Date: 2005-09-11
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Pinkham Notch, NH 16
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Started @ Madison HutDestination: Pinkham Notch, NH 16Miles today: 5.9Total Miles: 1851.1Stayed in motelDay 184Toto slept on 2 benches that he put together and I slept on a table last night and we slept better than we had slept in the bunks in the other huts. The bunk mattresses are not that great. We waited for the guests to be finished with their breakfast and then we were able to eat. Our work was to sweep the floor and clean some of the bunks with hot soapy water and then bleach water after sweeping them out. I am $.46 richer after sweeping out the bunks. Finally, around 9:30 we were free to go. By that time the sun was shining and it was warmer than it was. I started out with my fleece on but it did not take long to shed them. We had a hike up over rocks to Mt. Madison and it was hard to follow where the trail went. Large stacks of rocks, called cairns, mark the trails, and when the trail is the AT there are usually white blazes painted on rocks on the trail and the cairns. When we came to intersections where the trail meets another trail it is not always easy to know which one to follow. The AMC names every trail in the Whites and the name of the trail that the AT follows changes at times. Sometimes the white blazes are not painted as often as we think they should be and further confuses us. We took a wrong trail down a mountain today and by the time we realized it we were on the wrong side of the mountain. We had no choice but to hike back up over the rocks to the point where we took the wrong turn. After looking at the sign at the junction of the 2 trails I could see where it was but I just did not take the time to study it the first time. Toto kept saying that the trail did not feel right but I was surer we were on the right trail, even though we did not see any white blazes. We hiked over large rocks and boulders and our feet, knees, and hips were feeling every step up or down over the rocks. I had a headache which had developed sometime during the middle of the day and with each step it seemed to hurt more. We were above tree-line most of the time and when we did get below tree-line there were a few less rocks and more soft earth and sometimes pine needles to walk on but for the most part was pretty rocky and root covered still. When we got to the road that cars can take up to the summit of Mt. Washington we both had decided that if there was a car there we would ask if they could give us a ride down to Pinkham Notch and skip the 1.9 miles of hike down to it. Our bodies felt beaten up even though we had done such short trail miles plus the extra bit we did on the wrong trail. When we got to the road there was a car parked where a young couple had stopped to let their car brakes cool off after driving most of the way down from Mt. Washington. They agreed to take us to Pinkham Notch where we had planned to stay at the Joe Dodge Lodge at the AMC Visitor Center. We had planned to share a room with Toolman and Harmonica but found out it was $45 each. Another hiker, Little John, was there and had his truck and made 2 trips to Gorham to transport all 4 of us to the Royalty Inn here. The rate is good and there is a jacuzzi and inside pool for weary bones and muscles. We decided we would stay an extra night and take a zero day tomorrow since we have to pick up our winter gear and mail extra things home and do our laundry. The post office is nearby as well as an outfitter where I can pick up a new bite valve for my water bladder and there are restaurants close by where we can get good food.