Date: 2004-08-20
From: Saco River (stealth camp)

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: fog

I have never done the Webster Cliff Trail up to thePresidential Range. It was surprisingly tough and slowwith a full pack up steep rocks. But the hand gripswere good and dry. At the outlooks, I had interestingvistas of Crawford Notch in a milky haze and cloudslifting off of Jackson and Webster.It took me four hours to do 4.5 miles--an annoyinglylaborious pace for someone who plans to do 21 miles.Every time I emerged from the trees to look ahead,Webster's peak seemed only inches closer. Buteventually I reached the tops of both Jackson andWebster. The trail dropped me in a woodsy alcovewhere the Mitzvah Hut stood.Tuckered out, I rejuvenated at the hut with abottomless bowl of minestrone soup, corn bread, and acouple of cups of hot chocolate. I "dried" my tent ofthe condensation from that morning out on the lawn.Apparently it sprinkled while I was eating and thetent was still wet when I folded it.But I was ready to tackle the next few miles to Lakesof the Clouds--phase two of my goal that day. I got toPierce/Clinton (whatever they call it these days) andcould see Eisenhower, completely exposed, in aveil-thin cloud. Beyond it, you normally see theobservatory and towers of the majestic Mt. Washington.Today I saw a white wall of nothing. The world endedbeyond Eisenhower. Let's check it out anyway. I met many day hikers and weekenders along the way. Iwas a walking celebrity. "How long have you been outhere?" they¢d ask with disbelief. "Wow!" they¢d respond inawe. What a great feeling. Gave me a second wind and Ifelt strong. I think I'll pull this traverse off afterall. After Eisenhower, the rain came down hard. I hadenough time to rainproof my world and continue north.I couldn't see more than twenty feet in front of me.The winds were still light but my rain jacket wassoaked through to my skin. My boots felt like waterballoons strapped to my feet. Sigh, I will not be able to do my presidentialtraverse, I figured. The conditions are too risky andtreacherous. I still had to summit Mt. Washington. If Igot tired, I'd have to hike a mile off trail to thenearest campsite and tent in the rain. Plan B was tostop at Lakes of the Clouds and either sleep in their"dungeon" for $10 or do WFS. I'd have a roof over myhead, I could dry out, and tomorrow would be a betterday--right? I arrived at Lakes around 1:30 to find Goose, K-dog,and Yoga Monkey hanging out in the doorway looking atthe rain. Hey? How did Yoga Monkey get ahead of me? Ohwell. They planned to head into the mess and reachMadison, another six miles on exposed ridge. I thoughtit was possible but crazy. Madison Hut generallydoesn't take as many WFS thru-hikers as Lakes. Theyrun the risk of camping in this. I chose to staybecause Lakes needed me to clean their kitchen. When Iturned back to the doorway, Goose, K-dog and YogaMonkey were gone. Let's put this simply--I absolutely abhor Lakes of theClouds. For a thru-hiker who deals with fellow,like-minded folks in small quantities on the trail,the hut is a rude awakening to the congestion andcraziness of the "real world". People were everywheretrying to stay out of the rain. There was the constantnoise of chatter, coughing, laughter, stomping boots.And I was alone waiting to be put to work. I stored all my stuff in a corner of the library.Outside, the skies cleared up, then clouded over, thencleared up, then clouded over. Frustration and angstbuilt up inside me. I wanted to complete my day at theother side of the ridge but the weather wouldn't makeup its mind. When Chris, the hut master, gave me atask, I was elated because it gave me a distraction.It completed the decision that I was going to stay thenight as well. Other hikers showed up from the north and south.Mouse, who showed up a mere hour after me, got a freenight stay because she was standing next to a guy whowas giving away an extra bunk. The huts don't giverefunds. I met Bigfoot and Celtic. They came fromMadison that day and assured me that I made the rightdecision by staying at Lakes. They said it was rainingall along the ridge despite the fact that the cloudcover keeps lifting over Mt. Washington. The worse news was that the weather was not expectedto improve. Tomorrow we would have even more rain thantoday. I felt trapped. I felt sad. And there was noplace to go in this crowded box on the side of themountain to curl up and take a nap or cry my eyes outat my sore luck. While Bigfoot was the eternal optimist (runaway!),Celtic was a blessing in the form of a curmudgeon thatoutweighed my own cynicism. We commiserated in thelibrary. It made me laugh and lifted my spirits.Celtic decided that it was time to change his name toCowtick since everyone thought that was his name whenhe introduced himself. We had to remind the staff that we were there and thatwe were hungry. Granted it was Friday and a full houseat Lakes but it was also 8:30 by the time we got ourdinner. Not bad--cold, white lasagna with spinach. Thelemonade was excellent. And the spice cake dessert wasvery tasty. There is something about AMC hut food,though. It was the same with the cornbread back atMitzvah that day. There is some doughy substance in itthat thickens the consistency--almost like an AMCadditive. I found this pretty consistent in every mealI have had at these huts. (I have also found itextremely hard on the digestive system). One of our WFS duties was to give a lecture on hikingthe AT. This is when I learned what other hikers findimportant to bring and not to bring and how many milesthey consider normal on a given day. We all havedifferent perspectives and comfort levels even thoughwe face the same elements daily. The old adage, "Hikeyour own hike" prevails. Exhausted, we could finally set up our beds on thedining room tables at 9:30. The paying guests went offto their bunkrooms. Lights went out at ten. For AThikers, that is a very late night. I could hear therain spray against the windows as I went to sleep. Icounted my blessings. I did the right thing. I had aroof over my head; the dining room was warm and dry.But tomorrow, I will finish the ridge and reachPinkham Notch. I cannot stay here another day.