Date: 2007-08-30
From: Osgood Tentsite

To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

Today was another relatively short mileage but very strenuous day. The infamous climb over the 5 Wildcat peaks is often said to be the toughest extended climb on the entire AT.I had tented on a platform at the Osgood Tentsite last night along with Kilgore Trout and his friend E-Rock, an '06 thru-hiker, and ShadowM Numbtoes and Rhode Island Red. We all left about the same time and headed for the AMC's Pinkham Notch Camp. We all arrived about the same time and ordered food from the deli. I also ordered a sandwich to take with me to eat on the trail. By 11.15 Shadow, Numbtoes and Red had left to hitch into Gorham. I headed across the road and started up the infamous Wildcat climb behind Kilgore Trout and E-Rock.The trail was level for the first half mile as it skirted around Lost Lake. Although it was level it was anything but easy with lots of large rocks and roots to climb over and around. Then the trail turned abruptly left and headed staight up the side of Wildcat. There were no switchbacks or graded trail, just rock steps and scrambles up rock slabs and over ledges. The grade was steep and continuous and often required the use of handholds to get up and over ledges and tock slabs.At several places we were taken along the edge of small cliffs overlooking the valley and had great views looking down on Pinkham Notch and across and up at Mt Washington, Tuckerman's Ravine and the Mt Madison ridgeline we climbed down yesterday. By early afternoon haze was building rapidly and the peak of Washington was going in and out of the clouds; clearly it would be an afternoon of thundershowers.It took Trout, E-Rock and Me about 3 hours to complete the 3 mile climb up to the summit station of the Wildcat gondola. When we arrived the picnic table was full of hikers who had just riden up on the gondola to slackpack back down to Pinkham. There was Gypsy Spirit, Mellow Yellow, Trail Pooh and 2 others I did not know. They were debating whether or not to walk anywhere or just ride back down on the gondola. At this point Mt Washington was mostly in the clouds and thunder was rolling in the distance. Trout, E-Rock and I had no choice but to continue up the trail to Wildcat Peak D.It was a rough scramble up and down over steep and rocky trail to cross the 5 peaks from Wildcat Peak D to Peak A. It took another 2 hours to complete this 2 mile stretch.Between Peak C and B we were finally caught by the full force of the thunderstorm that had been brewing over Mt Washington. The winds suddenly became very strong and gusty, the temp dropped to 48, lightning was striking regularly nearby and it began to hail stones the size of small marbles. The stones were very clear ice and hurt when they hit. It rained and hailed hard for a few minutes then the storm moved on to the NE leaving behind piles of hail up to 4" deep along the trail. It must have been a very strong storm judging from the clear ice of the hail stones but we were protected from the worst of it by the dense conifer canopy overhead on the ridgetop. The frequent lightning got a little too close at times though.It continued to rain lightly the rest of the afternoon and several more thunder cells passed by before we reached Carter Notch Hut. The wet trail was muddy and slick on the steep descent down into Carter Notch. We were completely soaked by the storm and looking forward to being able to sit in the warm hut and sleep dry on the dining room floor. Just as we arrived at the hut Torpedo showed up going SOBO, and 2 NOBO weekend hikers also arrived. I had not seen Torpedo since the day in central VA when I dislocated my ankle, although I knew she was close behind from news from other hikers. She had decided to hike the northern half of the Presidentials and Carter-Moriah Range SOBO after slackpacking the southern half of the Presidentials. It was good to see her again but I was sorry to hear that Luna had gotten off the trail in CT due to Lyme's disease.Unfortunately when we got to the hut the Croo told us that their work for stay slots were all full and they did not want to clutter up their dining room with 6 more wet hikers so we would have to leave and try to find a campsite as best we could. This was very dissappointing sice the storm was far from over and the very deep narrow notch had very little level ground on which pitching a tent was even possible. Besides, camping within a half mile of a hut is illegal. This meant that for practical purposes we were being told to climb back up to the neighboring peak and camp up there in the middle of a strong thunderstorm. Every other hut I had been to allowed thru-hikers to pay $8 and sleep on the dining room floor but for reason this Croo refused to offer this, knowing there were few legal camping options available, especially in this kind of weather. They had only 5 paying guests in the hut and a 25-bunk hut standing empty neaby but they refused to allow us to use it. Finally I asked if I could buy a bunk for the night, no meals, and gldly paid the $30 to avoid camping illegally or having to hike aother mile up to the top of the next mt to camp in a storm. The Croo finally allowed Torpedo to do work for stay, after telling us earlier there were no more slots left, but Trout and E-Rock declined to pay that much for bunk space and left to go look for tent options.This situation exemplified why thru-hikers dislike the AMC hut system. The reservation system prevents thru-hikers from being able to get space at most of the huts due their usually being fully reserved months in advance and AMC's policy of not maintaining space for thru-hikers. Camping is prohibited within a half mile of all huts and no alternative facilities such as tent platforms have been built near most of the huts. A total of 2 slots are offered to thru-hikers each night at each hut for work for stay but on most nights there are many more hikers than the 2 slots so it is up to the individual Hut Master to decide how many additional hikers they will allow to stay, and where, and how much $ to charge. At most huts the Croos understand the lack of options for thru-hikers and allowed us to pay for space on the large dining room floors. Why the Croo at Carter Notch refused this option, especially given the weather and steep local terrain, was difficult to understand. The inconsistent response thru-hikers receive from hut to hut makes it very difficult to plan a thru-hike because it seems that your options vary radically depending on the whims of the individual hut Croos'. The AMC's lack of interest in providing alternatives for the large numbers of thru-hikers passing thru the Whites each summer continues to be a source of real concern to all hikers. Consequently most thru-hikers leave the White Mts with an intense dislike for the hut system and policies, though a general appreciation for the hospitality and good will of most of the Croos. My 1 bad experience with the AMC was at Carter Notch Hut.