Date: 2012-08-23
To: Pinkham Notch Camp
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: fog

This post is about a section hike I did with Phoenix Rising across the Presidential mountains.8/23/126.4 milesGot up at 0430 and left home about 0500. Made one stop on he drive to the Highland center in Crawford Notch. I arrived at 0745 and met Phoenix Rising inside and we left for the trailhead shortly thereafter. Got on the trail just about 0800.The flat terrain quickly turned into a long uphill hike, taking all morning. We crossed Mt Webster and reached Mt Jackson shortly after noon, where we took a break. The remaining 1.7 miles to Mizpah hut was east, but we were tired from the long uphill of the morning. We decided to stay at Mizpah rather than tackle the 6 miles to Lakes-of-the-clouds hut. We got stay on the tent platforms for work. I swept the privy and picked up trash around the platforms, of which there was little.The clouds had been increasing throughout the day, but there was no rain in the forecast. We hung out at the hut for a while, reading old logs, and saw and entry from Hand-me-down, Crankdaddy, Firefly and ¢Hanna Montana¢. Had a little light rain just after getting into the tent and again just before dawn.8/24/1211.8 milesGot up around 0630 and eat breakfast. I could see Phoenix Rising moving around her tent site so I guessed right about a time to get up. We were soon packed and ready to get under way. The first climb, up to Mt Pierce, was just a rude way to warm up, but at least it was not long. It was bright and clear, and going to be a warm day. Soon after leaving Mt Pierce we came to the unction of the summit trail over Mt Eisenhower where we decided to remain on the AT, which skirts around the summit. This turned out to be a good decision as the day wore on.A fairly easy hike took up around Mt Monroe and Mt Franklin and finally to the Lakes-of-the-clouds hut. Took a break there, discovering there were no bars on my phone near the door, but just around the corner I had 5. Sent a tweet on my location. Ear a brownie, which was dry and got ready to hike up Mt Washington. Reached the summit and we got in line for picture taking along with all the tourist folks. With that out of the way, we went into the summit building and eat lunch. Phoenix met a friend, Squatch, there and we made arrangements to meet at Pinkham where he would shuttle Phoenix Rising to Gorham and me back to Crawford Notch. Leaving the Summit building we found the AT path along side the Tip-Top building, and started the hike down to the next up. Got a good picture of the diesel train as it passed on its uphill journey. We again were thankful the AT skirted around Mts Clay and Jefferson. Even at that, going around Jefferson became long. Then it was through Edmonds Col (where there used to be a Quonset hut) and on by Mt Sam Adams and Mt Adams. After a seemingly long hike, we could finally see Madison Hut as we crossed the top of King Ravine. We talked to a sobo who was looking for a flat spot in Edmonds Col and who said there would be no trouble getting a place to stay in the hut. Was she wrong!After begging several times to buy space on the floor, we hiked a couple hundred yards north and found some mostly level spots next to large boulders. There we set up stealth camp, eat supper and turned in. Around midnight the half moon set and the stars became more visible along with the Milky Way. The visibility was not as god as when Rob and I camped on top of Mt Washington, but still very good. Saw 2 shooting stars.Sometime after turning in, I saw several, possibly 3, hikers looking for a spot to camp, just north of our location.8/25/127.8 milesAwoke around 0600 and it was easy to get up, as the ground had become less level throughout the night. Packed up our gear and went back to the hut where we ate breakfast, then started the hike up Mt Madison. Reaching the summit, I saw and recognized the smooth hollows in the rock I had seen many years before when doing the 4000 footers.The hike down was as long as I remembered. When we finally reached tree line we discovered several stealth came sites along the trail. We stopped at Osgood tent sites for a snack and I got water, using my new Stri-pen for the first time. With 5 miles to go to Pinkham we soon got underway. I found the hike up to Lowe¢s Bald Spot quite strenuous, and had to stop and mix up some Gator-Aid. Caught up with Phoenix Rising at the Auto Road and we hiked together into Pinkham.Just after reaching Pinkham, the sky opened up and it rained the rest of the day in the mountains. Our ride showed up, and after a detour to drop another hiker in North Conway, we said out good byes in Crawford Notch and I headed home. Just as I reached the top of the Notch, a hiker thumbing down the notch caught my eye and I made a u-turn and picked him up. His trail name was Bob and he was going back to the AT after picking up a mail drop at the Highland Center. Once again I was on the road home, arriving shortly before dark.