Date: 2013-07-12
From: Valley Way Tentsite

To: Mizpah Spring Hut, Nauman Campsite
Miles today: 11.8

DAY 33MILES ON AT FOR DAY-11.8MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 12.4At 3am I awoke to Mutt scratching on my tent. He asked if I wanted to night hike up to Mt. Adams with him and Slips to see the sunrise. I told him to ask Nightwalker first and that if he wanted to I would. He also mentioned the stars were gorgeous so I popped my head out to see. And they were. I had never seen so many stars. He left and I could hear them packing up out there but after about 10-15 minutes I just assumed Nightwalker wasn't going either since Mutt didn't come back over, so I fell back asleep. I woke up at 5:30am and when I started walking around camp, quickly realized Nightwalker was not there. I called out his name a few times even. Then I came across a tent and tarp that was set up, but no one was in. It made me feel a bit creeped out so I just packed up and headed out. Guess Nightwalker had gone with them. A little miscommunication but no big deal. It was actually really nice to hike on my own, especially since this area is where I got my inspiration to do the trail and now I was hiking by myself. The way I had planned originally to be. I could really reflect on my hike, the trail, the white mountains, and it's beauty. And it was perfect out. The weather was phenomenal.So I hiked on my own for a few miles with that big stupid smile on my face and listened to some music (something I didn't do often since I was always with people). At one point I had to pull out the maps to make sure I was going the right way because in the whites there are barely any white blazes and the AT is marked by cairns. Unfortunately every other trail is also marked by cairns and there are so many trails that intersect in the presidentials. Ended up I was on the right trail though. Just stalled me for 15 minutes. So the sun was out, it was in the 60's, slight breeze, sunny skies, and 100 miles of visibility. These days come few and far between in this range of mountains. Only a few miles into my hike I came upon Cosmo which was a surprise. I figured he was further ahead. A little later I came up on Sprout and Turducken. I hiked with them the last few miles up to Mt. Washington. It was nice to get to know them more since I had only briefly met them before. Sprout was from NH and Turducken was from CA. They had lived in San Francisco which was a place I wanted to move so we talked about that a lot, as well as just our lives in general. They are a very nice couple.Around 11:30am we got to the summit of Mt. Washington. On the way up we saw a crew member I had met and talked to at Carter Notch Hut. She said I must be a lucky charm because it was such good weather. Guess if your with me you won't have bad weather on Mt. Washington! The summit was incredible. So many people asked me about my thru-hike which was nice. I had been those people 5 years ago. It felt good and I felt proud! After a summit picture we went inside and got some lunch. 2 chocolate milks, pizza, a brownie, and ice cream. I know. I'm a beast. We sat out at a picnic table and Nightwalker, Mutt, and Slips were there as well. The 6 of us had lunch together on the summit of Washington. Felt like the total opposite of everything we had experienced in Maine. Later on Houston showed up too! It was a Southbound party! After spending 2 hours on the summit relaxing, drying my tent, and eating, Nightwalker and I decided to head out together. Everyone else had already taken off. We were all headed to the same hut which was great, but also made it unlikely that Nightwalker and I would get a spot at the hut for work for stay.We stopped into Lake of Clouds Hut real quick for water and then continued on. The ridge was just gorgeous going to the hut. I didn't want the ridge walk to end but eventually we dipped into the woods and down to Mizpah Hut. We got there by 5:30pm. Apparently that was too late for work for stay. We set up our tents at the tentsite next to the hut and went back to the hut to hang out with everyone. Met two cool guys who had thru-hiked in the 80's and had some left over pancakes. Around 9pm as I was about to fall asleep in my tent, I could hear Mutt and Slips voices coming toward us. They had come out to bring Nightwalker and I left overs from dinner! True friends We had pork chops and couscous with peas. With a full belly, I fell quickly asleep