Date: 2005-07-02
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: fog

Today was one of excitement and accomplishment. First, we climbed Mt. Madison which was the scariest moment of our trip so far. Once we were above treeline, the visibility was less than 20 feet and the winds were 35-45 mph with gusts up to 75-80 mph. These 40 degree winds were accompanied with a foggy mist that made them even more ferocious. They literally blew Samoa and me over multiple times which changed our excitement into fear. We had to strap our poles onto our packs and literally crawl across the summit and down to Madison Hut. Our experience was intense to say the least!Once we were at Madison Hut, we got a cup of hot coffee and relaxed while we discussed our experience with Super T and Don King. The JHP decided to wait out the weather as it was supposed to break by late morning. Samoa and I were glad we waited because the winds eventually died down to 25-35 mph and the skies cleared which made our hike much more enjoyable! The views were incredible. We could see back to our ¢scariest¢ climb over Mt. Madison, down to Pinkham Notch, and over to the elusive Mt. Washington. It was surreal to finally be in the Whites as we¢ve been thinking about them since the beginning.As we neared the summit of Mt. Washington, we saw the COG railway that goes from the base of Washington to the top. And as a thru-hiker tradition, the JHP (minus Samoa) mooned the COG train. It was hilarious, and Samoa even got a great picture! In fact, one of the passengers returned the gesture. We had a good chuckle and proceeded on to make our way to the summit.Once we reached the summit, there was a strange looking observatory building packed with tourists. While most of them drove up the auto road, some took the Coal puffing Cog. It was quite a culture shock since we hadn¢t seen this many people since Portland, Maine. After our summit picture, we made our way into the building for pizza, hot dogs, and cokes. It was delicious. Then we went downstairs to see the museum. We learned that because of the White Mountain¢s interesting topography, and the fact that the N, NW, W, and SW weather systems culminate here, it makes high winds and bad weather very common to the area. Mt. Washington claims the highest official surface wind speed ever recorded on Earth at an amazing speed of 231 mph. Since these high winds are so common, Mt. Washington has a very sophisticated weather station nearby the observatory building.After our fun-filled and educational time at the summit, we made our way down to the Lakes of Clouds Hut. This AMC Hut is in an awesome location. Hence the name, there are lakes right outside and views that include Mt. Washington and the surrounding Presidentials. The JHP is working for stay and can¢t wait to eat the leftovers. We¢re starving! Looking forward to getting a good night¢s rest and better weather for tomorrow.P.S. We just watched an amazing sunset and the temperature is already 44 degrees. Glad to be inside. Also, I forgot to mention that we ran into the Rambler, a NOBO that Samoa and I met at Blue Mountain Shelter earlier this year on our section hike in GA - too cool!