Date: 2005-07-20
From: Ethan Pond Campsite

To: Mizpah Hut
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Miles hiked today : 9.49.3 AT miles + 0.1 mile of side trailI woke up this morning at 5:20 a.m. and while packing, I heard a splashing noise down at the lake. I was the first one to rise in the shelter and doubted that any of the tentsite campers were out for a swim, so I hurried down to the lake to see what was making the noise. Moose! There were 2 in the lake, though the one at the far side retreated into the treeline as soon as it saw me. The closer one was a large bull which simply stared at me and I had left my camera at the shelter. I darted back to the shelter, grabbed my camera, and returned to the pond. Molly, the caretaker, had also walked down to the pond and we were soon joined by Opa. I snapped several pictures and watched as the moose lumbered out of the lake and into the woods. I returned to the shelter, finished packing, and waited for Opa to bandage his feet before we hiked out at 6:30 a.m.The first 3.0 miles of trail were a downward trend and were fairly pleasant, until after a mile when the slope became much steeper. My right boot was putting pressure on the top of my foot in such a way that the pain was nearly unbearable. I continued to the bottom of the hill and arrived at Crawford Notch (US302) at 7:55 a.m. The only way I could think to address the pain was to lace my boot as tightly as possible. That seemed like it was going to do the trick and I hiked on after a 10 minute break, while Opa stayed to hitch to a campstore to resupply.At 8:05 a.m., I began the 2,640 foot climb over 3.2 miles up to the summit of Mount Webster. The incline was graded fairly well, though it was still a challenging climb. There were several times I wanted to stop and rest, though I pushed on and reached the Webster Cliffs at 10:00 a.m. The smile on my face would have been a sight to see, as I was extremely pleased with the view. I'm not sure which mountains I was looking at, though the blanket of trees draped over the peaks was amazing. Scattered here and there were rock slides that served to accentuate the trees. The wind was blowing fiercely, so I hiked 5 minutes into the treeline and stopped for a 20 minute beak, during which I ate a snack and drank a 1 liter emergen-c beverage. I had 580 more feet to climb over 1.4 miles to reach he summit of Mount Webster at 11:05 a.m. Right before the summit was an amazingly steep hands and feet rock scramble, the likes of which I'd not yet seen on the AT. I was glad that I did! n't have to climb down it and soaked in the view, which was similar to that from the cliffs below, but showcased a different portion of the valley.From the summit of Mount Webster, I had 1.4 miles to hike to the summit of Mount Jackson. The sky had been blue all morning and the sun had been shining, though dark clouds kept forming and dispersing as I hiked between Webster and Jackson. There was only a minor descent between the 2 peaks and I covered the distance in 45 minutes. I paused momentarily to take in the view, but was wary of the dark clouds overhead. In the distance, I could see a building, which I thought was the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. I pushed on, ready to face the 1,417 foot descent over 1.7 miles to Mizpah Hut and hoped that my right boot wouldn't cause too much pain.I only descended about 400 feet when the trail began to gain elevation. I wasn't too surprised and expected a steep decline to the hut, though it never came. At 12:40 p.m., I reached a forest protection zone sign, which was an indicator that I was 1/4 mile from the hut. Conveniently, such signs are posted 1/4 mile from huts and campsites on all of the trails in the Whites. I was surprised to see the sign, as I was still expecting the descent, though I arrived at the hut at 12:45 p.m., having only dropped 200 feet in elevation. If I had the elevation profile, I wouldn't have been tricked by this obvious data book typo. It turns out that what I'd earlier thought to be Lakes of the Clouds Hut was actually Mizpah Hut.I walked into the hut and met one of the Croo, Jake. I asked whether work for stay was available and he told me it was, though he wasn't sure what he was going to have me do. He directed me to the room at the very top of the stairs, which has bunks for work for stay workers and is also used as a storage room. Not all huts give you a bunk to sleep in or a pillow and blanket, for that matter, so I felt very fortunate. Jake told me that I'd be able to eat dinner with the Croo at 7:30 p.m. and also told me that lasagna leftover from last night was available for $2.I went up to my room to stow my gear and to change my shoes. When I returned to the lobby, Michael had arrived and was also granted a work for stay position. I set my boots and socks out in the sun to dry and settled at a table with a big plate of lasagna. Before long, Opa arrived and sat with Michael and I. Opa was granted a morning work for stay position, which means that he won't be able to leave until after breakfast. I had been journaling while answering the occasional crossword clue for Michael when Jake asked whether one of of us was ready to work. I volunteered and was put to work washing dishes, which lasted 30-45 minutes. Not too bad for a place to stay and 2 AYCE meals. The only catch is that I have to wait for the regular guests, who pay $77 each per night, to finish eating before I am allowed to eat.After the dishes, I resumed journaling and, at 4:45 p.m., I went outside to enjoy the sun. I was extremely hungry, but still had nearly 3 hours to wait for dinner, so I ate a snack and relaxed. After a bit, I returned to our room and asked Michael and Opa whether they wanted to play a game of Clue. We proceded to the game room and quickly realized that we didn't remember how to play the game. Fortunately, there were some kids in the room and they gave us the low down on the rules. Michael was the ultimate victor and after the game, we returned to our room with a set of trivial pursuit cards and took turns asking each other questions until it we were called for dinner. Sean showed up right before dinner call and was aso granted morning work for stay.Dinner was quite good and there was more than enough to go around. I ate 2 plates of food and a hearty bowl of veggie soup and left the table quite full. I went outside to listen to Michael give a talk about his AT experience, which was his work for stay task. He did quite well and was informative as well as entertaining. After Michael's talk, I headed upstairs and crawled into bed. Believe it or not, it's hard work sitting around all afternoon.Bedtime at 9:30 p.m.