Date: 2008-09-13
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut, NH

To: Wildcat Mtn Peak E, NH
Miles today: 17.6

Pictures to be uploaded soon....as soon as I send them in. :-)There is a reason that I don't stay at the huts in the White Mountains....IT"S NOISY!!!! I didn't get to sleep till about 1am. There were people up running around inside the hut, slamming doors, and partying. I was sleeping on the dining room table and had to get up at 6am so the croo could start setting the tables for breakfast. I packed up and got out of Lakes of the Clouds Hut by 6:30am. It was already busy and noisy with activity by the time I left....people everywhere. There were 90 people at that hut last night!! All the rest of the thru hikers there, except for two that did their work yesterday, had to stay till after breakfast to do their work for stay. I was the only one that paid my $8.00...because I'm retired from work now. :-) It was great getting outside in the high winds and wet, foggy conditions. There was light rain and with the windchill, it felt fairly cool out and the wind was probably 35 mph sustained with a few higher gusts. I had a 1,200 foot climb to the summit of Mt Washington at over 6,200 feet high. I didn't see any of the building on Mt Washington till I got right up close to them because of the fog. I got there at 7:45am and walked to the very summit and took a self portrait, then went looking to see if I could find the lounge and restaurant. I've been there quite a few times and it still took me a couple minutes to find it because of the fog. The building had just been opened, but the coffee shop didn't open till 8am....but I was right there when it did open for my coffee and a danish. I went back and got more coffee and an egg salad sandwich and was sitting there enjoying those...quietly...I was the only one up there other than the few people that worked there. Stretch and Arius came walking in when I was almost done eating. They were the two thru hikers that did their work for stay at the hut yesterday, so they were able to leave the hut early. There was a car race scheduled for today on the Mt Washington road to the summit. The road was closed and they weren't expecting anyone else up there till the cog train started rolling. I can't imagine running a car race with all the fog out and the wet roads. I did get to watch a bicycle race up that road when I walked through back in 02. I took a couple pictures of Stretch and Arius, then took off walking. I went back up to the summit, then started heading down the mountain. It was still foggy and I was busy looking around for the trail when I slipped on a wet rock and fell. I was only about 100 feet from the summit. My "no fall" record for the AT this year is over. :-( At least I went well over 1,800 miles without a fall. :-) I descended about 1,200 feet, then climbed 400 feet up to Mt Jefferson, back down past Edmunds Col, back up over Thunderstorm Junction and on to Madison Hut. I stopped in and had a couple bowls of soup and broke up some heavy bread into the soup. I had a steep 600 foot climb up to Mt Madison. There were some people up there that had brought up a large American flag and had it secured on the summit. It looked nice with the winds blowing it straight out.American Flag on Mt MadisonI started the long, long steep descent towards Osgood Campsite....almost 3,000 feet down. It had started clearing and I could get glimpses of all the mountains around me. I could see the auto road up to Mt Washington and watched a few of the race cars heading up to the top...and I could hear them all the way over where I was at. The day kept getting better and better all day long...and it started warming up too. I had stopped and talked to a sobo for about 10 minutes by the name of Just Jill. She had flipped from Harpers Ferry, WV. Rootsie and Rocky were climbing the mountain. They had caught a ride down Mt Washigton yesterday in the bad weather. They were walking back to Mt Washington and hoped to catch another ride down to Pinkham Notch. I was getting close to Osgood Campsite and saw a guy climbing the mountain. I stopped and started talking to him for a while. He said he had hiked the Trail before, so I asked his trail name....it was 501. He's the guy that took over Wingfoot's guide book for the AT. We stood there talking for about 20 to 25 minutes before I walked on. I passed by the side trail to Osgood Campsite without stopping and continued on another 5+ miles to Pinkham Notch. I ran into a couple nobos, Resin and Wind Up. When I walked up to them, Wind Up said; "Hello Stumpknocker". I didn't know him. Turns out he was one of those 21 thru hikers at Bob People's Hostel when Mrs Gorp dropped me back off there after we finished our bicycle ride in April. I remember being overwhelmed that morning because there hadn't been any hikers around me when I got off the Trail for the bike ride, but saw 21 hikers when I got dropped off!! I got to Pinkham Notch. I had been intending to eat dinner there, but when I got there, I found out they didn't start dinner till 6pm and it was just before 5pm. I didn't want to wait because I still wanted to make the steep 2,000 foot climb up Wildcat. I had a Coke and walked on. I was glad I didn't wait because it was just getting dark when I got to a place I could set up my tent...legally. :-) I wanted to set myself up to get into Gorham tomorrow and take a much needed shower...and rest. :-) I set my tent up, crawled in and ate dinner...a Spam and peanut butter sandwich. Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. :-)