Date: 2009-08-13
From: Lakes of the Clouds

To: Madison Spring Hut
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: fog

Even though I woke up a bunch of times during the night, I still felt like I slept well! I felt good! I love this place. I love the singing and guitar playing and music in the morning. I love the clouds nestled between the mountains. I love the sharpness of the craggy rocks on Mt. Monroe and the beautiful blue sky. THIS feels like home to me. This is where I wanted to be. I knew that I still had a lot of hiking ahead of me, and many more beautiful sights to see, but I also knew that my time out here was fleeting and that this trip would soon be coming to an end. I felt so sad!   The other thru-hikers did not fare so well during the night, as they were lying directly in the path to the bathroom. One person even got stepped on! They acknowledged that I had the better idea. We got to sit at our table while everyone ate again and then were treated to our own delicious breakfast before Spaceship and I commenced sweeping the floors. We had to sweep the dining room, the hallways, and all of the bunkrooms, and check to make sure the blankets and pillows were folded and neatly placed.   I was the last one out again at 9:15. It had looked to be a beautiful, clear morning, but by the time I was done sweeping, clouds and fog had taken over once again. I passed by Spaceship, Sawman, and L-train who had already stopped near one of the two tarns for a ¢safety meeting.¢ They said that they thought I was a croo member packing out a big crate at first, because my pack was so huge. Great... The climb up to Mount Washington was pretty quick and easy, despite the heaviness of my pack (I wasn¢t even eating the food I had been carrying!), and I made my way over to the official summit to have my picture taken before I went into the summit building for a snack. It was swarming with tourists who had driven up the mountain, and who had trouble even climbing that small rock pile! I didn¢t think I would be disturbed by the tourists on the mountaintop, as I was very used to them and they never really disturbed me before, but I have to admit, that I was bothered this time. It was hard to find time to jump in and find someone to pause for a minute to take a picture of me!       My frustration continued inside, as two boys knocked over my pack and were stepping all over it and my water tube, while the father did nothing to stop them! After I ate a bagel and a yogurt and called Erik, I took off towards the Great Gulf at 11:36. I had never walked this part of the trail, which is also known for its incredible views, but once again, the raindrops began to fall and the clouds did not allow any views. I knew I would have to come back again to hike this section, as well as Franconia ridge. This part of the trail consisted entirely of boulders and I was moving at the slow pace of 1 mile per hour. I took my time in the rain in order not to fall. It was warm and humid enough that I would stop and take off my rain jacket every time the drops stopped falling, and inevitably, I would have to drop my pack and put my jacket on again as the rain continued to fall. All in all, though, the weather was not that bad. I did hear thunder a couple of times, but I never saw lightening, and the wind remained fairly gentle. The entire distance from Lakes of the Clouds to Madison hut is exposed and can be quite dangerous in bad weather.       I started to overtake some day hikers after I passed Thunderstorm junction in complete fog. We were all headed to Madison. The clouds started to disperse as we descended towards the hut, and we were able to see out into the valley a bit, which was nice. As I approached the hut, I talked to two girls, who were probably 7 and 12 years old. One of them asked me how long I had been out here. I told them I had been out since March 20. My answer did not phase them. ¢We¢re out here for six days, going from hut to hut,¢ they said. I thought that was pretty impressive. ¢Are you doing the whole trail?¢ they asked. ¢How old were you when you first started hiking?¢ the younger one asked. I wasn¢t answering quickly enough, so she asked how old I was when I first started backpacking. I told her ¢last June.¢ ¢Really? Wow! Then you decided to do the whole trail?¢¢Actually, I wanted to do it before I ever went backpacking,¢ I said. The girls were thoroughly amused and started talking as if they were me. ¢I think I¢ll hike the whole Appalachian Trail. Let¢s do a little trip before that.¢I told them that was basically how it went! They were very cute.   The older girl started describing the way clouds were coming in from two directions and how the sunlight in between was illuminating the mountain. The little girl thought she meant the hut, but the older one kept insisting it was the mountain, and that she actually saw it. The little girl was awestruck. ¢Oh, you SAW that? It really happened? I thought you were imagining it!¢      I got to the hut at 4:40 and had a decision to make. I could try to get to Osgood campsite- my original goal- but which was a long, hard three miles away, or ask for work-for stay and call it a day after 7 miles. I was very tired and sat down to snack. I looked at my guidebook pages and decided I better stay right here! Three southbound girls had already been accepted, but the croo said I could also do work-for-stay! Yay! I enjoyed some hot chocolate and hut-baked bread and chatted with the southbounders. At 5:30, the croo had to set the tables for dinner and we were asked to go outside and listen to a talk given by one of the croo, and then the thru-hikers remained outside while the patrons ate their dinner. Another group of four boys were hanging out a little ways away from the hut and were apparently also hoping for work-for-stay. L-train came in as well. She was not in a good mood and was talking about wanting to quit the trail.   After dinner was cleaned up, the 6 of us who were accepted for work-for-stay were invited in to eat, followed by the others who could stay for $10. There was plenty of food to go around! The croo was actually appreciative of us eating it. Otherwise, they would have to figure out how to dispose of it. One of the south-bounders was invited to give a thru-hiker talk to anyone who was interested. She did a good job and received a lot of questions. All of us thru-hikers got to tell everyone our trail names and how we got them, and it felt really nice to have the hut patrons and thru-hikers talking to one another. The croo of this hut was by far the friendliest and nicest of any of the huts I had been to. When everyone went to bed, we stepped outside to look at the stars. The four 18 year-old southbounders huddled together on a log, which amused me. They said they were cold and invited me to join them, but I told them I wasn¢t that cold! We all picked a table to sleep on and turned out the lights. I was glad I decided to stay here!