Date: 2005-08-23
From: AMC Lakes of Clouds Hut

To: USFS Osgood tentsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: fog

The wind sure was whipping throughout the night. I would love to know what the windspeeds were at Lakes of the Clouds (1,248' below the summit of Mt. Washington) because it howled continuously. We were moving pretty early since the breakfast tables had to be set. After breakfast, Bug and I were sent back to the kitchen to wash dishes. This was our work-for-stay and we were happy to do it. It was socked in still this morning, and we were hoping the fog would begin to dissipate. The weather gauge said that the wind chill temp. was 32 degrees and when we walked outside I believed it!The wind was whipping and neither Bug nor I had our gloves back, so we wore a spare pair of socks on our hands. I gave in and shelled out $13 for a fleece hat at Galehead Hut, but Bug had nothing for his head but his rain jacket and a pair of Ex Officio "draw's" (underwear) tied around the head. Hairball accused Bug of looking like a Cockatoo because of his makeshift hat.At one point when hiking up to the summit, we looked back and couldn't see Clean, Jr. behind us. The fog was so thick and dense that we were only able to see 1/16 mile. So, the two zero days we took in Twin Mountains, NH was for naught, there were no views for us at the top of Mount Washinton. It was a very cool place though, we hung out for about an hour, ate hot dogs and chili, checked out the Tip-Top house museum, looked at the weather station, and watched the cograil come up filled with people. This mountain is notorious for having the worst weather in the world, and we saw on the satellite that a huge mass of red was moving towards us. This was when Hairball said that red meant dead and we should get off the mountain. I have decided that Washington is a place I would definately love to come back and visit, but next time by cog. If you take the cog rail, you can enjoy a day up there and not have to worry about hiking out before the weather gets bad. By the time w! e had made it to Mt. Madison this afternoon, the clouds had briefly lifted to offer views of Washington. As hikers, we don't have the liberty to hang around for the clouds to clear out.On our way down the mountain, we crossed the tracks for the cog and could hear it coming in the distance. It is a thru-hiker tradition to moon the cog and its passengers as it passes by, but seeing as how we couldn't even see the cog from 10 yards away, it seemed pointless. The skies cleared briefly as we hiked around Mts. Adams and Jefferson. And we could see all around us. The views were breath-taking and the mountains were stark and enormous. Soon after passing a 10' tall cairn, we could see Madison Hut in the distance. It looked incredibley close, but we were fooled as it was still a good 30 minutes away.We saw Chef Boyardee coming up the mountain and found that he had sort of flip-flopped and was hiking back south. We haven't seen him since Front Royal, VA! At the hut, we warmed ourselves, used the facilities, and enjoyed a hot bowl of soup. Clean Jr., Team Hairbunny, and Revdr Dan made their way up Madison towards Osgood Tentsite. Bug and I wanted to eat a bit more soup and the weather had begun to move in, so we decided to hang out for a bit with the possibility of staying. We got approved for work-for-stay, but after talking with 2 really nice guys at the hut the weather started to clear up. As nice and warm as it was in the hut, we decided to push on the 3.5 extra miles to Osgood.Around the time we crested Madison, 15 minutes into hiking, the rain started to spit on us a bit. Not really a big deal except that we were still above treeline in an area to me, was more treacherous (terrain wise) than Mount Washington. The winds were blowing hard and it was a cold rain that was coming down. And we had to hike in this over sharp, rugged, and rocky terrain. I love to walk above tree-line but I was begging God to get me back in the cover of trees, simply because it was wearing me out up there.We arrived at Osgood very late in the afternoon, it was probably more evening. The downhill was treacherous on the knees! It was a descent of close to 2,500 feet in a little over 2 miles. Bug and I took about 3 hours doing those 3 miles from Madison Hut. Under normal circmstances and at a normal pace, we would do double those miles. There are tent platforms here at Osgood, not the most ideal setup for the tarptent, but we made it work. I think Team Hairbunny and Clean, Jr. were surprised to see us actually make it here tonight. Well, it has been a great day, but now I must call it a night!