Sunday, 26 August, Day 47 AT v2.0, 11.9 miles, Lake of the
Clouds Hut, in the shadow of Mt Washington NH. :) By Crocadilly - Our stealth campsite worked
really well and other than some bizarre animal noises in the middle of the
night we all had a great night's sleep!! I was anxious to get back hiking
again. It has been a week. I am feeling healthy again but I know I have lost
8lbs, a lot of strength and a lot of muscle. My shorts were so tight around my
thighs and now they just hang limply from my stick like legs! I knew i would
struggle stamina wise especially as we are now entering the more physically
challenging part of the hike! Sad to have missed so much but happy to be out
here and doing this again and with so many of our friends! Today marks the
beginning of our ascent to Mt Washington which is 6288 feet and is one of the
higher peaks we will be climbing. We are both super excited by this prospect.
Today we will hike to just below the peak and finish off the climb tomorrow
morning. The first part of the day marked our usual walking through trees and
along paths scattered with roots and rocks. Before long though we were met by a
sign welcoming us to the Alpine Zone. How fantastic and exciting to be hiking
in a different type of terrain and different habitats. And it was very
different with scrubby vegetation including diapensis and bilberrys and very
low pine shrubs. It was very rocky and open and gorgeous with lichens and
mosses lining the rocks. The views were spectacular. We looked down on to the
road we had travelled on the day before and across to the mountains and hills
we were yet to climb and the terrain we had already covered. You know you are
high up when you look down to the valley below and see a light aircraft flying
what appeared to be several hundred feet below us! The weather could not have
been more perfect for our ascent to the lofty climbs of Washington with
brilliant blue skies and soft fluffy white clouds. It was also fun because we
were hiking in a big bubble and occasionally you would pop out on a vista to
find Rampage or Tall Oaf or Gumby sitting looking out! I cannot even begin to
describe how beautiful it is up here. The rocks sparkle with the minerals they
contain and you can see for miles. There were big boulders we had to walk
across and the terrain at times was quite difficult but in a pleasing way
especially after being in bed for so long! I am in such a happy place and
loving every step I take. In this part of the trail there are numerous huts
where you can stay and grab a bite to eat - The Appalachian Mountain Club who
oversee the NH area are quite strict on camping and you have to stay in one of
the huts ($95 per person) or camp in designated areas which can be quite hard
to find depending on your walking schedule!!) The huts are fabulous and remind
me of the places we would eat when skiing in Europe - cozy and warm and
smelling of good food! We reached the Mizpah hut, the first we came across for
lunch to find Rampage, Gumby and several of the others already there. You can
eat as much soup for $3 which we did - Rampage inhaled 5 bowls and Scott four.
I managed two and a brownie!! By all accounts we ate them out of the remaining
soup available!! We were soon on our way again - it is hard to get going again
after a good lunch like that! But the mountains beckoned. Before the sun
started to set, approx .5 miles from our hut, Gumby caught up with us again and we walked the last half a mile
to the Lake of the Clouds hut where we
had all planned to stay for the evening. It suddenly popped out at us after
wondering where it was!! It was a lovely big hut and already many of our
friends were already there waiting together with a lot of guests! There were
wonderful smells of food and a big group of people listening to one of the
workers talking! We sat down got some snacks and watched the most beautiful sun
set. We managed to get work for stay which meant we did not have to pay the $95
per person to stay in a bunk bed or the $10 to stay and sleep downstairs in the
basement which was also known as the dungeon...And apparently was horrible! Papa
wolf and I would be working the next morning with Gumby whilst Rampage and a
few of the others had secured work for the evening. After the sun set we all
went inside - it was a very festive atmosphere and the other guests who were
mainly day and weekend hikers were very convival chatting with us about our
adventures. I think we all felt a little bit embarrassed about how much we
possibly smelt!! There were loads of us thru - hikers - Rampage, Gumby, Riff
Ralf, Tall Oaf, GoMan, and a couple of others we had not met before. It was a
great fun evening and even though we had left over food it was delicious! Soup
and pasta shells and big slabs of cake and lots of peas! We all ate loads! We
all set up our sleeping bags in the dining room - Papa wolf and I made a small
camp at the back under one of the great big wooden tables surrounded by windows...what a fabulow bedroom view!! An excellent
excellent day - my favourite so far!
