Date: 2005-09-10
From: Above treeline Mt. Washington

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: few clouds

This has been a long day. Let's start with last night. It was like a dream come true to tent up on Washington. Don't worry, it was fully low impact, 100% leave no trace. The climate was wild up above 5000 feet. The wind whipped all around us in spurts. Low clouds cut through our low rocky sight. Well above treeline we could see for miles in all directions. Blaze, Dreddy B and Sampson were set up next to us and we all watched the sun set. Blaze played his guitar and the whole mountain was ours tonight. As the sun sank behind a ridge the cold really set in. Everyone got in tents and prepped for a night upon a giant mountain. Wind blasted the walls of the tent at times but Mileage and I were well prepared and slept comfortably. We went out just before bed and it was crazy out there. Dark mountains with fast moving clouds going right through us. I peaked out to see some of the sunrise and whole outer rain shell was frozen stiff. It must have been some big time weather out there. It was super cold so I crawled back into my warm bag and slept again. Easily my favorite night of camping on the Trail!      This morning's break down was pretty rough. Once out of our tents we started seeing Mt. Washington's famous wind and cold weather. Everyone was feeling it and I had to put Mileage's spare socks on my hands for warmth. We broke down fast and each ate a muffin. I was too cold to drink water and Mileage's hydration system was frozen. We were on the ridge by 7:00 A.M. and dealing with the colest, windiest weather yet in The Whites. It cleared up a few hours later and the sun came out.      Our first stop was the Madison Hut where we made some schedule plans and drank hot chocolate with Blaze and Dreddy. Next we climbed Mt. Madison which has a summit that comes to a perfect point. We all hung out there and talked to some Euros for a while. From there we stayed above treeline for many more miles and did some bone jarring downs. The lava rock tore up our shore and ripped the front of my sole off. As the altitude dropped we eventaully started seeing trees again and even seom soil. You start to miss that above treeline where it is only rock and gravel.      Mileage and I stopped after a 3,000' drop in major pain. My knees were throbbing and her feet were really sore. We should have been doing the big miles in Virginia instead of The Whites. Anyway, we made lunch. Two bagels, mashed potatoes for Mileage. Teryaki chicken rice for me. From our lunch spot we did a pretty easy five mileage to the Pinkham Notch camp. The place was swarming with tourists but more importantly a home style restaurant. Blaze and Dreddy had a huge mail drop and they gave us a lot of good food. Treetrunks then walked up to us and gave us even more. Nice! Free resupply. Mileage and I sprung for the dinner and got our money's worth. It was okay and I snuck some out in a bag and gave it to my friends. Yes, I'll get busted but they didn't seem to care. I was slightly embarrased but it was for a good cause.      We regrouped and set back out. It was dark now so we all had our lamps on. Les than a mile in we found some sandy campsights set beside a nice brook. We are camped with the same group tonight and we are having a great time in The Whites. We will be in Maine in just a few days.       Piker