Date: 2003-07-21
From: Nauman Tentsite

To: Mt. Washington
Miles today: 7.2

I have to admit that I was slightly spooked after taking only 20 steps, turning around and no longer seeing the huge Lake of the Clouds hut. The fog was so thick that visibility was no more than 15 feet and I had the summit of Mt. Washington to climb. The level of me being spooked went up another notch when 5 steps later I read a sign warning me of all the people that had died and not to attempt the hike in bad weather.It was only 1.4 miles from the hut to the summit so I figured I could just take my time, be sure and follow the trail and I would be OK. If not, I figured someone would be by sooner or later and find my frozen body wrapped around a cairn. I stayed at the Nauman tent site last night which was tucked deep into the trees. I made some Lipton noodles, grabbed my book "Seabiscuit" and just kicked back on a big rock. This family of four came over and asked me questions about hiking the trail. It was nice but I was in the mood to just be quiet, eat a slow dinner and read. Well, an hour later the family departed for their dinner at the AMC hut. I sought refuge back at my tent, climbed in and curled up with my book. Ten minutes later I heard a "hello" and the caretaker had come by to pick up the $8.00 fee. She sat down and talked to me for the next hour and 45 minutes. It was a very nice conversation and I think that since she spends 11 straight days alone it was good for her to just have someone else who enjoys the outdoors to talk to. I got a whole two pages of the book read but the book will be with me tomorrow and all those super nice people will not.I got up pretty early and hit the trail before 8:00. It was a hard climb for the first mile and I was up above the tree line in an hour. The sun was out but you could see the big clouds covering most of Mt. Franklin and Mt. Washington. Sure enough, as I continued to climb, the clouds rolled over me and soon I was in some deep fog. Thank goodness the hut was right beside the trail or I would have walked right on by. The crew at the hut was super nice and made me a couple of pancakes to use up the end of the batter. Those pancakes were good and I was tempted to just kick back at the hut for a while. The weather report sounded as if the chance of rain increased as the afternoon wore on so I sat sail for the summit. Taking my time, I never came close to wrapping my arms around any of the cairns. The last half mile was pretty steep and I was not sure I had even reached the top. It was so socked in that you could not even see the buildings.About an hour later Penny walked into the main building. I was afraid that they would close the road so it was really good to see her. We explored the area, looked around the gift shop and then headed back down the narrow road. Penny had warned me that the road was scary and she was right. There were major drop offs but we took our time and made it down safe and sound.I'm almost finished with the Whites and with New Hampshire. The views have been the most outstanding of any place on the trail but I'm looking forward to crossing over into Maine in a couple of days. Take care,Pasta & Crockett(Maine in 2003)