Date: 2013-07-11
From: Marty and Jan's in Conway, NH

To: Valley Way Tentsite
Miles today: 7.8

DAY 32MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 7.8MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 8.4"The things that we work the hardest for, the things that cause the most pain, are the things that pay off the most in the end."It was wonderful waking up in a bed! In the morning we got to enjoy english muffins and Jan's homemade jam. There was also watermelon which I believe is my new favorite fruit on the trail. After breakfast we packed up and Marty took us back to Pinkham Notch Visitors Center. We tried to at least give him gas money but of course he refused to take it and again just asked us to one day give it back to someone else. Again, I can't thank them enough for their wonderful hospitality.After we got dropped and went into the visitors center to organize our things, it immediately started to rain. Fantastic. We checked the weather report and decided to wait an hour to see if it would pass. It was a good decision, because it did pass. I just read and sipped some coffee on the porch to pass the time. While I was doing so, much to my surprise Turducken and Sprout walked up! I hadn't seen them since Monson! I thought they were long gone but they had apparently taken a few days off. I was glad because they seemed really nice and I was excited to get to know them. Plus it was nice having another girl around!Slips and Mutt took off first. About 30 minutes after, we finally got going too. We met a nice NoBo named Chinstrap right off the bat. We were a bit nervous about the hike up Mt. Madison to get onto the ridge of the presidentials because everyone kept saying how steep it was. One woman even said it was the worst 3 miles of her life. Quite an exaggeration. It really didn't end up being so bad. It was just like many other ascents we had done before. Maine had prepared us well The second we got above the tree line it was beautiful. Literally breath taking. I had butterflies and a stupidly wide smile on my face. I know Nightwalker felt the same too. All the mud, water, bugs, roots, rocks, mountains... all of it didn't matter anymore. This one moment right here right now made it all worth it. We were in the whites. We were up on the presidential ridge and I could see Mt. Washington across the way which we would conquer tomorrow. The mountain that made me want to do the trail. And it was great weather. The unplanned zero day we took was the best decision we could have made.As we climbed Madison above the tree line we could see Mutt and Slips up ahead. When we caught up to them they had the same stupid smiles on their faces too. It was incredible up there. Once on top of Madison and walking down the ridge the weather remained nice, but the wind picked up and the clouds started rolling up and over the ridge. I could have sat and watched it for hours. Cloud after cloud sliding up one face of the mountain and then down the other like a roller coaster. 45 mph gusts would hit us and we would have to hike while literally leaning into the wind. It was kind of fun.Eventually we started to go downhill and Madison Hut was in sight. It was odd to see this little house on top of these huge mountains surrounded by boulders and no trees. It was early. 3:00pm. The 4 of us asked about work for stay but the hut crew member said it was a little too early to take anyone in. We had assumed so. It was a beautiful hut though. It was very recently renovated.Since we couldn't stay in the hut, we would have to tent. Luckily there was a tent site relatively close but to tent, you had to go below tree-line again. We ended up having to hike steeply down 0.6 of a mile. Very steeply. I was a bit annoyed because I was not looking forward to hiking up it in the morning. The tent sites were nice but small and spread out a little so I had a tent site to myself. It was the first time I had really tented by myself with no one set up next to me. It was early but I just crawled into my tent anyways. I had delicious left overs from Marty and Jan's for dinner. Tonight seemed quieter than ever. High up in the mountains. The air was cool and crisp. I did crawl out of my tent to see the sunset on Mt. Madison though. It was too bad I had no view but the sky and mountain looked beautiful. After the sun went down it was time for bed. Mt. Washington was tomorrow