Date: 2018-07-26
From: Neuman Tenting - Mizpah Hut

To: Madison Hut
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up early (with the 4:50am light)Rained nonstop throughout the night and the tent was a wet mess but had a big day in mind so hustling was in order. My target was the Madison Hut located 12 miles northeast on the other side of some big mountains, including the iconic Mt Washington. With a big wet mess strapped to my back, rolled up to the Mizpah Hut up the trail from the tentsite. Had a cup of coffee and was offered work for breakfast but I didn¢t want to wait an hour+...the mountains were calling. It was 6:30am so took off up the trail and began to climb Mt Pierce. At over 4300ft this was my wake up call. The rain was merciless for the next three hours as I climbed Mt Eisenhower and Mt Monroe and continued on up over tree line & 5000ft mark to ¢Lake of the Clouds¢ Hut at the base of Mt Washington. Really cool place! Enjoyed the baked goods and another cup o joe. The Croo here was very friendly and had great music playing so I sat a little longer than I planned. However, when I walked out to begin the 1.4 mile climb up Mt. Washington, the rain stopped. Still in misty clouds but no heavy drops...Yahoo! Spirits lifted, the climb went quickly. Took a summit photo {6288 ft}, **journal note: this mtn has the highest recorded wind speed on Earth and is home of our planet¢s worst weather. Many have died up herethen went to the touristy gift shop (there is a cog train to the top=loads of tourists) and ate a couple hotdogs, then headed out. Many more miles above tree line left to go and the weather was worsening. Yep, the damn rain was back. For the next few hours, I would traverse slick boulder fields in a driving rain storm. Up and over Mt Clay and then around the side of Mt Jefferson (thankfully the AT followed the leeward side today), Daddy Longlegs was cursing repeatedly. ¢Smite me, oh Mighty Smiter!¢ was even hollered at one point. It was the very definition of miserable.Eventually at 4:30 I limped into The Madison Hut looking pathetic. Inquired about work for stay and they said, ¢Sure!¢I almost cried...Tonight I¢d be under a dry roof!! Took off my wet shoes n socks and let the feet air out. After two hours they were still pruned but beginning to normalize. Several wicked sores, mostly on the right foot, mean tomorrow will be a small mileage day to Pinkham Notch. (Time to find this gross stinky body a shower and a chance to wash n dry some clothes!)Best news: at 6:32pm the clouds began breaking up some and revealed patches of blue sky above. Mt Madison became visible and it appeared we were floating in the clouds (as most are below us). Everyone in the hut got up from dinner and went out to look. We haven¢t seen the sun in many days...Tonight my ¢work for stay¢ job was to do a little talk on my AT thru hike for the 48 paying guests of the Hut. As most of you know, or can guess, I have no problem rambling (though I¢m no public speaker). That said, wasn¢t really prepared to be tonight¢s ¢entertainment¢, and just getting up in front of people is a little disconcerting. Especially if you haven¢t showered in a week! But the talk went great and folks asked lots of questions. (Guess I should work up a true presentation) The Croo was happy to kick back and let me handle the hour and I think it went well. So nice to be on a clean swept floor inside as the wind has picked up and it¢s a little chilly. (Hopefully some high pressure to bust up this rain!) What a day. Tired but smiling....Life is Amazing. Keep Walking!Song of the Day: Frosty the Snowman(Forced myself to sing something ¢fun¢ out loud as I was going up Eisenhower early in the day during the hard rain. Was trying to ward off the blues. Damn tune got stuck in my head!)