Date: 2017-07-07
From: Stealth camp on Webster Cliffs, Whites, NH

To: Madison Springs Hut, NH
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

There I was, having my breakfast in my tent just after 5, when I hear the clicking of trekking poles on rock. It was Chef Boyardee, whom I had seen yesterday about 30 minutes back on the trail where he'd set up his hammock. I got going about an hour later, at 6:26. It was a day that should have been about the hike and the 6,000 feet of climbing, but food and water dominated. Firstly, I had used up all my water the night before. I woke up very thirsty. The next water was going to be nearly 5 miles away, at Mizpah Hut, after the climbs of Mt Webster and Mt Jackson. I spent a lot of that five miles thinking of water, lemonade, Coke, etc. but I made good time, and survived until Mizpah. When I got there, it was about 9. I got water, and asked about leftovers from breakfast. There was a large bowl of blueberry and coconut oatmeal. I ate it all - about six helpings I'd guess. It was free of charge. I also bought and ate all their cinnamon rolls (3). I went back on the trail feeling much better. The long climb along the ridge to Mt Washington continued. In fairness to the ATC, the AT skipped peaks like Eisenhower. I arrived at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, which is 1.4 miles down from Mt Washington. It was a busy spot. There I ate another cinnamon roll a SOBO had given me. I also ate a Snickers bar, a square of coffee cake, and a bowl of home-made mushroom soup. The trail up to the peak was through a boulder field and almost every step was tricky. The usual blazes were gone, replaced by cairns of rocks. Clouds came and went. I made it in good time to the top, if you discount the half-hour I spent uploading my journal entries for the last three days, when I discovered that I had a good signal. That may have been because we could see the Breton Woods hotel below us, where the US and the U.K. and maybe others agreed to some currency rules, including the linking of the US dollar to gold, way back in 1944. The Mt Washington peak is at 6,288 feet, the second highest peak on the AT after Clingman's Dome down in North Carolina. As there's a road to it, there were lots of tourists there. I had to queue to get a picture of me with the summit marker. I went to the snack bar and had a real nightmare combination: two ice cream bars, a bag of Doritos, and two slices of pizza, all washed down by a Gatorade. I headed out into the chilly afternoon with my rain jacket on, but quickly shed it as I worked my way down the rock field on the northern face of Mt Washington, with the cog trains going by me regularly, passengers waving. There's apparently a tradition of hikers mooning the train. I opted not to do that. Call me weak. The rest of the day, from about 4 to 7:30, was all about getting over several more peaks to reach Madison Springs Hut. There was gorgeous scenery, with one deep valley to our east containing a small dark lake (reminiscent of Glengariff in Kerry). There was a small snowfield still visible on one slope. The rocks were omnipresent, but at least they were the rounded variety for the most part. Where they weren't, I forgave them, in view of the scenery and the sunshine. I met Papa, an older SOBO with two big elaborately-carved walking sticks; Mix, a slow-moving older chap heading to Madison also, as well as several other day hikers heading towards Mt Washington. Eventually I crested a ridge and there was the hut, a couple of hundred feet below. Chef Boyardee was already there, awaiting his free food. I got a bunk, and then had an enormous dinner of chicken, potatoes, and broccoli, with all the lemonade my little heart could desire. There was apple and peach cobbler for dessert. I'm in my bunk, and I can hardly move. Tipperary