Date: 2013-07-15
From: Lakes of the Clouds Hut, mi 1,851.7

To: Pinkham Notch- Joe Dodge Lodge
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Mt Washington was shrouded by low clouds in the early morning. It appeared as if the summit was sublimating like dry ice, the clouds heavy, spilling over the sides and into the saddles below, including the prominent saddle on which the Lakes of the Clouds Hut was precariously perched. It was about 6:00 am. An occasional beam of sun light pierced through the clouds, but only briefly. I began my slow march up the rocky AT, which is also called the Crawford Path up to the summit. A yellow warning sign, just a few tens of yards up the hill from the hut, warned hikers of rapidly changing, potentially deadly-weather conditions. A short distance further up the rocky slope, the AT skirted the shore of one of the tiny lakes, a remnant of the large tongues of ice that extended from Canada to the south, ripping up rock already tortured tectonically, like a D-9 claw through gravel. I looked back the short distance from where I came, as a shaft of early morning sun pierced through the clouds, illuminating the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. The trail was lined by a series of 6-ft tall pyramid like cairns, capped with bright white chunks of quartzite, which stood like beacons, buoys that guided the hiker in a dense sea of clouds. The clouds were so dense at times, that all you could do was trust that the cairns weren't leading over a precipitous ledge. The summit of Mt. Washington was partly cloudy when I arrived by 8am, a couple of park rangers and a meteorologist were chatting in front of the glass doors to the cafeteria. I poked around the summit a bit, and visited the observatory building where the highest wind speeds (231 mph) in the world were first recorded by a human. The world's first cog-rail, elevated on a truss at the summit , ended perfectly flat and elevated on a truss, near this observatory. Historically, when steam was the only source used to drive the train up the steep flanks of Mt Washington, it must have been frightening to wonder if the engine could suddenly lose power and accelerate down what seemed an infinite slope. In 2009, however, in California, while working on one of the many landslides along the Big Sur Coast, I had learned that even a diesel engine can stall and descend backwards out of control regardless of gearing. I was fortunately not on the Morooka (a small tractor-like carrier) when it stalled at the top of a 45 degree slope and began accelerating backwards out of control towards the highway and the steep cliffs leading to the Pacific. I learned later that miraculously no one was injured after bailing off into the brush, with exception to the driver, who apparently had faith that the Morooka would stop before careening over the cliff to the highway. The difference with the cog rail, was that it was a rack and pinion system with no other resistance to rely on (to my knowledge). If the cog were to slip or fail, the tremendous weight of the train and its passengers would be accelerated at even greater speeds down rails inclined at 25%, for some distance of about 3 miles. I asked the rangers about whether any such accidents occurred in the history of the cog rails operation, and surprisingly, very few had occurred. While on the topic of death, Mt Washington, as many hikers know, is the one peak of all along the AT, that has racked up an impressive list of fatalities over the years. The list, which gets added onto each year, is posted behind glass in the cafeteria. I noticed that there were already about a half dozen people that died in 2013, the majority being mountaineering accidents during the winter months. The weather is the single most unpredictable component that could change in a instant. Hikers have died most commonly from becoming disoriented during sudden blizzards, which led to death likely by hypothermia. I sat in the cafeteria until about noon, charging my phone and catching up on my blog. I had intended to leave much earlier, but keeping my blog up to date, I had realized, consumed a great deal of time! Shortly after 12pm, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Analog, who had just arrived, though I did not see Foxtrot. I packed up my gear and headed outside while he wasn't looking. Just outside the building, I found Chris, the man from Oregon, who I yo yo'd with for weeks about a 1000 miles to the south. Most recently, I had found him at the Hiker Hostel next to the Yellow Deli in Rutland, VT.   I said "hello". He once again acknowledged that he was shocked that I had caught up to him. I continued on my way, hiking over the official summit and down the boulder field towards Mt. Jefferson. The glacial geomorphology was similar to that of the familiar Sierra Nevadas where I had spent my earlier years hiking. Deep U-shaped glacial valleys, horns, aretes, and tarns. After the AT crossed the cog rail and began descending Mt Washington's north face, the AT traverses the edge of one of these phenomenal glacially carved U-shaped valleys called Tuckerman's Ravine. A network of trails descend down this valley, intersecting the AT and Pinkhams notch¢¦a shortcut that could save the better part of a day. The day before, as I ascended the long ridge up the Presidential Range from Crawford Notch, I had mentioned to some hikers passing southbound, my intention to hiking over Mt Washington in the afternoon and continuing on to Madison Springs Hut. The had warned me that it was not easy terrain to traverse, and they were right! From Mt Washington, the AT forms a large inverted hook, heading north to Mt Jefferson, then Adams, and Madison, before hooking south, down a long blocky ridge towards Pinkham Notch. Every foot step seemed to be on detached block, some blocks estimated to be a ton or more, were precariously perched on a fulcrum block below, causing sudden shift when weighted off center. On my way around Mt Jefferson, I caught up with a group of attractive young ladies who served as part of the "croo" at huts to the south. They were making their way toward the Madison Hut today, which was closed to thru hikers for a special staff appreciation party. I hiked along with them at first, then eventually passed them before traversing the flanks of Mt. Adams. From Thunderstorm Junction (at a prominent topographic saddle) the AT diverged from another trail, that was only visible by virtue of its large cairns. As I dropped steeply down blocky slopes to the Madison Spring Hut, I gazed at the talus flanked, steep slopes of the next mountain north of the hut, wondering where on earth the AT could possible go. From the vantage point on the opposite side of the notch, one can see a linear scar straight up the slopes behind the hut (visible by contrast in vegetation to rock), but then, there was nothing! I filtered some water from the crystal clear brook near the Madison Spring Hut, then payed 10 bucks for some baked treats, which I inhaled. After a short rest, I began hiking straight up the flank of Madison, which I suspected from the other side, to be the AT. It did not waist time with switchbacks! In about 30 minutes, I found myself gazing back south to the hut below and the distant ridges from where I came. I took a self portrait at the summit block of Mt Madison, which required some acrobatics. I set the camera on timer, balanced on a block perhaps 30-ft away, and prepared to run across a precarious chasm and scramble up to the summit block in 10 seconds. It took a couple of tries. The AT was invisible in the sea of green lichen covered blocks down the long ridge south from Madison. About three miles from the Pinkham Notch, and north of Osgood Cutoff, I spotted my second Moose, taking a leak in the woods just off the trail. I caught up to two young men from England, who I met a couple of weeks earlier. They were poaching a spot just off the trail not far from the Lodge. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take, and a hot shower and soft bed at the lodge was sounding better. At Pinkham notch, the visitor center had a small outfitter store with various snacks, and I believe freeze dried meals. I inquired at the dest about the Joe Dodge Lodge across the way. The lodge was like a college dorm. Various rooms were shared between two and four occupants, equipped with bunks and a convenient reading light and receptacle for each bed. The $60.00 included an all-you-can eat buffet in the morning. I was in! I needed a good rest before tackling the Wildcats tomorrow.