Date: 2018-08-14
From: Mizpah Spring Hut

To: The Perch 
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

It rained again last nigh,  but this time our tent did not fare so well on the wooden platform. Cole¢s side of the tent was soaking wet. Our plan for the day was to hike only 5 miles to Lake of the Clouds Hut. Just beyond Lake of the clouds was Mount Washington, but the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms and we did not want to go over Mount Washington in a thunderstorm. Knowing that we had all day to go such a short distance, we were very very slow getting ourselves out of bed. Once we were packed up, we headed back to Mizpah hut to buy some snacks. On our last resupply I had only purchased a small fraction of the snacks that I usually get for Cole. Through this difficult section of trail I wanted both of us to carry as little as possible, and I knew there would be some food to buy in the huts. We also wanted to use our thru hiker card to get a free baked good.The employee at the counter told us that there were cookies in the oven if we didn¢t mind waiting, and that there was left over breakfast that we could help ourselves to. In the diningroom we found scrambled eggs and oatmeal with a sign that said ¢free¢. There was also an enormous pile of pancakes with a sign that said ¢Pancakes: one dollar for all you can eat¢. I paid the one dollar for Cole. First he had oatmeal and eggs and then he somehow managed to devour 17 pancakes. I¢d say I got my dollar¢s worth.When the cookies had finished baking, they were brought out to the table on a plate. A tray of burned cookies was brought out too. We were instructed to take our free cookie from the plate and then given permission to eat as many of the burnt cookies from the tray as we liked. By then Cole¢s belly was already bursting at the seams. I had only eaten eggs and oatmeal, so I had lots of room for burnt cookies.We began climbing Mount Pierce with very full stomachs! The views were clouded, but from time to time the clouds would part and reveal what was behind them. Cole said that he liked it much better when the clouds parted to show him a view rather than having a perfectly clear day. I am not sure that I agree with that, but it was pretty awesome to see what was behind the clouds as they opened up. It was like unwrapping a gift to see what was inside. Sometimes we just sat and watched and waited to see if anything would be revealed. It was an enjoyable hike. We passed numerous backpackers on their journey from Lake of the clouds to Mizbah hut. Cole came up with a name for them. Since people who camp in an RV are ¢glamping¢ he decided to call people who backpack by going from hut to hut glackpackers.... glamorous backpackers. By the time we arrived at Lake of the Clouds, the sun was holding its own and the view from the hut was outstanding. The climb up to Mount Washington looked clear and dry, but it was already past 3pm. I went inside the hut to find out what our options were.They would not take us to work for stay because it was too early in the day. The only way we could stay was to pay to sleep in a dungeon like bunk room below the hut. If we decided to climb the mountain, where could we stay? The staff member pointed on the map to the next hut where we might be able to do wfs. It was seven miles away and I was fairly certain that at the speed I had been going, I would not make it.Then the staff member gave me information that I probably should have known not to rely on. She said that there were a lot of trails off the AT that went down below tree line and that we could pick one and find or make our own stealth site. ¢What is the nearest trail we could take to do that?¢ I asked.She pointed to a trail called Sphinx which was 1.4 miles from the top of Washington. That sounded doable.¢Is lightening still in the forecast?¢¢Not lightening, just thunder.¢That statement alone should have told me to consult someone else.¢Isn¢t there always lightening with thunder?¢ Cole asked me later. Even he knew better.The signs hanging around the hut even warned, if you can hear thunder, then you are within striking distance. I guess she didn¢t read them.Her final word of misinformation ... after Mount Washington the trail isn¢t difficult. It is mostly flat.I made the decision to take advantage of the nice weather and climb Mount Washington. In retrospect, despite the way this day finally ended, I don¢t think that I would change this decision. We had clear skies and beautiful views for the entire climb...and I was happy!  