Date: 2005-08-31
From:  Madison Hut

To: Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: fog

"Good Morning! Here is the weather report from Mt. Washington. Tropical storm Katrina is going to hit us today. We will have rain and wind. It's going to be an exciting day. Have a great hike!" This is what we were greated with this morning from the hut croo. What I can't understand is how 13 experienced NOBO's can have a collective brain fart. For some reason we all were dumber than a bag of hammers this morning as you will soon see. Longhaul was first out, before the weather report. Others drifted out in ones and twos. Some of us still had work for stay to do so by 8:00 there were only seven of us left. Mouth and Thrifty left followed shortly by Touk. The last to leave were Gypsy, Snowman, Tink, and myself. We were above treeline, in the clouds, with wind and rain. A little wind and rain, but that was soon to change! We had a 600 foot climb before we hit the top of Mt. Madison. None of us was prepared for what we were about to encounter. The wind was blowing pretty good on the way up but no more than when we did the Humps, way back in Tennessee. The rain wasn't coming down that hard yet but I did remove the glasses again. Same situation as the other day. I could see better without them. We hit the summit of Mt. Madison, Snowman in the lead, followed by Gypsy, Tink, and then myself. The wind seemed stronger as we began to traverse the ridgeline. It was slow going as it was, due to the rocky terrain, now wet, the rain, and the wind. After awhile all hell broke loose. The wind was roaring and the rain was coming in sideways, a stinging and sometimes painful rain due to it's force. Sustained winds had to be at least 40 miles an hour with gusts of up to 60 miles an hour. Each step was a chore, trying to find the right foot placement and stay upright at the same time. The four of us bunched up so we could help one another, if neccesary. You couldn't hear a thing the wind was howling that loudly. Communication consisted of shouting within inches of one another. The only thing that had to be said was, "Keep moving! We have to get below treeline!" Little did we know treeline was still in the future. The wind. What can I say about the wind, except that it was strong, constantly blowing, and coming from right to left. I figure I am around 175 to 180 pounds. One gust came up and literally blew me off my feet! This was from a solid standing position, not from a walking stance. I was knocked onto my back and it took a bit to stand back up because the wind was acting as a paperweight. Tink, what can I say about Tink. She weighs nothing as it is and she was getting knocked around like a rag doll. I'll not tease her anymore about her pack weight because today, that pack weight kept her from sailing of the mountain. At one point she was actually knocked sideways for about 20 feet before she was stopped by Snowman, who was coming toward her from a different angle. We kept plodding along, one baby step after another, until we started to feel the wind lessen slightly. We were getting close to treeline! Three hours, to go a mile and a half! A little while later we hit a spot where there was only a little wind and believe it or not, Gypsy was munching on wild blueberries. Here we are, in the middle of a tropical storm, picking and eating wild blueberries! Insanity runs rampant amongst us! We did make it below treeline and it was the difference between night and day. Just a regular rainy day, no big deal. We took a breather and headed toward Pinkham Notch. Round two of the fun and games begin. Because of all the rain the trail was a real river! Ankle deep all the way. The streams were raging and we had to wade across them also. Water was coming down the mountain from everywhere, there was so much runoff!m We did make it to Pinkhams Notch in one piece, as well as all the other NOBO's. We all agreed that the experience was scary, more than scary, and that we were stupid for having tried it. Something that will not be soon forgotten! Now for the bright light in an otherwise dim day. I got to see Skirt again. I had hiked a lot with her last year and she was at Pinkhams Notch. She knew I was coming so I had her paged when I got there. It was so good to see her again! She offered to take us all into town later that afternoon. Enter, bright spot number 2. Tink also had a friend there and she offered to put us up for the night at her place. Thank you, Kat! Skirt hauled us to Kat's where we got cleaned up. From there, Skirt and Kat's mom (Kat was still at work) took us to a place to eat where we sat and relaxed for the first time today. After dinner, Skirt dropped us off and we made plans to hook back up in a couple of days, when, I got to Gorham. Thanks so much, Skirt! Kat's mom dished us up some ice cream and we watched TV till midnight. The hospitality extended us was fantastic and much appreciated! Hopefully, tomorrow won't be quite as exciting!