Date: 2004-08-20
From: Crawford Notch

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: fog

Two men joined me at breakfast. When he learned I was thruhiking north, one offered me a bunk at Lakes of The Clouds Hut this evening. He had reserved for two and ended up coming alone so he said it would just be wasted otherwise. I happily accepted. That would put me as close as one can get to Mount Washington. If I sat out the bad weather day up there I would be perfectly placed to head over Washington when the sky cleared.The other man said he was hiking to Pinkham Notch today. He left me worried about his safety, since he was going to hike in jeans and a cotton sweatshirt and the trail he was taking went above 5000 feet! I admonished him to read the safety information posted on the walls and to keep a very open mind to turning back if the weather turned bad but that was as much as I could do. He clearly did not want to take advice from me.After breakfast I packed carefully. I made sure that warm layers, gloves, balaclava, space blanket and heat packs were in the small waterproof stuff sack right at the top of my pack where I could get to it quickly if needed. My Goretex rain jacket went on the bungee cord on the back of the pack and my tent strapped to one side so it was right at hand if I needed to set it up in a storm. A supply of snacks to keep my energy level up went on the other side with the water bladder.I went out to the road to hitch a ride and did not have to wait long. The second car to come by stopped to give me a lift to the Trail. It turned out to be the superintendent of the Crawford Notch State Park. By 730 I was on the Trail and making my way to the top of Webster Cliffs. The trail was steep and many sections had serious rock climbing, hauling oneself up hand over hand. There was no lack of good hand and footholds so it was safe but it was definitely hard work. Some spots I had to just gaze at, like a jigsaw puzzle, until I could see the secret of how to get up. Then I would reach for the first handhold, hang on and start working through it. At the top of the obstacles I would often pause with relief at getting past in one piece.At the top were excellent views of Crawford Notch, the road 2000 vertical feet below with cars and trucks passing like toys, the mountain opposite looming high above, and clouds drifting in and out of the scene. There were also excellent blueberries. With the long distance to Lakes of The Clouds and no idea how long the weather would hold, I had no time to gorge, but did nibble constantly and grabbed a whole handful when I passed a particularly plentiful bush.Next came more rock climbing up to the top of Mount Webster. It was just like how we imagined mountain climbing as kids; hand over hand up a steep rocky slope. Once up, the trail swung away from the Notch and took a more level (And boggy!) course along ridges and peaks to Mizpah Hut.I stopped in and started asking questions of the hutmaster: Was the weather holding? What was the trail ahead like? If I needed 5 hours to get there, was it still reasonable to try for Lakes of The Clouds Hut?I needed to decide whether to hold to my plan or stop short and stay at Mizpah. He seemed to think it was fine, no storms were expected until after midnight and it should take me 4 hours.Naturally as soon as I had gotten over the next peak it started pouring down rain! I stopped to put on my rain cover and Goretex coat, then was in a quandary. Should I turn back? Here I was, venturing above tree line by myself. Pushing on through bad weather sounded like a very iffy propositon. Still, it was just rain, the temperature was not dropping, there had been a rising barometer when I left Crawford hostel, and was it such a surprise for there to be rain, after all clouds ARE made of water. Every hiker I ran into coming the other way I interrogated about time from Lakes of The Clouds, trail conditions etc. Then I found two more hikers behind me were continuing on and decided to go on as well. I figured I would trust my wet weather gear unless the temperature started to plummet. But I shuddered to think of that man I'd met at breakfast up here in soaked jeans and sweatshirt!I stopped in the lee of Mount Eisenhower to add my Capeline top under the Goretex. That left me nice and warm for when I started up the higher peaks. By Mount Franklin it had stopped raining but the world was wreathed in fog. All I could see was the cairns in either direction for a few hundred yards. Then it began to break and the landscape would come in and out of view as clouds drifted through. This was more like it; "summits in and out of cloud" just as the forecast had predicted. I began to relax and enjoy the ghostly landscape. Off through the fog I heard the whistle of the cog-railway engine as it chugged up to the top of Mount Washington. I am glad to have seen so many moods of the Whites, both good and bad weather.At last I topped a final ridge past Mount Monroe and the Lakes of The Clouds Hut came into view. I had arrived! I was as good as over the most worrisome part of the Whites, all I need is one day of good weather.Inside, I met the man who had offered me a bunk that morning and he checked me in. In the meantime they had reassigned the bunk to someone else but since it was already paid for I still had my two meals and a spot on a table to sleep on at night so I was happy. I offered to repay the man for the cost but he would not hear of it. Talk about Trail Magic! It was like the hot meal I had at the LeConte Lodge back in the Smokies.I also found Lonesome Dove, who was doing work for stay.Every now and then for the rest of the afternoon a clear patch would drift overhead and the sun would come out, like a gift. The opening would inch across until Mount Washington came into view. Then the clouds would drift across like the curtain closing in a theater after the play.