Date: 2011-07-13
From: NH 112 Kinsmans notch,NH

To: Madison Springs Hut, NH
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Start Route 2, near Gorham, NH (no mile marker)Stop Madison Springs Hut, NH, mile 1854.5Hiked 3.7 miles on the Valley Way trail from Rte 2 to the Hut (not on the AT)Sleep bed in hutCell minimalOld Goat's notes:We took a bad weather trail rather than staying on the AT. It was a difficult decision for us as we really want to stay true to the trail. Our chosen route was about 2 miles shorter than the AT. What we missed in horizontal distance we made up in vertical climb. Mount Washington brags that it has "The worst weather in the world", I don't know all the facts about that but it certainly is crappy. The trail we climbed today is called "The Valley Way". It is the same trail the Croo uses to bring up the supplies to the hut. While we were creeping up the trail 3 Croo members were running down the trail with the backboards on hauling out garbage.   I stayed in this hut in 2006 but it is much different now. The whole hut has been rebuilt as of this spring. Construction was started last fall after the hiking season and it was finished this spring just before this hiking season. All of the materials were brought up by helicopter, I bet it took many trips to get it all here. They did an excellent job and this hut is very nice. It started to sprinkle just before we arrived today. We stopped to put our pack covers on and fortunately that was all that was needed. There was a short downpour shortly after we arrived and thankfully we were already inside. Now we are bundled up in our fleece jackets and wool hats to keep warm. I may just take a nap to warm up under the wool blankets. Check 6's notes:We saw on the news in our motel room yesterday that there's a heat wave going on right now. It's quite warm (80's) in the valleys here, but cold in the mountains. I'm sitting here with my wool long johns on, my rain pants over the long johns and hiking pants, my wool hat, my fleece jacket over my hiking shirt and wool long johns shirt, AND my down jacket and I'm only beginning to get comfortable. Of course sweating like crazy hiking 4 miles up the mountain doesn't help. As soon as we stop we start to get cold as the wet clothes evaporate. So if anyone is concerned about our overheating, don't worry about us while we're in the mountains. When Old Goat thru-hiked in 2006 there was a very hot heat wave going on and I worried about him until he told me how cold he was up here at that time. (He was in these mountains then, too.)On these very long and very high ascents I've been having trouble catching my breath. When the step ups are quite large (more than 18"), it takes everything out of me to get up them. Doing that causes me breathe very hard. At times my breathing feels as if I just can't catch my breath. I have to stop for a couple minutes to let my breathing slow down. It sometimes feels as if I just can't get enough air. I'm probably hyperventilating. When I feel that way I breathe out my mouth forcefully for a few minutes until my breathing slows down. Our breathing does slow down quickly now that we've been hiking for 24 days. This hyperventilation only happens on the difficult and/or very long ascents. It's somewhat scary because it takes a couple minutes to feel like I can get enough air. I think it's just the combination of exertion and high altitude. It's later in the evening now. It rained hard and hailed some this afternoon. We were so glad we got to the hut before the bad weather. Quite a few people got here soaking wet. As we ate dinner the weather cleared and we just enjoyed a spectacular sunset. It was so beautiful that the whole hut crew came out and took pictures (and had someone take a couple pictures of them). Hope we have good weather tomorrow!! Sent from my iPhone