Date: 2009-08-11
From: Mizpah Hut

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: light rain

Tmax here... After a night of trying to sleep while the hut croo partied, morning came early. Topofgothics and I swept floors in the dining room and in all the bunk rooms and folded blankets. This made for a late start to the hiking day but the day was good and the views improved as the morning went on. We climbed over Mt. Pierce and got above tree-line where we would stay for the rest of the day. At the junction to Mt. Eisenhower Topofgothics dropped his pack while I kept mine on. We climbed the non-AT trail up to the summit where the clouds almost full blew away, but then the black flies emerged! After a snack and some photos, Topofgothics went back down to pick up his pack and continue on the AT that goes around Eisenhower while I climbed down the other side. The plan was to continue along and then take another loop trail so that we could summit Mt. Monroe. After a little while I could hear thunder off to the west. When Topofgothics caught back up to me the temp had dropped and the wind picked up. We decided we would just get to the hut, wait out the storm and then climb Monroe. Well you know the saying "the best laid plans..." Within moments flashes of lightning began. At this point we had been above tree-line for a couple of hours and there was no hope for getting below it in any amount of reasonable time or safely. We saw a woman coming back down from Monroe who stated she hurt her knees and didn't think she could make it to the hut. We asked what we could do for her and she stated she had everything she needed. Then the rain started, heavy and huges drops being blasted against us by the wind. I took off pretty quickly while Topofgothics stopped to put his pack cover on. I then saw an man and a young child climbing in between two huge boulders for protection. I was tempted to join them but I knew the safest course was to get to the hut. We had a couple of flash-bangs (almost no time between the lightning and thunder) and I started running. The trail was like a little river and my pack was getting heavier by the second as it got soaked. While I've been on this trail numerous times, I was a little disoriented and had no real sense of how far the hut was. Topofgothics caught up to me and just kept repeating words meant to maintain calm and focus. After what seemed like forever, the hut appeared before us and we flew in. The place was packed with people staying dry who all turned to look at the drowned rats coming in. I was bent over trying to catch my breath when the hutmaster says "you checking in?" And Topofgothics, cool as a cucumber says "no, we're thru-hikers and were looking for work for stay." It was as if we hadn't just run through a little piece of hell! The hutmaster (who had been at the party last night at Mizpah and hadn't yet slept) was more than happy to put us to work doing the afternoon dishes! But he did give us a few minutes to wring out. After about an hour or so, the woman who we saw with the hurt knees came in. We had just been talking about heading out to look for her. While the guests were eating dinner, we walked up Mt. Monroe for the 16th (for me) and 17th (for Topofgothics) 4000 footer of the trip so far. The hutmaster made me an amazing vegan dish as the dinner for the guests was lasagna. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad without my food drop! So it was another short AT mile day (4.7) but a little longer overall mileage for the day (6).   ****We learned a few things today. You can really screw up if you work at the huts, but as long as you feed the paying customers, much can be forgiven. We also learned that Terri is smart enough to not take Topo when he needs to go back down the side trail so to not miss any of the AT. It is also possible to leave the Mishap Hut semi-wasted at three in the morning and cover a tough five miles before you are to be on cooking duty two and a half hours later. Ah, to be young again. One thing I will say, Zach did a fine job of treating us great, even if he was bleary eyed. I did not recognize him at first when we entered the hut soaking wet and slightly frayed from the storm. When I had suggested on Eisenhower that Topo ride with Gerry, Terri made sure that he earned his AT patch honestly. Away we went, and by the time I saw her again, the skies were looking gloomier. A cool breeze spearheaded the coming storm, and I stopped to throw on my pack cover. Terri did not. A minute later hell broke loose. Once TMax started running I wanted to shoot her. You might survive an unlikely lightning strike, but falling and dying of hypothermia was much more realistic. She appeared to calm once I caught up with her, and soon (even if it felt like forever) we were at the Lakes of the Clouds hut. There Zach was, and boy he was happy to see us. We stowed our gear and dried off, then after 90 minutes of finishing the hut¢s neglected dishes, our part of the bargain was fulfilled. Lakes is the biggest hut, so we never had to wait outside while the others ate, though we did run up Monroe while the paying customers were dining. Once more Mother Nature had a chance at redemption, and once again I was shut out. Good views were being had with Terri, but so far the big three were oh-for-two.