Date: 2008-07-04
From: Madison Hut

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy 4th of July!I was awaken today at 6:15 by Drew the croo worker. We needed to be off the tables in order for guests to begin being served breakfast. I packed up my things and sat against the wall while the paying guests were served oatmeal, eggs, juice, coffee, tea, and pancakes. Once they were gone us thru hikers were offered the leftovers... I ate plenty.My work for stay job was to bang out guests blankets (made of thick wool) and re-fold them back on the bunks.As I was working on my last row of bunks my good friends Jeff and Brad popped up!. I wasn't able to fully confirm with them that they would be joining me in the Whites. I took the approach of thinking that they would not in avoidance of getting my hopes up... but they showed up! Jeff, Brad and I had only connected once regarding the idea of joining me in NH. It has proven to be very difficult to plan having a visitor. I am not 100% sure where I will be all of the time and anyone coming to visit needs to know exact details about where and when to meet me. Brad and Jeff hiked during the night and in the early morning to meet me at Madison Hut. After our handshakes and hello's we set out for Mt. Washington. This would be the first time that Jeff and I have ever summited Washington.Washington is about 6 miles from Madison. The climb was long and consistent (6,288ft.), not to bad though. There was a one cart train taking tourists up the side of the mountain. It looked unstable and dangerous. The train was going down hill at a 45 degree angle and it appeared that the metal wheels were spinning backward to resist flying down the mountain uncontrollably. We took pictures of the train... the people in the train took pictures of us. There was thick black clouds of exhaust / pollution coming from the train.When I came up over the edge of the summit of Washington I was caught in the picture of a man photographing his wife in front of the view. They were wearing linens and visors and sunglasses and white shoes. I would estimate that Washingtons summit had 300-600 people on it. Many of them were in the gift shop or cafeteria or scattered around the exposed summit itself. I had expected there to be a ton of people at the summit. I knew about the auto road and the gift shop etc. My surprise came more from seeing people, or better yet - tourists. The bright colors of new clothing. The reflection coming from jewelry and watches. The smell of soap, deodorant, shampoo, colognes and perfumes. We didn't spend much time on the summit. Brad bought me a Mt. Washington winter hat. I needed to replace my Smartwool one that I lost and he offered to buy it for me. We ate lunch and pushed on to the Mizpah Hut. Total miles on the day was 11.8.I did work for stay and got to eat pasta with peas, soup, bread, 4th of July chocolate cake and salad. I scrubbed the stove and all of the burner guards. I also lined all of the sheet pans on the stove with tin foil. The croo has given me a bed in the library. I have done 4 sets of crunches and 4 sets of push-ups. I feel strong and ready for a big day tomorrow. ~Santana~ "by myself but not alone"