Date: 2003-08-09
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut (5040') 

To: Madison Springs Hut (4820') 
Miles today: 7.0

Aloha! I believe I said this yesterday but it's worth saying again - I LOVE THIS STUFF! Most of it anyway. Today I'd say 90% of it. The afternoon pouring rain wasn't the highlight of my day since I was in it on a ridge top but otherwise... I LOVE THIS STUFF!   Today was the day; today was the day I was going to Mt Washington - the highest peak in the Northeast at 6288'. I was excited. Even more so when I looked outside to find that the sky was basically clear and I could see the summit completely! Wuhuu!   I was packed and ready to go before the croo had even rang/sang the morning wake up call. (This time with a guitar and cello!) Since the summit is under cloud cover about 55% of the time and the average summer-time high is 52 degrees, and the winter-time high is 15 degrees, we wanted to take full advantage of the 52 degree with no winds morning.   It was extremely difficult to wait through breakfast to get started. Gutsy didn't; she was gone before breakfast!   While waiting for breakfast I was offered the opportunity to join one of the croo, Ben (I have this thing for "Bens"; he was adorable) the Air Quality Specialist, in a private tour of the off-limits area. It was interesting to see the set ups used to test air quality and cloud content (acid rain), a wind gauge, and other programs.   He was quite informative and it was super to have a private tour. Gutsy had the same thing yesterday. Pretty cool.   Shortly after woofing down several cups of coffee and a couple of pancakes I was gone. Couldn't help myself. Each croo puts on a separate skit of sorts to reiterate the rules for the huts (pack out whatever you packed in and how to fold your bunk blankets) and then hand out certificates for those young naturists that completed the number of pages that equals their age in the Naturist's handbook.   Cute things that I normally would have sat through and applauded but just couldn't. I had to go!   The hike UP was great. I normally wouldn't have thought so but the adrenaline was pumping so hard I didn't even notice the 1248' over 1.5 miles climb. Forty-five minutes after beginning I was there! Standing above the 6000' mark. I haven't done that since TN.   Awesome!   Gutsy and I toured the facility, enjoyed a diet coke (everyone thinks we're nuts out here sticking to our diet cokes) and a snack, made a call or two, and watched the Cog Railroad (a coal driven train bringing tourists from the valley below, at $35 a pop) arrive.   With the forecast of thunderstorms and rain given we did what we wanted to do but didn't lollygag doing it.   Old Corpus joined us once again for the trek to here, the Madison Spring Shelter. Up until the rain it was a great with the clouds blowing in and giving everything an Alfred Hitchcock feel and then blowing out and leaving breathtaking views of the ridges behind and to come, and the valleys below. There were views that would make you think you were looking into one of the cols on Everest had it been winter.   There was also the Monticello Lawn that resembles a Texas prairie to include the sounds of the wind through the sage grass. It was great!   Along the way we met and chatted with numerous individuals. The most memorable would be the 'Brothers', three catholic Brothers calling themselves Monks on the Move. Young, good-looking and outdoorsy they would do any vocation justice. They were out for an extended weekend and hiking up Mt Adams.   I'm pretty sure we know when they reached the top - that's probably when the loud thunder rolled through. It would have been perfectly timed.   We had hoped to make it to the Hut prior to the rainstorm but that didn't happen. Nor did making it before coming to Thunderstorm Junction (5510') with its 10' rock cairn. Nope, we got caught first with the pea soup clouds and then the rain.   Clothes drenching rain. I was never so happy to see one of the Huts as was this one. There it was, looming in the near distance looking like a beacon to a flailing ship. That .3 miles to the hut was the longest .3 miles I've walked yet! It twisted, turned and crawled down the mountain. Or so it seemed to this soaking wet and chilled hiker.   It was crowded here upon arrival too. I'm so glad we decided to do the Whites this way. I would highly recommend to any thinking of hiking the trail, or just this part, that you book the huts.   Not only is it wonderful not to have to carry all your gear but also you're guaranteed a warm dry bunk, a hot dinner and breakfast on days you certainly wouldn't want to set up a tent or sit in a cold and damp shelter. This is by far the way to go through the Whites.   I don't regret doing it this way at all. (No matter what some guy told Corpus today about our not being true hikers since we paid to stay vice work to stay. Silly man!) Anyway, this was our beacon.   As with the other huts, the crowd has been a little overwhelming but the people wonderful. We met several super folks during and after dinner. I had the most fun talking to Louise and Jim Holroyd from NH. Louise is a volunteer for AMC but was here playing instead of working.   She and Jim were a hoot! Their knowledge of the trail and area is extensive. They allowed us to pick their brains for some of the terrain to come, particularly Mahoosuc Notch. Something I'll tell you about in when we get there. It really is great fun meeting and talking with the many other folks coming through the huts.   Very few are thru-hikers but their love of the outdoors and the trails comes shining through. DAMN I LOVE THIS STUFF!   Okay, once again the lights are off, the works for stays are on their tabletops and I need to get to bed. It's supposed to be another wet day tomorrow on a very steep decline. (It's begun to rain again since I started this entry. Grrr...)   I'm going to need all my wits about me. The good news is that Corpus has been shuttling his truck since the beginning and we've decided to join him in going to Gorham for a shower and laundry. The huts have lots of stuff but lack those two things and boy do I need both!   So it's off to bed with me. You should consider doing the same. We all need our rest for our day of work ahead. Ain't working hell?BSandTs: you jest!AandPs: knees and ankles are stiff but not painfulMandGS: dead watches, mine seems to have decided it's had enough. I'm lost without a watch!...waah!Tattle tale section: Mrs. Gutsy, Gutsy's mom, Gutsy isn't slowing on the downs. She's going to blow out her knees again. Make her stop.Critter Count: people have run out of one of the bunk rooms due to a red squirrel jumping on them, does that count?