June 6
End: Madison Spring Hut
Miles: 25.9
Total: 3719.4
All three of us were up early and packed so that the crew could do breakfast in the dining room. Drop Out started cooking, but I hit the trail, ready to hike. The first few miles from the hut were totally flat, meaning I was loving every second of them. Besides a few boards placed over muddy areas, I was walking on smooth dirt for miles on end for the first time I could remember since the Shenandoah National Forest in Virginia.
Drop Out and D caught up at Crawford Notch, but I soon left them behind as I climbed up Mt. Webster, a real task. We knew that the climb would be a major step towards ascending Mt. Washington, the king of the presidential range. I stopped for a short break, then kept on truckin’. The top of the mountain was elusive, but I enjoyed some good views as I did the hairy up-and-down game among the large rocks and roots.
Finally reaching the top, I moved right along and descended to Mizpah Spring Hut, where I grabbed some more water but sadly didn’t get to talk to any of the staff. I climbed another annoying mountain, then descended to a bare ridge. It was there that I encountered more weather issues.
Though I was not astutely observing my environment, my attention was grabbed violently by a wall of rain moving my way from the left. I could see where the wall started and stopped, and I was about to be in the middle of it.
First I got hit by tremendously high winds. I put on my rain jacket and kept going. What followed was some rain and then freezing rain, which hurt my hands. Coupled with the wind, the rain made me tremendously anxious to get to the next hut.
The first cloud passed and I could see another following behind it. Luckily, I was able to get around a mountain before the sequel showed up, and descended down to Lakes of the Clouds Hut, one of the more praised huts in the Whites.
Though it was said to be nice, I had time to continue on. Also, I could see my breath inside the hut, which was not very enjoyable. I moved on and started the climb to the infamous Mt. Washington.
Doing nothing but scaling rocks, I ran into some snow on the trail and had to be careful to find my footing and keep my feet dry. Sadly I was hit by more freezing rain as I reached the summit, and had to duck into a building and prepare myself for a miserable descent out of the frigid environment. Of course all the tourists were amused by the snowy weather in June, since they didn’t have to walk anywhere, having driven to the parking lot near the summit.
It was difficult going at first, but the freezing rain soon stopped and I was able to continue descending at my normal slow pace (as opposed to my excruciatingly slow pace).
Rocks, rocks, and more rocks were all that the trail had to offer me. The white blazes were replaced by small rock piles (cairns) to designate the trail. I was worried about my time, but finally made it to Madison Spring Hut as the crew was serving their guests dinner. They let me do a work-for-stay, so I sat down at a corner table and took my wet socks and shoes off, attempting to get comfortable.
I was disappointed to find the hut almost as cold as the temperature outside. I could see my breath, and my shoes steamed when I took them off. Also, the staff didn’t spend any time talking to me, unlike the Zealand Falls crew. I was grateful to be inside, but hadn’t fully realized how great my stay at Zealand Falls had been until then.
Dinner was good, and I gobbled up mint chocolate brownies for dessert. Afterwards I cleaned out the kitchen ovens, removing large grease piles. I finally got to sleep late, having to wait for the guests to leave the dining area and head to bed.
