Crowds in the clouds.

Day 109 - 8/7/10
Got to eat leftovers around 7:45. I had chicken, peas, pasta, rice,
bread, and some chocolate chip cookie bar things. After I had eaten
they had me chisel away ice build-up in their refrigerators
downstairs. Did that for maybe an hour, finishing up around 9. I
didn't get to sleep until late though because they had me in the
library, and people were in there hanging out until 9:30ish. To pass
the time I started chapter 2 in a new book I've been reading, a
Western by Louis L'Amour, and even though everyone had finally left I
wasn't done the chapter and didn't want to leave it in the middle, so
I stayed up till 10:30 finishing it. Long chapter.

I woke up and was packed by 6:45, so I went downstairs and grabbed a
quick bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar. That's the only thing they'll
give you before everyone eats because they make it every day and
always have so much of it. I didn't want to wait around until everyone
had eaten for the real leftovers because by the time I'd have left it
would be 8:30-9. So I left at 7:15 and was on my way up to Washington.
It was a nice steady climb, nothing too difficult, but as the mountain
appeared when I poked above treeline it looked to be covered in a
thick swarming fog. I was worried it might stay that way and I
wouldn't get a view. I remember Bodacious had said because these
mountains are so high up they create their own weather, and that was
clearly visible from what I was witnessing.

When I made it to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, about 1.6 miles from the
summit, it still hadn't cleared, so I stopped in for some hot
beverages to give it some time. By then I was up to 5000 ft. of
elevation, so I was feeling the cold as well and could do with some
warming up. When I had left Mizpah it was really cold, 40s-50s, and
that Hut is 1200 feet lower than Clouds, plus no exposure to wind
because it's below treeline, so you can understand the need to stop. I
had some coffee mixed with hot cocoa, something I've been doing lately
when I make breakfast myself at camp. The best is the Taster's Choice
hazelnut packs mixed with the cocoa, but they don't have those at the
Huts. What they had was still good though.

After drinking that I was ready to go. It was not hard steepness, but
the wind was a challenge. It can be fierce. They even have warning
signs before you go up that Mt. Washington has the worst weather in
America and not to go up if you see it's getting bad. Luckily for me
it started to clear as I ascended, and when I reached the summit the
visibility was great. What wasn't so great was the crowds. It seemed
as if that place was an amusement park or something. There were cars
and a parking lot, trains with loads of people, a museum, a shop, and
a dining hall. It was a little too much to handle. I wanted to get out
of there and back to hiking, which would get me away from most of the
people, but I was starving and had been planning on eating at the DH
there. When I went in I bumped into The Crusher and Ichabod who I
hadn't seen since Kent, CT. I'd say at least a good 300 miles back. I
caught up with them, ate a couple lunches worth (2 hotdogs, chips,
slice of pizza, whoopie pie, a coke, and coffee), then got myself out
of there.

Leaving Washington and hiking along the presidentials is amazing. It's
hard to describe the views in a way to give them justice, but I will
say this. Sometimes you turn, look back, and are so amazed by the
beauty of these mountains that you just want to cry. It would be tears
of joy and awe. I'm serious. Even the springs and water you see up in
those mountains is beautiful, you just can't help and admire how
clean, clear, and crisp it looks. Nature's most beautiful resource.
Going through those mountains in a day was fantastic, but I know
that's not enough. They are worth several hundred return visits, at
the very least.

After a solid 6 hours above treeline going around and up those
mountains I had made it to the next Hut, Madison Spring. I stopped and
hung out, getting myself a $1 hunk of not-so-good bread. Brooklyn came
in as I was eating, and I hadn't seen him since Manchester Center in
VT. We caught up, and I also met two other NOBOs, a father and son
team named #1 son and '96. Once I felt rested I geared up for the last
few miles of the day. It was a steep uphill rocky climb over Mt.
Madison, and then just as steep and rocky heading down. I'd say the
downhill from Madison was the hardest couple miles of the day. Having
that at the end was a bit rough. I did make my goal though, Osgood
Tentsite, at around 6:30. Trashman, Ohibro, and Bodacious were here,
so I stopped and talked to them a bit before I found myself a platform
to set up on. This place is crowded! I'm glad I got here when I did
because any later and I would have been S.O.L. I watched as a new
hiker, sometimes two, came in about every 5-10 minutes for a span of
about an hour. Some even turned around and left because I imagine all
the other spots had been filled up.

Anyway I cooked up my dinner, then ate and jotted down notes for the
day. Now I'm buried in my sleeping bag, bundled up tight, trying to
keep warm. It's actually so cold my eyes hurt. Glad I'm not up in
those mountains tonight where it's even colder. Had an awesome day in
the Whites, couldn't have asked for anything better.

Total miles: 1855.3