Date: 2022-09-02
From: AMC Highland Centre 

To: Madison Springs Hut
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

I started from the AMC Highland Lodge at 5.50 am.  This was going to be a big day and I needed an early start. I sped up the 2.7 miles and 1000ft of ascent back up to the AT, working hard to arrive just past the Mizpah Springs hut at 7.30am. I soon leave the tree line,  entering the alpine zone, to hike the 4.7 miles to the Lake of the Clouds Hut.  With a clear sky, I have wonderful views opening up in every direction with visibility up to 80 miles.  That said, I struggle to see my way with the low sun and soon hit my head on a tree branch. Nothing serious but I swear like a trooper and a bump is growing.  I have great pace today and reach the hut at 9.30. I get a coffee and some cake. There is excitement in the hut as a helicopter is on its way with supplies.  I leave the hut and wait a few hundred feet up the trail.   I watch the helicopter fly in and land precariously by the hut.   Most of these huts are in inaccessible wilderness making supplying them expensive, hence the hefty costs to stay at these simple lodgings. I start up the 1.5 miles to the summit of Mount Washington. There¢s a sign warning people to turn back in bad weather as the next 8 miles of ridge have the worst weather in the USA, and have claimed the lives of many hikers. I am enjoying a beautiful sunny day so I feel safe to continue. Near the top,  I miss the sign to head up to the peak and walk along the wrong trail, missing the summit entirely.  When I realise my mistake I am almost a mile from the summit.  I bite the bullet, drop my pack and head back up the trail as fast as I can, running in places.  I am gasping when I reach the peak of Mount Washington, at over 6000ft. But happy to have made it.  There¢s no more than a fresh breeze on the mountain, famous for the world¢s highest recorded wind speed of over 200mph. I meet Shadow in the cafeteria and he tells me to calm down (as I am jabbering about getting lost) and to eat something and take my time.  I do calm down a bit whilst I eat half a sandwich, some crisps and a soda.   And then take a quick summit photo before legging it back downhill to my backpack. Today was going to be a long day and now I¢ve added another 1.8 miles to it due to my navigational error.  I sit by my pack and eat the rest of my sandwich, eat chocolate snacks and drink water. The afternoon offers consistently stunning views for more than 6 miles but also some very tough hiking across boulder fields for miles and miles on end on the ridge. The trail passes close to the summits of Mount Jefferson and Adams but I don¢t have the energy to walk the extra distance and height up the side trails to bag these peaks. I therefore send my respects to these two giants from a slightly lower position, befitting their stature and mine!About 3.30pm, I reach the Madison Springs Hut near the end of the ridge to finish what has been the most spectacular hike of my life and my first time up a 6000ft mountain. It was perhaps also one of my strongest ever hikes as I made a lot of elevation at good pace and my rock hopping speed and sure footedness is improving. I covered almost 12 miles of the AT today, though the extra miles back up to Mizpah Springs hut in the morning and my costly diversion in Washington meant I hiked over 16 miles in total. What a Wally! A day to remember¢¦