Date: 2018-10-05
From: U.S. rte 302

To: Mount Washington 
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

I was up at 4am to start my last day of hiking with Hugs. The whole thing is so bittersweet. Earlier we drove to the top and descended Mount Washington. Today we will climb up to summit Mount Washington. We will also knock out Mt Webster, Mount Jackson, and Mount Pierce along the way. These are big endeavors, but Hugs is up for it, and I¢m excited to have my hiking partner back!  We started this day with our headlamps on. Going UP! I remember looking back asking Hugs how her body is feeling. She replied ¢good¢! Yay! A few days off and a trip to the ER has her heading in the right direction. It¢s a shame she already bought her plane ticket home... today is for sure the end of our adventures on the A.T.  So, feeling good, we climbed Mount Webster 3910ft above sea level. There was more bouldering, but things were much more dry today than they had been. It was a challenging climb. At one point all I could hear was myself breathing, along with one lone bird whistle in the distance.  The sun came up during that first climb and quickly this day was all about the views! By the time we started our ascent of Mount Jackson Hugs had taken the lead. That¢s the hiker I know!  Mount Jackson is 4052ft elevation. The views just kept coming! We would find ourselves in and out of pine forest, then onto ledges with a view that just left us marveling at this great land. Mountain sides of evergreen with big splashes of red and gold. Autumn in the Whites is like a million dollar painting!We spent a good amount of time on top of Mount Jackson. The Gray jay¢s were up there. They ate crackers right out of our hands! There were mountain mice scurrying around picking up any crumbs the birds dropped. It¢s possible they were Shrews. I have a hard time differentiating. Whatever they are, I couldn¢t believe how bold they were! We descended Mount Jackson and stopped at Mizpah Hut for lunch. The woodwork is incredible here too. I¢m so impressed with craftsmanship! We ate our own lunch we had packed, but I bought a brownie for dessert. All of their goodies are homemade, and this brownie was gourmet quality!  With an overly full belly I started up Mount Pierce. The views just kept coming! Every now and then I just stop to take it all in. The sun was warm on Mount Pierce and it felt good.  We had been eyeballing Mount Washington for a few miles. Now the time has come to begin our final ascent. We stayed together most of the day and this would be no different. We started UP. Mount Washington is pretty much all rocks and boulders. There is no real ¢path¢. We hike from cairn to cairn until we reach the top. About half way up is Lake In The Clouds Hut. This Hut is closed for the season, but it literally sits beside a lake that just happens to be on the ascension of Mount Washington. It¢s beautiful. Papa Big Swig and Big Kahuna were waiting for us at the visitors center on the summit. We had to be there by 4:45pm because at that time everybody with a vehicle is directed off the mountain. No exceptions. At 3:30pm we had 1.8 miles to go. Straight UP a steep grade incline, 100% on rocks. We can do this! We were moving! Both of us found ourselves gasping for air from time to time, so sometimes we¢d take a quick breather and just look around. Then we¢d hustle up again towards that 6288ft summit. With 0.3 miles to go I began to peter out. I can easily jog 1.8 miles, but hiking uphill at that elevation took its toll on me. I felt dizzy. My heart was pounding. I just had to stop. Hugs continued on while I recovered.  After a minute or two I was back to normal. My energy returned and I reached the summit with about 4 minutes to spare. I walked into the visitor center and gave a high five to my partner. This has been a slice of life!  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?