Date: 2004-08-20
From: Mizpah - AMC Hut

To: Madison Springs - AMC Hut
Miles today: 11.8

Northbound High PointMileage Countdown: -326.8Today I was going over the highest point in the northern part of the AT, Mt Washington, and was going to walk nearly 12 miles. So I was expecting a long day. I was the first one up from breakfast and was out the door before 7:30. I wanted to be on top of Mt Washington by noon, so I could have a good lunch before my 1 o'clock date on the weather cam. I also wanted to bag three peaks that are slightly off the Trail.The walk up to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut went very well, even though it was strenuous, rising above treeline within an hour of when I started. That hut is right below the first peak I wanted to bag, Monroe. It was only 10 o'clock and I was an hour from Mt Washington, so I dropped my pack at the hut, scrambled up Monroe, got back to the hut and had some pancakes, all in time to leave again before 11.From Lakes of the Clouds Hut I could almost see to the top of Washington, but the very summit was covered in clouds. As I climbed, the air grew colder and wetter, and the wind blew stronger. By the time I was within a quarter mile of the top I could barely see from one cairn to the next (cairns are used to mark the Trail above treeline), and was nearly being blown off my feet. When I finally reached the top I was feeling exhilerated from fighting the elements, but glad to be inside.After eating a filling lunch and taking care of email it was time for my appearance before the weather cam. I put on my rain jacket, more because it is bright yellow and should show up in the fog on the camera than for any practical reason. But when I went outside I was glad I had it on. While I was eating, the fog had turned into a driving rain. I got on camera a couple minutes before the appointed time, but was getting soaked so only stayed there about 5 minutes altogether. Did anyone see me?Then, I started down. The rain was still coming down hard, but I figured that it would abate as soon as I went down a little. Not quite! In fact it kept coming harder for a while, then settled in to a steady downpour. By the time I had decided the rain wasn't going away, I was completely soaked from the waist down. With the temperatures probably around 50 (The high for the day on top was forecast to be 54.), even my hands were getting cold. After walking for half an hour or so, I realized that I wasn't getting warmed up from the exercise of the descent, and in fact was beginning to feel shivers coming on. I was probably as close to hypothermia as I was on those two blustery wet days back in March. Finally I overcame the urge to just keep pushing on, found a boulder to screen me a bit from the wind and rain, and put on my rain pants (first time while northbound, I think), a thin fleece top and my gloves. Ten minutes later I was comfortably warm, and enjoying my hike again. In a little while I caught up with Tree Frog and had a nice walk into Madison Hut with him as the weather slowly cleared.By the time we got to the hut it was after 6, having taken over 5 hours to navigate barely 6 miles from the summit. I had no reservation at the hut, so was hoping one of the guests had cancelled, or at last a work-for-stay opportunity. (Work for stay is usually offered to two thru-hikers per hut each night, in exchange for helping the hut 'Croo' (White Mountainese for 'crew') in exchange for food and a place to sleep.) Well, no one had cancelled, and there were already three thru-hikers there waiting. I was concerned about where I was going to spend the night, since there wasn't any good place to camp nearby, and the nearest shelter couldn't be reached before dark.But I was offered work-for-stay along with the other three. In fact thru-hikers kept coming in for the next hour, ending up at ten or so, and were all granted work-for-stay (If you think about it, the Croo had no choice, since we had no place to go.). It was almost like a thru-hiker party after the regular guests had left the dining room and we were allowed to eat. The food, as at all huts, was simple but plentiful.But, I found that work-for-stay brought out the best and the worst in hikers. There is one pair of hikers who were clearly taking advantage of the system. They are fast hikers, but decided to go slow through the Whites to give a couple of their friends a chance to catch up with them. They have been hiking ahead of the other hikers near them and getting into huts first, so getting all the WFS opportunities. And today, their friends finally caught them, and are here as well. These four, and a couple of others, were very critical of the way that AMC runs the huts, particularly in regard to work-for-stay. And it seems that the more the hiker is taking advantage of the situation, the more critical he/she is. (I do have to acknowledge that one of the fast guys was an enthusiastic worker who helped out a lot, and one of the worst complainers was a hard but begrudging worker. But the rest of the complainers got by on as little work as they could.) It troubled me that thru-hikers should have such a sense of entitlement just because they have accomplished the unusual feat of walking 1800 miles.4000' Club - Peaks Bagged: 2 (Monroe, Washington); Peaks Skipped: 2 (Jefferson, Adams); Peaks Left: 8