Mount Washington, 333
I'm on top of the world! At least it seems that way. Currently, I am at the summit of Mount Washington, 6288 feet up. Outside, it is a whiteout, with gusty winds that are very audible even from where I am, in the basement of the visitor's center. The mountain with the worst weather in the world is in full force today!
Okay, so I haven't updated since Franconia Notch on account of never having service, and a lot of stuff has happened since then! The quick rundown: poured on Sunday night, beautiful on Monday, Franconia Ridge was spectacular, worked for stay at Galehead Hut, terrain is crazy in the Whites, had a big climb yesterday to Lake of the Clouds Hut, weather is pretty crazy too. Got all that?
I'll start with Franconia Ridge. It was incredible. It might even be my favorite part of the trail yet. I had beautiful weather, and there was almost no one there too! I kicked it off with a side trip to Mount Flume, which I've been to a few years ago on a trip with some buddies. And then the party really got started. The ridge traverses a bunch of really high mountains above treeline. So basically it feels less like hiking and more like flying. On the way down Lafayette, the view just spread out before me.
With the great views, however, comes some really tough terrain. I've already had a few 3500+ foot climbs. And even the "flat" stuff goes up and down, just not as much. On top of that, sometimes those ups and downs involve really steep, technical stuff. You always have to be on your toes up here!
One nice thing about the Whites is the options for camping. There are many good stealth sites, but even nicer than that are the AMC huts. The huts are way up at some gorgeous locations. The Lakes of the Clouds hut is only a mile and a half from Mount Washington, and 5200 feet up! Customers get a bed, dinner, and breakfast. But thru-hikers pay no money and instead work-for-stay. I've swept floors, done dishes, and folded blankets. It's easy work, and you get to sleep on the floor and eat all the leftovers from it! Not bad. Anyway, the huts seem like a pretty cool system for those who use them.
Well, I need to be hitting the trail. The weather is stinky, and I don't particularly relish being windswept at 6200 feet, but the trail doesn't hike itself, and my theory is that by hiking in bad weather, you gain weather karma. And I plan to cash in my karma at Katahdin! So 50 degree weather and 50 mph winds, here I come. Next stop Pinkham Notch!
Also, the mileage I put next to my location is the miles to go. I'm going to keep doing that til the end.
- Scribbles (aka Ted)
8:50 a.m. 7/23/2015
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