Monday, 27 August, Day 48 AT v2.0, -14.9 miles, Dolly Copp
Camp Grounds, Gorham NH. By Crocadilly - Wow today was a hard day! Taxing both
mentally and physically but totally worth the hard work! We had a great nights
sleep at the hut hunkered down underneath one of the great big wooden tables. I
woke up just before six to the smell of brewing coffee and watched the sunrise
out of the window. People were beginning to stir and so we got up and cleared
our stuff! You have to love work for stay - we had left over breakfast -
omelette, eggs, bacon, a gallon of coffee and cake. Whilst two of our fellow
hikers helped remake the bunks And clear the bedrooms Scott and I handled the
compost! Which I have had plenty of practice in! We swept floors too and then
we were ready to face our ascent to Mt Washington! I loved the hut it reminded
me of the mountain huts on ski trips in the Alps but I certainly would not pay
the going rate of $95 to stay there. The day was stunning - blue skies and warm
with a lovely brisk breeze. I cannot even begin to describe the vistas up here
other than they are stunning - above the tree line you have panoramic views of
the valley below and the forests lining the hillsides and all around are
majestic peaks and rolling hills in the distance. We passed two glacial lakes
just past the hut. I felt on top of the world. The air felt cool fresh and
clean and fragrant and I sucked in lungful's of it! Papa wolf and I for a lot of the day were
alone and it was so peaceful and quiet and serene especially up here. The only
sounds were the wind, the occasional mountain bird and the clic clac of
crickets like miniature castanets and our own footsteps. The path up to Washington's
peak is quite rugged and tough - a jumble of small and large boulders that form
part of the boulder fields left during the end of the last glaciation. The
silica in the rocks (i need to read up on the geological history of them and their
mineral make up) sparkles in the sun making everything just that much more
beautiful. The fields are flanked and
interspersed with alpine vegetation - scrubby and short plants including
bilberry, blueberry, diapensis and an assortment of hardy grasses. Beautiful
lichens grow on the rocks in creams greens reds and yellows and make the most
gorgeous swirling and circular patterns. The 1.6 mile climb up to the summit
was steady and fairly hard going having to step from rock to rock to rock. But
we got there in good time and were met by tailbone, mango and the dogs who had
brought the car up here! Sir Lanchelot was sporting a rather splendid new
bumper sticker saying I climbed mt Washington! Love the fact hikers don't get
one! We only stayed briefly as we still had a long long way to go. From
Washington we headed towards Madison peak - it was still fairly rough going and
my knees were killing me but the views were so breathtaking whilst we were
walking I didn't care. We reached our next pit stop at the seven-ish mile mark
- another hut on this peak. With the weather set to deteriorate and the winds
getting up it was very tempting to call it a day since we had another 8 miles
to go and heavy terrain to cover and I was hurting. But with the weather
looking even worse for the next day we decided to hedge our bets and get off
the mountain. By now it was nearly 3pm - the going is alot slower out Here and
we were slack packing so pushed into a corner as far as stopping was concerned…either
stay at the hut or make it the 8 miles to the car. We had no tent so stopping
was not an option. We had to get to the road we were to be picked up from. We
decided after much deliberation to take the Madison gulf trail down - a mile
shorter than the AT and we hoped it would be easier going on my knees! It ended
up running into the AT and putting us at the same spot! So off we went. It was
a hard hard climb down the mountain. Impressive and scary all at the same time.
The route essentially follows a stream from source at the tip all the way down
the mountain side pretty much on top of it until it turns into a river in the
valley below. We scrambled hand over foot over large boulders listening to the
stream trickling underneath. At times the stream bed was the trail. Sometimes I
didn't want to look down and was afraid one false move and my poles or pack
would send me forward! Papa wolf at one point said "your mum would kill me
if she could see what you were doing right now"!! At which I replied "Yep, but my Dad
would love it and be very proud of me…probably wished he was here with
us". J It was fun and hard but I wondered if it was
worth diverting from the trail! It was awesome though! However when we got over
the worst of the terrain and on the realization that it had taken us over three
hours to go two miles and I was exhausted it was getting late and the clouds
and rain were threatening I cried ...alot.
And wondered what the hell I was thinking trying to go 15 miles over
this terrain especially as I had been so sick. To make matters worse our
navigation app wasn't working properly or at least I hoped it wasn't as it was
telling us we still had a million miles to go and the trails are marked
terribly! The AMC pull in thousands of dollars alone from people staying at the
shelter, they have an monopoly on the area in NH and seem to almost extort money
from visitors and thru hikers enjoying the NATIONAL PARK and yet they seem
unable to appropriately mark the trails unlike all the other states. There are
numerous tales of our friends who went the wrong side down mountains and took
other wrong trails in the last couple of days. We spent most of the time
wondering if we had got back on the AT and how far we were from the road. Dusk
was setting and the rain was coming in to add to my misery of slowness and body
aching - we both were feeling it so decided the sensible option was to take the
road leading from the mountain. It was only Two miles before the road we were
supposed to meet tailbone on but we figured no sense hiking over slippery, wet
rock in the dark and tired. We managed somehow to get hold of her to tell her
this. Just as we hit a sign saying you are now entering the gulf wilderness and
I began to panic thinking there is no bloody road this magical black Tarmac
appeared in the dimming light ! I was so happy even though it was hammering
down with rain! We had to walk the meandering twisting two mile road down to
where our ride was waiting. I have never been so pleased to see anyone in my
life! I had to duck under the closed gate to get to the car and couldn't get up
again lol! Riff ralf our german friend was in the car and by all accounts had
had a hard day too! We were greeted with the welcome news that everyone was
waiting at the local pizza place for us with beers and food hurrah! When we got
there I got a lovely warm hug from mango! Rampage and Gumby were there too and
had really struggled with the distance and terrain too. I was so pleased to
know it wasn't just me that was hurting and down - everyone had gone through
the same emotions by all accounts. It was a tough day but the enjoyment of
looking back with a sense of satisfaction over what you have all achieved and
the feeling of camaraderie is amazing and soon makes you forget the pain you
just went through! We devoured a massive pizza - 380 square inches to be
precise and jugs of beer. I was in heaven and walking like I had been riding a
horse for a week! We were all doing the hiker shuffle! Then it was back to the
Dolly Copp campsite where our tent had already been put up. I barely
remembering falling into the tent I was so tired where I proceeded to have the
best nights sleep yet on the trail!! The past two days will forever be among my
favourites on the trail. X
One last photo of the hut as me head up to Mt Washington
Heading down
The sign for the Madison Gulf Trail...when we got down.
PapaWolf, Crocadilly, Tailbone, Riff Ralph, Rampage, Mango and Gumpy (taking photo)
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