As we reached the summit, the clouds moved in. We found the Mount Washington sign and took a few pictures, then moved on to the visitor centre for overpriced hotdogs. I was feeling a bit uncertain at this point about where we were headed, and so I inquired at the visitor centre if there was a place to stay on top of the mountain. Someone on Guthooks had indicated that they would let you stealth camp near or below the train tracks. That sounded odd, but it wouldn¢t hurt to ask. I was told that there was no place to stay on the summit and that it was illegal to camp above treeline. I was also told that camping on the east side of the mountain was currently prohibited.Huh?He listed off the names of a half dozen or more trails along which you could not camp. I was sure that Sphinx ran down the east side of the mountain but I did not hear it in the list.I had a strong feeling that our plan to stealth camp was not going to pan out. I tried to rush Cole with his hotdogs so that we could get moving off the mountain as quickly as possible. We filled up all of our water bottles not knowing how far we would get or if there would be a water source.Heading down off the peak of Mount Washington we were greeted with more clear skies and stellar views. It was easy to see a long way off into the distance. It was easy to see that tree line would not be easily reachable.We hiked a mile, than a mile and a half, than 2 miles and still we did not come across a trail named sphinx. It was time for a new plan.There were two options. The first was a shelter that was still a few miles ahead and 1 mile off the AT. The shelter had an overnight fee of $15 per person. The second option was to try for Madison Spring hut. The hut was only about half a mile further distance than the shelter. We would not have to leave the AT to reach it, but there was no guarantee that they would take us in.Cole did not want to waste hiking a mile off the AT and he wanted to try for the hut instead. I did not want to waste the mile either, however the shelter was a shorter distance and a sure thing. There was a possibility that we could get turned away from the hut. We would be unable to reach either destination before sunset and we only had one working headlamp, so the shorter route was preferable.I made the final decision to head for the shelter.Once we turned off the AT my heart seemed to pound a bit faster and a knot hardened in my stomach, but I said nothing to Cole. The sun was setting fast. ¢We are going to be ok bud. We¢ve got a headlamp and we can use the flashlight on my phone if necessary. We will just go really slowly and get there when we get there.¢The trail down to the shelter was not nearly as well travelled as the AT,  and in places it was hard to follow. There were also a number of rock scrambles and I was hoping beyond hope that we would not have to do that once it got dark.In the twilight we were still able to see the trail until we finally dropped down below tree line. Then it became too dark and we needed to pull out our one working headlamp. I had purchased new batteries for the other headlamp and had asked Cole to change them. Unfortunately he mistakenly took the good batteries out of the working headlamp and replaced them with the new batteries. Mistakes happen. At least we still had a light. At first I walked with the headlamp on out in front of Cole, but he said he could not see very well, so I passed the lamp back to him. He put it on his head over top of his ball cap. The brim blocked part of the light but instead of just removing the hat, he wanted to argue that the hat wasn¢t interfering with the light. We were standing in pitch dark, not far below treeline on a mountain with some of the most dangerous weather in the world and he wanted to argue about whether or not his hat was obstructing the light from the headlamp. I took the headlamp back. Two minutes later he was apologizing, removing his hat and asking for the light again. I passed it to him. From behind me all the light did was cast my own shadow directly in front of me. ¢Mom, you have to stay to one side of the trail so I can shine the light in front of you.¢¢Have you seen this trail? That is nearly impossible! I have to step where it is the safest for me to step.¢He sighed or grunted or made a ¢tuh¢ sound with his tongue whenever I didn¢t stick to one side of the trail.I took the headlamp back.We moved forward very slowly. Every little opening or water run off seemed like a trail. Finally we found a sign pointing towards the shelter and we turned. Soon we were confronted with a rocky incline blocking our way. Should we climb over it? Did the trail go that way or did we miss a turn. We had to be so close now. Maybe someone would hear us.¢Hello! Hello!¢ I called out into the dark. ¢Is there anybody there?¢ Nobody answered, but way off in the distance I was certain that I saw a quick flash of light. We stood still for a bit and gazed into the darkness. There it was again. We climbed over the rock and headed towards the light. Soon we came upon two backpackers wearing headlamps hanging out on an empty tent platform. A second platform was next to them with a tent and other gear.They offered to clear the platform for us but instead we asked for directions to the shelter. It was almost right next door, just hidden by the night.We sprawled out in the empty shelter, but then cleared one side in case any other latecomers arrived. Cole hung the food bags and we crawled into our beds. I had a phone signal so I sent Mark a message to tell him that we had successfully passed another milestone. We had summited Mount Washington and we were safe and sound, one mile off the AT.