Date: 2004-08-23
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Pinkham Notch Hut
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

As I climbed up onto one of the dining room tables last night and into my mummy, with all the lights out; I was struck by all the brilliant stars shining. The table I selected for my bed sat in a corner with windows on two sides. It was as close to being in glass bubble as one could get. And with Mt. Washington in one of those windows, the drama of the moment was all the greater. It would wait there through the night and if lucky, it would allow me to climb her and visit the summit.I woke this morning to pots and pans from one of the crew members who's turn it was to get breakfast going. It was 5:30 am. The other Thru-hikers were already stirring, stuffing all their gear back into packs so the dining room tables would be able to be set for the 6:30 breakfast. No, we don't get to participate until after the quests are all finished and if anything is left. Feeling a bit like Cinderella and knowing that the Summit House on Mt. Washington opened at 8, I'd head up early so that when I got there they'd be open.It was another clear, outstanding morning with and a pink glow from sunrise backlighting the mountain. The summit temperature was 41 degrees with a wind-chill of 30. Gusting wind speed were up to nearly 50 mph.At 7:30, I left to climb the last chunk of rock. The higher I went, the higher the wind speed got and the colder it became. I'm not sure why, but I had the distinct feeling that all the guests eating breakfast were watching me climb the summit from the dining room windows. Thirty-Eight minutes later I was there... almost alone. Seems the place was just waking up.I called home to share the good news... and then it was off to make some miles on this awkward rocky landscape. I'm not sure I ever got to place my feet on a flat surface until I crossed a road some nine hours later. The terrain is a pile of rocks on rocks, but it's Spectacular! Breathtakingly Spectacular!!A southbound Thru-hiker couple said the trail only gets harder north of here... The famous Mahoosuc Notch and Arm. For the south bounders, everything is still new and rattling. With them only covering some 300+ miles to this point, their descriptions of what lays ahead are a bit over dramatic. By the time a north bounder gets here, there isn't anything we can't handle. But we all enjoy the sharing of notes all the same.Near the end of the day or should I say with still five miles left; I came upon three young women whose intention was to hike up where I'd come from. There was no way over that terrain they'd make it by dark, and they were about out of water. I explained how difficult the terrain would be and that they'd need at least a couple liters of water each to make it. If they did continue, they most likely wouldn't be there till 10 pm and they didn't look to be ready for the hardships that would go with it. I'm afraid I didn't go to easy on them when I learned they had no safe means of getting water. They said the Hut would have water, but they got lost. It was clear they simply didn't know how long or hard it would be to get there. They offered to pay me for the usage of my water pump, I cut her off and said, ¢You don't understand, we hikers look out for one another.¢ I pulled out my water filter and pumped full all their bottles with good water. At least one problem was solved. I strongly encouraged them to amend their plans and either camp or turn back to where I was heading, which would be easier. What echoed in the back of my head was the ordeal Loco Motive and Navigator went through, so here I was able to make a difference. They thanked me for the advice and agreed to go no farther than the campsite a few tenths ahead. I'm sure they had no idea as to the dangers that exist by going above tree line.I was going to do all I could to keep them from becoming a newspaper headline. It turns out that an hour and a half later as I made my destination, a thunderstorm moved in fast and furious. Boy, that was a close one. The AT is a full-color adventure!