Date: 2004-08-21
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut

To: Mt Washington
Miles today: 1.4

Mt. Washington Summit - Take oneI woke up this morning to a strange gonging sound thatI could not identify. As my slumber dissipated, Irealized it was the morning "croo" breaking eggs onthe side of a large mixing bowl. It was five AM and Ithought the rain had stopped outside. But checking from the doorway, you could tell that itwas sprinkling and visibility was nil. I could barelymake out the pathway toward Mt. Washington a few feetin front of the hut. A woman turned around and backinto the foyer. "It's raining," she said with disgust. I was ready and eager to get hiking by 6:30. Went backinto the dining room and thought about things. This iscrazy but I can't stay here. So I just picked up everything and headed out. The first third of my hike to the summit was justspeckling rain and fog. I read the sign that warned meI was heading into the worst weather recorded..."Yeah,whatever!" Onward. Temps were good. I was in shorts, a t-shirt (theinfamous purple one) and my rain jacket. I came acrossmy first cluster of signs. I couldn't read the Mt.Washington one--too worn down or bad lighting. I tooka guess to which direction I should go. The second third of my short journey, the rain camedown hard and at a slant. The southwest winds werepicking up. "I can do this," I kept saying to myself.I still could not see or hear the peak. Then hail started. I felt the sting of sharp ice on mylegs. The rain went horizontal. I would work my wayfrom cairn to cairn hoping I was heading in the rightdirection. Somewhere above was a summit. Then I sawthe sign that said Mt. Washington .5 miles. I'm almostthere. It was early and I imagined the snack bar andconcession stands closed until 8 am. I'd be banging onthe doors begging them to open up. I knew that therewas a bicycle race today but couldn't imagine themholding it in conditions like these. Then, I guess, I hit a threshold. Fwomp! A gust ofwind pushed me off kilter. It held steady and strongwhile I leaned into it maintaining my balance. Irefused to be knocked over. I started to howl. Whynot? No one will hear me. Every time I took a step,I'd lose my balance. For a moment the wind died to 30mph. I worked my way to the next visible cairn. Thenbeyond when I thought it was safe. Fwomp! Another gustand I was down on my side. My poles dangling from myarms out of control. The rain spraying under my rainjacket. My shorts soaked. I can't see anything. "Isthat the best you can do!" I screamed into the wind.Got up and kept going. This is crazy. Can't believeI'm doing this. A third gust, lost my balance and fell. Down for thecount. I started to laugh. I'm alive. I'm not dying.It isn't cold. I'm just annoyed now. I could hear thehum of the station at the peak. I'm close, but I can'tmove. So I began to crawl. Seriously--I'm not makingthis up. I glanced at my legs. They were red like acooked lobster from all the spray and sandblasting.Then I can see a tower in the haze. Woo hoo! At last, I reached the summit and immediately I sawpeople--everywhere! Hordes of them. It was only 7:30am. What a frigin tourist trap. I couldn't believe it.I found the gift shop open. The staff was getting itready. I dropped in to escape from the wind and gottalking with one of the clerks. As I stood theredripping, she said the bicycle race up Mt.Washington's Auto Road is still on. In fact, theweather today is better than last years conditions. Itold her I planned to hike the ridge. "I wouldn't doit" she said with a non-committal shake of her head.The winds are very strong right now. She understood mydetermination because she thru-hiked in '02. I went to the main observation building. It was socrowded that they were beyond their allowed capacityand asking people to wait in their cars. People staredat me like I was some kind of freak show. One guystopped me and asked if I just hiked up. I told him Ihiked from the hut only a mile and a half away. Kidsscurried around us. A long curving line had formed atthe snack bar and, of course, at the ladies restrooms. After talking it over with the rangers at theinformation booth, I decided the conditions were toohazardous to continue. But I did not want to stayhere. I'll sort it out later but for now the Whiteshave beaten me. I'm finished. I sat down in a corner with a woman named Jasmine whowas waiting for her husband and friend to finish thebicycle race. She had all sorts of questions for meand was amazed at the feat of hiking the AT. I wasamazed that her husband was bicycling up the side of amountain in these conditions. I met John and Michaellater when they completed their ride. They said thewind pushed one bicyclist into another at points butit was only bad above treeline. When they heard that Iwas hiking the AT, they said I was crazy. I told themthat they were crazy too. Hmmm...is hiking the AT anextreme sport? Let the audience decide. Although they could not give me a ride to the base ofthe mountain, they invited me to meet them for dinnerin Gorham. Great people. I never showed up for dinnerthough because I was meeting my friend, Jon, later. Most people had a full car load so I wasn't finding afree ride down. The last resort would be the $24shuttle. Then I met a couple, Maura and Steve fromWellesley, MA. They had room and gave me a ride downthe mountain and to the nearby town of Gorham. I can't recall a more pleasant feeling of relief thanthe moment I arrived at "The Barn" on Main Street inGorham. It had a shower, washer and dryer, a workingkitchen, beds, tv, videos. I met Giggles and 30-30there and reunited with Meanderthal. Warden alsoshowed up. He was section hiking north to GraftonNotch in Maine. A couple of southbounders showed up aswell. Because it was close to noontime and the post officewas closing, my first task was to run down Main Streetwith Giggles and 30-30 to check if they had any of mypackages. It was raining buckets outside and thestreets were deep puddles. It was also a touch chilly. The Barn had a limited video selection, unlike theWelcome Hikers Hostel in Glencliff, but I have a newappreciation for the movie Casablanca. It was a quietafternoon until my friend Jon showed up. Originally wewere going to do the Mahoosuc Notch together. I hadalready called him from Lakes of the Clouds yesterdayto say that I wasn't that far north. I suggested theWildcats. He had just done the Wildcats but wanted togo hiking regardless. The weather for tomorrow issupposed to be good. But I wasn't even at the Wildcatsyet. I still had to walk down from Mt. Washington, goover Madison, and curve around to Pinkham Notch--a15-mile stretch. I hatched a new plan that Jon seemedenthusiastic to try. Why not take the quickest routeto the summit of Mt. Washington, via the HuntingtonRavine Trail, and follow the AT fifteen miles toPinkham Notch. I had never done the Huntington RavineTrail. Jon has hiked it (or climbed it) and loved thechallenge. With finalized plans for Sunday, we went to dinner atMr. Pizza in town where Jon's city lifestyle was a badinfluence on my thru-hiker timetable. It was 11:30 pmand I practically fell flat face into my lasagna fromfatigue.