Date: 2011-08-17
From: Pinkham Notch

To: Crawford Notch
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: few clouds

August 14th I got back on the trail... all alone, felt a little funny, and was really in the zone when my uncle dropped me off at the Pinkham visitor center, it took all I had not to cry and get back in the car. Sometimes I really like hiking alone... fast.... but at the same time, going into the Presidentials I get freaked out, I have a huge respect for these mountains, and you don't mess with them because Mt Washington and that area have taken lives... I just don't want to become a statistic. Hiking alone up there is hard... the weather can change so fast, and it can be really rough. Well I sucked it up and just put my head down and walked. I made good time in the first five miles of the day up the valley to the base of Madison. The hike up was difficult, but there has been worse. Made it out of tree line and could see the rain coming in, but it didn't last for long, I put my pack cover on but the rain didn't come back the rest of the day, thank goodness. I got to Madison Hut around 12:30pm ate lunch and then asked the croo how long it would take to get to Lake of the Clouds Hut, they said 4 and half hours (7.5 miles) so I decided to take the chance and book it across the northern Presidentials, even though I was pretty scared, no bad weather yet, but Mt Washington was getting some good cloud cover. I got about a mile down the trial when a guy stopped and asked where I was going, I said Lake of the Clouds and he responded by saying "Its taken me 8 hours to here from Lake of the Clouds!!!" I started freaking out, but I kept hiking... I didn't want to go backwards. I got around Adams, Jefferson, and was about to go around Clay and what happens?! I sprain my ankle... REALLY BAD... crap!!! I had to slow my pace, and it hurt so bad, but I had to keep hiking, I could see the weather coming in. I got around Clay and up Mt. Washington, but it was slow and it hurt... the wind was really cold. I made it to the top of Mt Washington... I was so close to Lake of the Clouds, it felt good to know I would make it because it was only 4:45pm. So I went into the summit snack bar and got two hot dogs, two candy bars, and a coke. Ate it all up and headed for Lake of the Clouds Hut... it was now 5:10pm and the clouds had really really rolled in. By the time I got close to the hut I could barely see 10 ft in front of me. Good thing the trail goes right next to the hut, otherwise I might have missed it and been stuck in the open.... bad.... The wind turbines where making some noise, so I knew I was close and also found the hut by the following the sound. When I made it inside the croo graciously let me stay for work for stay and the best part was that Serenity, Super Turtle, Nola, and Crash Test were all there!!!!!! It was great to catch up to them, even after I had taken a zero the day before! I had hiked 15.3 miles that day... across the NORTHERN PRESIDENTIALS!!!!! I am just so glad I made it. We were treated like 3rd world citizens at the hut, but that was fine... we didn't have to pay the 130 dollars to stay there. We slept down in the dungeon... it was a small little jail cell (used in emergencies in bad weather) with a damp floor, but it meant that we didn't have to sleep out on the floor in the dining area where the guests stared at the weird and smelly thru hikers. (We met some great NOBOs that were really cool)August 15th We finished up our chores doing work for stay (swept the floors) and headed out into the alpine DANGER zone. It was raining and my feet were wet and collecting puddles in ten minutes... miserable... cold... rain... Lunch was at Mizpah hut and that's when I called my aunt and told her to meet me in Crawford Notch... I was cold... and not having fun. The next six miles into the notch felt so long. All I can say is that none of us were having that much fun in the rain. My aunt was waiting in the notch for over an hour, but we finally showed up and I asked if Serenity, Super Turtle, Crash Test, and Nola could dry off for the night and hang at their house... she couldn't leave them out in the rain and has now become their official trail angel So back to Intervale, NH I went with my friends... shower... food... warm dry bed... all is good.August 16th ZERO Nola's tooth had an infection... and it was still raining... my ankle was still really swollen... we all thought it was good to have a zero.August 17th ZERO I convinced them all to stay and not make a nero day!!!! Nola did great in her surgery... and she is bouncing back great, so I think we will all be hiking a long day tomorrow!!!!!