Date: 2018-09-02
From: Webster Cliffs Campsite

To: Madison Hut
Miles today: 15.8

The sun hit my tent from the other side of the mountain. I was cozy in my small stealth spot. I had a big day ahead of me. I would be hiking over the presidential mountains today. Most of them are over treeline and you can't camp for 12 miles. I got up and ate peanut butter and raisin bran for breakfast. I mixed instant coffee with hot cocoa for an extra energy boost. I packed up my tent then headed out at 8:30 am.The initial climb was over Webster cliffs. Some areas were sheer rock faces that I had to climb up with my hands. The views of the valley were spectacular though. I kept climbing until I was in the Alpine region. Trees gave way to large exposed mountains. The mountains were composed of white granite where they got their name. I passed several people hiking since it was Labor day weekend. The mountain was full of day hikers. I hiked with authority and most people stopped to let me through. If I had to wait for everyone that would add an hour to my day. I stopped at the Mitzpah hut for soup and coffee. They had free breakfast leftovers which I devoured. I pushed on to the presidential range. The range seemed to go on forever. I stopped and talked to a day hiker about hiking the range in the winter. Apparently it's easier when you don't have to hike over boulders. With 10 feet of snow you can just glide right over them. At the lakes of the clouds hut I got minestrone soup. It really hit the spot. From there it was a 1.4 mile ascent to Mt Washington. The trail up became small boulders. I had to skip from rock to rock and it was slow going. At the top was a zoo. There were tons of people on the summit. People were driving and taking a train to the top. At the summit sign there was a line to take a picture next to it. I really didn't feel like waiting in line. Valc and 50 cent were trying to find a campsite off trail because they didn't want to pay the AMC. I pushed forward to try to make it to the Madison spring hut.  The trail turned into loose boulders and I went slow. It felt like Pennsylvania except that trail gave you a break from the rocks. It was mostly rocks the entire way to Madison Hut. Luckily the rocks were not slick and surprisingly my feet were not in pain from the constant pounding. I could see the valley below but also a huge dark cloud coming my way. The area darkened as the clouds started blowing past. The wind picked up but it wasn't that hard. I came to a junction that took me down a wrong path since the cairns went in several directions. Luckily Stretch showed up at pointed out the right direction. We hiked a mile down to the Madison Hut.The Hut was crowded when we arrived. The croo had just served dinner. Stretch and I went in and asked if we could do a work for stay. They were happy to have the extra help. We waited until everyone finished eating then it was our turn. They fed us stuffed pasta shells with cheese. I had about 3 plates worth. It was so good. We also ate pretzel bread and chocolate muffins. I was stuffed. Our chore was to deep clean the drying racks to get them ready for the seasonal close. The croo was really animated and really enjoyed working at the hut. They worked 11 days on and 3 days off. The AMC charged them $90 a month for food and board. The time got close to 9:30 pm which is lights out time at the hut.Tonight I'm sleeping in a warm hut listening to the wind howl outside.