Date: 2004-08-10
From: US 302 at Crawford Notch, NH

To: Day 114: Lakes of the Clouds Hut, NH
Miles today: 11.2

On AT Day 114 Hot Chocolate and I got up at 4:30 a.m. (due to my error, the alarm failed to go off!), rushed through breakfast and sped to the trailhead where I was able to start my hike by 7:00 a.m. I was in a hurry since, despite the fact that I only had 11.2-miles to go to reach the AMC¢s Lakes of the Cloud Hut, I knew the day would include a lot of difficult climbing and I was worried that I might arrive after the Hut¢s ¢Dungeon¢ (the only place to camp near the summit) would be full ¢ it turns out this worry was unfounded¢¦ The weather was great all day, beginning with temperatures in the low 60¢s, dropping to the low to mid-50¢s on some of the early mountains, rising to the low 70¢s by early afternoon and ending by a drop to the mid-50¢s again by early evening ¢ all under partly cloudy skies.The 3.3-mile, 2,600-foot climb up and along the Webster Cliffs to the 3,910-foot summit of Mount Webster was challenging and beautiful, albeit a bit scary in places as I had to scale some surprisingly difficult (especially with my heavy pack) rock faces. Once at the summit I had my morning snack, took some pictures and set out on the relatively easy 1.4-mile ridgeline trek to the 4,052-foot summit of Mount Jackson and from there another 1.7-miles to the Mizpah Hut and Neuman Tentsite.I ate lunch just north of these AMC-run facilities and had a nice chat with the Neuman Tentsite caretaker who was loaded down with a wood axe and a large pick axe on HER way to do some trail work further up on Mount Clinton. After eventually passing this rather impressive young woman, I completed the 0.8-mile, 500-foot climb to the 4,310-foot summit where shortly thereafter the AT joins the famed Crawford Path as it completes its mostly above tree line trek to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut and eventually the summit of Mt Washington.In route to the Hut, my 11.2-mile goal for the day, I met a couple of SOBO AT through hikers, one of which had his arm in a sling due to an injury he suffered on the trail in ME. This revelation was a real confidence deflater for me! This last portion of my hike also included some moderate climbs to Mount Eisenhower, Mount Franklin and Mount Monroe, in each case turning off just short of the summit that can be reached by a loop trail. Given my concerns over time, I elected to skip all of these non-AT summit hops, rationalizing that they were Blue Blaze alternate routes and as such I was ¢bound¢ to stick to the official White Blaze trail. Presumably, if I do in fact return to re-hike in these wonderful mountains, I can include any or all of these additional summits.Just as I was nearing the loop trail to the summit of Mount Monroe, a married couple who were also through hiking the AT passed me. In addition to the fact that they were obviously young, tall and in good shape (both had already hiked the PCT and this was the second AT through hike for the husband), they were in a rush to get to the shelter so they could apply for ¢work for stay¢ and thus be fed by the AMC¢s ¢Croo¢ and be allowed to sleep on the floor in the dining/common room.When I eventually got to the lovely Lakes of the Clouds Hut, located at the 5,000-foot point on the western slope of Mount Washington, it was already 4:15 p.m., but I was still the only one who had so far asked to stay, for $8, in the ¢Dungeon.¢ After seeing the 8x8 foot concrete floor, rock walled ¢Emergency Facility,¢ I was not too worried that there would be a rush to fill the remaining five wooden bunks. Despite its dingy appearance, the Dungeon did have a steel table on which to cook and a small window in one wall and one in the heavy steel door to supply light. My bunk even had a three-inch thick mattress, and I got to use the Hut¢s well-equipped bathroom and potable water source. Compared to many of my other sleeping arrangements earlier in my AT hike, this was pretty good.The only real negative was the noise as the Dungeon was located directly under the Hut¢s dining room from where I could easily hear the scrapping of tables and chairs well into the evening. Luckily at this altitude, my radio worked great so I was able to listen to music while I cooked and ate my dinner and then read my novel. I was happy, but just as the sun was going down I went outside to take a picture and discovered that the weather had changed rather dramatically. No longer did we have a clear view of the summit under partly cloudy skies, now there was increasingly dense fog clouds and growing wind. As I went back to my secure sleeping quarters, I began to worry about Mount Washington¢s famously harsh weather. By morning I discovered that my worries were justified¢¦