Date: 2007-08-29
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Osgood Tentsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was my second day of crossing the Presidential Range and was another picture perfect clear mountain day. It was also without doubt the most challenging and technical day on the trail for the trip.I stayed at the hut for breakfast with the croo then headed up to the summit of Mt Washington, arriving about 9.30 AM. The 1.5 miles up to the summit from the hut was over good trail and I did it in well under an hour. I had talked with Mom and Dad by phone last night and we had agreed to meet at the summit house at 10.00. They arrived right on time. It was a clear and relatively calm and warm day on the summit of Washington but a thin layer of haze prevented us from seeing peaks in VT. We were able to most of the major mts I had walked over in the past 3 weeks, plus many that I will be crossing in the next 2 weeks. We had a good visit and they took pictures of me at the summit sign but I needed to get going up the trail since the weather prediction was for afternoon thundershowers and I still had many miles of alpine ridgeline to walk before the day ended.I said goodbye to Mom and Dad and started north down the Presidential ridgeline about 11.15. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was bright with very light winds; a hot day on Mt Washington. I kept a fairly good pace for the next 2 hours because I wanted to be climbing Mt. Madison by 3 PM. The trail along the ridgeline was much more rocky than the trail along the ridge south of Washington. It was a constant scramble from one sharp rock to the next. I was always torn between watching where my feet were going and looking at the spectacular views and alpine scenery that spread out below me at every turn of the ridgeline. It was slow going but with the best views of the trip.There was a small Broad-winged Hawk flight going south along the ridgeline ans I walked north. I saw a total of 7 hawks cruising south just above the tundra and riding along the thermals and light mountain breezes. They were clearly migrants and all going south. While at the summit station with my parents we had seen 2 .ore hawks thermalling to high above us before drifting off to the south.I arrived at Madison Spring Hut about 2.30 PM and took off my boots to cool and rest my hot and tired feet. The 5.5 miles of constant rock hopping had taken their toll. After a snack and water break I put my boots back on and headed up the trail behind Kilgore Trout and his friend. Shadow and Numbtoes and Rhode Island Red were close behind me. We were all headed for the tentsite about 3 miles further on.The hike up to the summit of Mt Madison was short and sweet, about a half mile but straight up a very steep boulder field. The trail gained 500' vertical in less than a half mile. In most places I was just carrying my poles in order to be able to use my hands for holds on the rocks above. There was little actual trail up the boulder field. Often I just aimed for the next cairn and scrambled up towards it as best I could. In spite of the steepness it took only a half hour to reach the narrow summit of Mt Madison with its excellent 360 view.As I approached the tiny summit with its large cairn marker perched on top of the largest boulder I couldn't figure out where the trail went next. Standing at the summit cairn I realized that it just nosed over and went straight on down the sharp ridgeline in a descent that was equally steep as the ascent up from the hut. For the next mile there really was no trail in the classic sense. Instead there was a line of cairns stretching off down a very steep boulder field filled with rocks that were larger than me. The cairns showed the general direction of travel but it was up to you to figure out the best way to proceed from one marker to the next across the steeply sloping boulder field. To make things even more interesting the line of cairns followed the crest of a sharply defined rock ridge that dropped off steeply on both sides, adding to the feeling of exposure as you tried to maintain a controlled descent rather than just fall over head first.This descent down the Mt Madison ridgeline boulder field went on for more than a mile and 1,500' vertical before it finally entered treeline. Once back in the spruce-fir forest it continued its steep descent for another 2 miles to the Osgood Tentsite, but now over rock steps and roots down a real trail. When I finally arrived at the tentsite about 6.00 PM my knees and ankles were sore and tired for one of the few times on the trip. I was also tired from the constant focus required from planning each and every foot placement, and often having to use the other foot and both hands to make it happen safely. It had been a physically demanding and technically difficult afternoon but I had covered less than 10 miles. In spite of the difficulty it was also one of the most scenic and beautiful days on the trail. I just hope I can roll off my sleeping pad tomorrow morning and get up and walk again! For tomorrow holds what is supposed to be the toughest climb on the entire AT for northbound hikers - the ascent of the many Wildcat Peaks in the Carter-Moriah Range!