Date: 2012-08-02
From: Osgood Campsite

To: Lakes of the Clouds AMC Hut
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

We got off to a slow start today. Everything was wet from the rain yesterday and the additional rain overnight. My stomach felt queasy as I began the wretchedly long climb up Mt. Madison. I felt exhausted by the time I even reached the treeline, and the treeline was only about the halfway marker. Even beyond the treeline, the peaks and false summits of Mt. Madison just kept coming. For most people, the climb is probably rewarded with superb views, but heavy fog stole our reward today. In typical New England fashion, the descent from Mt. Madison to Madison Springs AMC Hut was almost as painful as the climb as the trail went over jagged rocks the entire way. I had a bad morning, and Silver Surfer found himself in the unusual position of having to wait for me at the hut. We stopped there for water and a break.Fortunately, the terrain and weather both improved beyond the hut. The range was as high as Mt. Madison, but the trail was more graded. The big prize of the day, Mt. Washington, seemed to take forever in coming, not that I minded too much since the scenery was exceptional along the way. After Clay Mountain (not sure how Clay got put in the with the Presidents), the climb of Washington itself began. I took the wrong trail at one of the junctions, and, since all of the trails are marked by similar-looking cairns, I ended up going 0.7 miles before realizing my mistake. I crossed the cog railroad too soon and ended up on the western slope well below the summit. I kept wondering why the trail wasn't making a cut toward the summit but just kept seeming to stay level (a level trail should have been a big clue that I was not on the AT). I had to backtrack to the trail junction. The worst part was that I was afraid that Silver Surfer, who had been behind in the afternoon, would pass me, assume I had kept jetting, and would keep going himself. Fortunately, I caught him right at the summit. Even though I was rushing to try to retake Silver Surfer, I did have to stop in several spots to take-in the incredible view of Tuckerman Ravine. Silver Surfer and I had a nice, long break on the summit. Of course, we had to wait in a long line of cog railroad riders, car drivers, and day hikers to get our photos made, but we did. And, even though the previous statement probably sounds a bit through-hiker snobbish, the truth to the matter is that Silver Surfer and I thoroughly enjoyed the Visitors Center and cafeteria. I was worried that we had arrived way too late for work-for-stay here, even hearing the rumors that Lakes of the Clouds takes a very high number of through-hikers to discourage them from stealth-camping above the treeline. I arrived right as the dinner program was beginning for the guests, so we simply had to wait to even ask for work-for-stay until the kitchen got through the dinner rush. The manager was very kind, though, and accepted us while talking to us through the kitchen window. We joined a large group of GAME hikers. Frankly, they were pretty crazy and certainly looked like they had been hiking for 1,800 miles. They were fun guys, though -- one even took his air mattress to one of the ponds and used it as a float. He was pretty well soaked by the end of the experiment, but got a good story out of it. We ate like kings with the leftovers and other extra food the manager had in the fridge. But, we also worked pretty hard doing dining room clean-up, cleaning all of the burners of the stove, and defrosting the freezer (Silver Surfer and I are two for two on that particular task). A couple of the GAME hikers got to do a Q&A for the guests as their work-for-stay. I will admit I was jealous, especially when scrubbing giant iron stove burners encrusted in grease, but, then again, they've earned it. Now I am off to sleep on the dining room floor. We have to be up early to make way for breakfast. The GAME hikers all hung their food bags from the rafters as a joke, but, after doing mouse trap duty at Carter Notch, it may not be a bad idea.