Date: 2022-07-26
From: Rt 302 Mile 1848.9

To: Lakes of the Cloud Hut Mile 1860
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

Didn¢t sleep well last night. Up a couple of times to pee and lots of people doing the same and leaving the curtain open which lets the light shine in my eyes. Managed to eat only two oatmeal packets this morning. We¢ve got a 6:30 shuttle leaping us 28 miles forward to the base of Mt Washington. The climb out of 302 is a steep one for the first 3 miles gaining about 2000 ft. After that it was a more gradual climb with ups and downs to the Mizpah Spring Hut where we planned to stop for lunch. I was feeling the climb a little bit but was mostly able to keep up with Orchid. I was trying to eat but again didn¢t have much of an appetite. Pilgrim was catching up for much of the first half of the climb when we stopped to rest. We kept coming out to viewpoint¢s looking out over Willey¢s peak with great views to the west and north west. It was a bit cloudy but otherwise pretty clear. The trail was pretty quiet until we got to Mt Webster where we started seeing a lot more day hikers.Orchid and I made it to the hut, and stopped for a bowl of soup. Today¢s selection was a Caribbean Tomato soup¢¦ tasty but not the calories I need. I tried to eat a half bagel PB&J and it was a struggle to finish. Orchid left and I followed a few minutes later. For some reason, while the AT goes near all the presidential peaks, the AT actually only goes over some of them. She was planning to do all the presidential peaks. I had given some thought to doing the same, but with how I am now feeling I wrote that off without a second thought. After leaving the hut, there were some steep sections but then a more gradual climb up to Lakes of the Cloud hut where we have reservations tonight. It was definitely a struggle to get calories and water in. I was definitely starting to flag and noticed energy levels dropping but was able to power through without too much trouble.I got to the hut a while after Orchid, and checked in. We¢re in bunk 4 which holds 15 people in 3 high bunks. I got a bottom bunk and the others a middle one. We have one window in our room and it seems like one of the darker rooms. This hut holds 96 people and has a crew of 11. Solar power, well water, propane cooking, and composting toilets round out the amenities. Aside from two helicopter drops, all the supplies are packed in by packs that weigh upwards of 100 pounds and all trash is similarly packed out. The packs are wooden and like an old style external frame pack but without a waist strap so if you fall forward the pack flies off instead of crushing you. This hut gets its supplies from the top of Mt Washington. Once I was settled in, I had two quick cups of hot chocolate to try to get some calories in. Beastmode arrived and she let us know where Pilgrim was, she¢s also staying the night. Blue is here under a work for stay. Went to a presentation on the hut and then we sat down for dinner. Dinner was a pumpkin soup with bread, salad, rice with enchilada casserole and an applesauce cake for dessert. The crew puts on a presentation while serving which is fun. I managed a half bowl of soup, small scoop of rice and enchilada only. After dinner headed outside for another presentation and then up to see the AMC acid rain monitoring station. Then went out to watch the sunset and then headed off to bed. Eating like this is not sustainable. If I can¢t start eating better soon, I¢ll probably take off the four days after the zero coming up. It¢s very frustrating not knowing what the deal is. It seemed like things were getting better at the end of the triple zero but now I don¢t know. At least the next two sections are only two days long so it¢s also fairly easy to bail out if needed. Steps 18600Weather Forecast: