Date: 2007-08-28
From: Webster Cliffs

To: Mt. Madison Hut
Miles today: 16.3

Esteemed Mount Washington coming right up. At 6288 feet, it¢s the highest peak in the Whites, actually the highest in the Northeast, with the worst weather conditions in the world ever reported from on top. On April 12, 1934 the wind speed reached a world record of 231 miles per hour. Snowfall on Mount Washington is a distinct possibility every single month of the year. The peak is under cloud cover about 55%, with the average summertime high reaching only 52 degrees. Today must be an aberration, with 90 miles visibility, little wind, and blue skies, for now anyways. On top of Mount Washington you must always be prepared, for weather moves in and out fast; many deaths have been reported; many others have had to be rescued. Not thru-hikers though.I hear from a very reliable source, someone who is the friend of someone who knows someone who works for someone who rescues hikers from dangerous situations in the Whites, that those needing emergency evacuation are rarely, if ever, thru-hikers. More often than not, they are day or weekend hikers unprepared for the elements and not knowing what to do when bad weather rolls in. We, when faced with the same scenario, just hike.I¢m not necessarily carrying much more than what a weekender would, but I have definitely learned, at this point, how to use my gear for purposes other than what it¢s intended. I have learned to go without many things that shorter distance hikers believe essential. I have hiked through and slept in snow and rain and sleet and wind and heat and bugs and thunder and you name it. I have put on wet clothing and frozen boots in the morning. I have gone without food and water and bathing and sleep. I have experienced temperature and weather fluctuations in a single day and over the course of months. I have walked on a bad ankle, while other hikers have continued hiking even after breaking bones. If we get hurt, we walk out. It¢s what we do.Simply put, my body has become accustomed to extremes and discomfort, so that the extremes no longer feel so extreme and the discomforts no longer feel so uncomfortable. I have realized that our bodies are able to withstand much more than we give them credit for; only if we push ourselves past what we believe we are able to accomplish in the physical realm will we ever realize how much we are truly able to accomplish. I don¢t stop because my body aches, or because I¢m cold or hungry or tired. It is precisely then I keep going to see what I am made of. With such a strategy, the payoff can be huge.The reward of Mount Washington, however, wasn¢t what I expected it to be. You see it from a distance for days prior, the feeling of excitement heightening as you approach. Yet the realization that each step is one closer to the end of the journey is tinged with pangs of longing to continue the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Each milestone now means I¢m that much closer to the end.Upon reaching the esteemed peak, you discover how ugly it is. Gorgeous views remind me why I hike, I feel like I¢m on top of the world, I know I worked hard -- body, mind and soul -- to walk over 1800 miles to get here. But most of those around me didn¢t, for in addition to the miles of trail which lead to the top, so do an auto road and a cog railway. Ladies wearing high heels and fancy skirts stand on top of Mount Washington just as do I, fighting for space to at least have my picture taken beside the elevation marker. The place is covered with tourist services, from restaurants to museums, to overlooks, to weather stations, to tourists everywhere. I had to escape the hordes before my anxiety and disappoint overcame me.At least I walked here from Georgia. And no one can take that away from me. miles remaining 326.8