Date: 2007-09-01
From: Osgood Campsite, NH

To: Lakes of the Clouds Hut, NH
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: fog

Lakes of the Clouds HutDave forgot to set the alarm so we woke up an hour later than usual and didn't get on the trail till 7:50. It is a long climb up to Madison (the first peak in the Presidential Range) but we seemed pretty fit so it took us about 2 hours to get to the bushline and another half hour or so along all the false summits to Madison Hut (AMC-operated). For a while it was clear but then the clouds rolled in and we thought we had failed in our efforts to arrange good weather in the Presidentials. Madison Hut was surrounded in swirling cloud and it was pretty cold and windy. Lots of other hikers had arrived, mostly from a side trail, and were eating their thin tasteless soup which we did too, and enjoyed it too. We set off at 11:30 for Mt. Washington and on the way the cloud lifted, the wind dropped and the sun came out. We had views all around. There is a road to the top as well as a train and we could see the cars bumper to bumper winding up the hill. Being a long weekend, there were people everywhere and as we got closer to Mt. Washington, the crowds got bigger. If you'd put them all on the trail with their arms held out they'd have touched each other! The train passed us going down and I am proud to say we did not indulge in the traditional action of thru hikers when the train passes (this involves "mooning" the passengers). The train is a "cog" railway, very steep. There were about 3 trains, each with one carriage. One thing we had a bit of trouble with was that the maps were badly out of date, for example they show the trail going around the windward side of Mt. Jefferson and it actually goes around the other side. Also some of the signage seemed less than focused on the AT. Fair enough, I suppose the AT came along after these other trails were well established but a bit disconcerting if you are trying to follow the AT.We arrived at the summit at about 4pm after climbing 2160m (plus 1406m down) and what a crowd there was! There was a line out both the gents and the ladies, and when I finally got in I was faced with all these women primping at the mirrors and gawking at me (sweaty, wet "hat hair", unkempt, smelly slept-in-looking clothes - you know). I don't think any of them had ever seen a hiker before, and certainly not up that close.We had to wait our turn to take a picture of each other at the summit marker! All this was a bit much and we left very quickly for Lakes of the Clouds Hut which we had seen just down the ridge, about an hour away. We were going to try for work-for-stay again. There are few (read "no") options for hikers in this area to avoid the huts. The hut croo welcomed us and our work was to be making ourselves available to entertain the guests by answering questions about thru-hiking. This was a great idea, we thought, especially me, who had admitted to the croo that I wasn't going to give great value that evening. We had climbed over 2000 meters that day and I was tired. At about 8pm when we finally got to eat there was very little left except ham and bread. Oh well, that is what you get when begging and beggars can't be choosers! We, however, had our own food as we didn't know the ropes, and in hindsight it would have been better to have gone off to some quiet corner outside and cooked our own meal, then we would not have had to carry it. But we didn't know at that stage that the food would be so sparse. After eating and entertaining the few guests who were interested, we were allocated tables to sleep on. Some guests stayed up pretty late playing cards and then one of the hikers snored loudly all night so I can't say it was the best night for sleeping.