated a building near the center, and rain was definitely falling to the right. It was quite a sight, and I risked getting my phone out to take a picture. Polecat and Gravity resembled astronauts walking on the moon as they struggled against the seventy-mile winds we encountered on our way to the summit. The buildings on the summit could have been some future lunar base.  It was actually quite exciting, and we commented it was like a ride at an amusement park. We made it to the summit as the wind really picked up, and we struggled to get our pictures taken at the summit sign. In order to get my photo, I had to crawl to the sign and use it to stand back up. I held tightly to the sign to keep from being blown backwards. Polecat sat on a rock to take the photo. We then exchanged places. Gandalf, who summitted yesterday, told me that there were 200 people in line at the summit (you can also drive or take a cog railway to the summit) when he arrived during the perfect weather yesterday. We didn't have that problem this morning, although some people began to show up as we were finishing because the cog railway had just arrived.  I would love to ride the cog railway someday, perhaps in some future vacation.  The weather then trully turned nasty, with hard gusting wind, white-out conditions, and a misty rain. There is a sign at the summit, noting that the fastest wind speed of all time, 231 miles per hour, was recorded on the summit. While we didn't encounter anything of that magnitude, it was still way impressive enough.  Mount Washington is the deadliest mountain in the United States, and there is a list of the 157 people who have perished there mounted on a wall of the visitor's center. Most deaths were from hypothermia, falls, and cardiac arrest. There is room for additional names, so Polecat, Gravity, and I decided not to test the mountain, and will continue our hike on a future day.  We took the shuttle down the mountain. Alexa, who drove our shuttle down from the summit, shared several stories of drivers with cars that broke down, or that had break downs themselves and had to have someone come and complete the drive for them. The road was narrow and steep, but we were in good hands with Alexa at the wheel. We also received a coupon, so our trip back up the mountain, hopefully tomorrow, will be free. We relaxed at the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center for a bit, before getting a shuttle ride back to the Notch Hostel so Polecat could get his car.  After retreiving his car and chatting a bit with Bookie, we drove to Gotham and booked a room at the Royalty Inn. We managed to get a room with three beds, which made me feel like royalty, indeed. I always volunteer to sleep on the floor whenever we are short a bed, so it's nice to have a real bed. After checking in, we went to dinner in Gorham at a very classy restaurant named SAalt. The food was excellent. We had a pleasant surprise when our server introduced herself as Base Weight, who started the trail about the same time I did. While I don't think we met while she was hiking, I remember hearing about a hiker who left the trail because she bought a house in Gorham. It was Base Weight, and we shared some tales from the trail. After dinner, we resupplied and headed back to the hotel. With four days of food, I'm hoping to not need another resupply until I've hiked back to Gorham, which will mean the completion of the Whites. The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow, and Polecat is taking us to meet the shuttle back up the mountain. He will then head back home. Thanks again, Polecat for sharing in this little adventure.