Date: 2004-09-12
From: Crawford Notch 

To: Lake of the Clouds Hut 
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Mt. Washington Blanketed in CloudsStart: Crawford Notch @ 0826Finish: Lake of the Clouds Hut @ 1648 Miles: 11.2Weather: Outstanding!!.Breakfast: Granola w/ strawberries & blueberries.Lunch: Pastrami sandwich, Trailmix, Snickers. Dinner: Mountain Chowder.Trail Conditions: Very steep climb out of Crawford Notch. Rock scramble up Mt. Webster. Above tree line past Mt. Clinton for the reminder of the day.Animals: Birds, Dogs.People: Ranger Jan, Blues Brothers, Shaggy Sticks, AMC Croo, Trail Angel (formerly from Muskegon), day hikers (from Traverse City), tons of yuppies at the hut.Tonight I am sleeping on the dining room table at the Lake Of The Clouds Hut, while 52 yuppies are nestled away in their crowded bunk rooms that they paid $96.00 to stay in for one night. Work-for-stay isn¢t bad at all.The AMC Hut system, while in theory is cool, strikes me as an over congested tourist trap in the woods. There are several different huts located along the Appalachian Trail, through the Whites, accommodating anywhere from 30 to 90 ¢guests¢ depending on the Hut. Lake of The Clouds, (aka Lake Of The Crowds) can hold 90 people, so it is only at half capacity tonight. Nearly all the people here are city slickers that come up for a night to get a ¢wilderness¢ experience that includes a covered roof and two hot meals prepared for them by the Hut croos. Most of the people here have never even heard of the Appalachian Trail and they¢re walking right on it. Because we¢re doing a work for stay we don¢t get to eat with the guests, but rather the croo. The four of us hikers, with full beards, looking tired, and kind of smelly, sat at the periphery of the dining hall, talking, journaling, and tending to our gear.All the other ¢clean¢ hikers have given us everything from the occasional smile, but most a condescending stare. Once again many of these people don¢t know what the AT is and don¢t dare ask what we¢re doing. They¢re loss. So we sat around and joked about them to ourselves.Finally, as the lights went out at 2130, and I setup for the night on the table, a group of kids my age finally worked up the moxie to ask us what we were doing. They were startled when we told them of our journey and surprised that we were actually nice and social creatures. Perhaps that was our good deed for the day?I slept like a champ last night and was very pleased that no bears or other rodents tried getting my food. After eating a quick breakfast I packed up my toys and set out for the day. Once again the weather was absolutely gorgeous with hardly a cloud in the sky. Literally Climbing up Mt. WebsterThe climb up Mt. Webster was long and steep with the most technical rock scrambles I have done yet. I am definitely glad I am proficient rock climber. The views from Webster¢s Cliffs were spectacular and I was kind of bummed I didn¢t get to bivy on them, as there was not a cloud in the sky all night. View from Webster CliffsWith the weather being so nice again (100-plus mile views) and the terrain being quite difficult I took my time hiking today and soaked up the splendid views. I tooled on over to Mt. Jackson which offered my first great view of Mt. Washington. The sky was literally all clear today but Mt. Washington still had clouds forming around it and drifting over the summit. About every 10 to 15 minutes the clouds would break and I could catch a glimpse of the NOAA weather antennas. Also from Mt. Jackson you could see Mizpah Hut sticking out of the woods. View from Mt. JacksonI have found the Whites to be rather deceptive, especially today being above tree line. The different peaks of the Presidentials seem to be so far away when in actuality they¢re not. Mt. Washington seemed so distant but was only 8 miles away, albeit a tough 8 miles of hiking.I caught up with the Blues Brothers and Ranger Jan at Mizpah Hut. There was a trail angel who gave me a pastrami sandwich, he grew up in Muskegon, MI. There was also a married couple there from Traverse City, MI. I shot the bull with them and some of the tourists, however, I was anxious to get moving and be above tree line.As I proceeded up Mt. Clinton the trees grew progressively shorter and shorter. The tell-tail sign that tree line is near. Finally the balsam trees were only waist high and then there were only rocks, and amazing views! View from Mt. ClintonThe mountains looked more like the lunar landscape and I could distinctly see the Appalachian Trail etched in the piles of rocks several miles ahead. Very few clouds were in the sky, but they seemed drawn to Mt. Washington like a magnet and would scrap over the summit for several minutes and then part revealing the weather towers. A steady breeze ebbed across the exposed ridgeline keeping me cool enough that I did not break a sweat as I walked. Mt. Washington inbetween Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. FranklinMt. Washington seemed very distant but in actuality it was only several miles away. The distance between these mountains is very deceiving to my eyes. I took my time walking, moseying along at about 1 mile per hour over the rocky terrain savoring the amazing views.As I rounded the backside of Mt. Eisenhower I saw Shaggy Sticks, a hiker I have not seen since my first week of the trip! We hiked the first week together but he was moving much faster than I so he continued to pull ahead. Unfortunately he broke his foot and had to leave the trail at Boiling Springs. But, after two months of rest he decided to flip-flop and is headed south back to Pennsylvania to finish his hike. Good luck dude! Me and Shaggy SticksI kept on moving and finally rolled into Lake of the Clouds Hut to the colors of the evening sun and graying sky. The Blues Brothers and Ranger Jan had been at the hut for several hours and were already done with their work-for-stay. I talked with the croo and I¢ll be sweeping the floors in the morning for my work. Not to shabby at all considering I get two hot meals and a roof over my head. Presidential RangeThe weather forecast changed during the day and called for showers throughout the night. Around 8:00 PM we were in the middle of a cloud and a cold rain fell outside. They say it is supposed to clear up by mid-morning tomorrow. I sure hope so as I hope to get more awesome views from atop Mt. Washington and as I move through the Presidentials.What an incredible day this had been!