Next Day: Madison Springs to Pinkham Notch
I started Friday, June 29, with a wonderful surprise! My friend, Chip, left his home in Maine at 2AM, drove to the Cog Railway Parking area, hiked up 3,000 feet in 3 miles along the Ammonoosic Ravine Trail to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, and met me for breakfast! Then, he hiked the final two days of the hike with me. As a plus, he was able to get a spot in the Madison Springs Hut with the rest of us.
Friday's hike was probably my favorite day on the trail, although it was incredibly tiring, with nothing but rocky up and down trails. Here is the elevation profile for the day.
The track went through the heart of the Presidential Range - over Mount Washington, past Mount Clay, Mount Jefferson, Mount Adams, Mount Sam Adams, and Mount John Quincy Adams. The scenery was spectacular, and the weather was great, other than a scary thunderstorm that rolled in that afternoon. Since we were above the tree line the entire time, thunderstorms are especially dangerous here. Mount Washington is where the yellow star is, and Mount Madison (Saturday's initial climb) is marked by the blue star. Lakes of the Clouds Hut (starting point) and Madison Springs Hut (destination) are marked by the purple and orange rectangles.
When I was 16, my dad took my younger brother and I camping in Vermont and New Hampshire. It was my first time in New England, and my first time hiking in real mountains. He introduced us to Mount Washington, and pointed out the Lakes of the Clouds Hut - nearly 1,400 feet below - from the summit. I thought at the time how cool it would be to hike up here and stay in the huts. So it is appropriate that I was back on the summit of Mount Washington on what would have been my father's 100th birthday. He gave me my love of the mountains, and I thought of him as I clambered up the steep slope. We were again in the clouds, but they were broken clouds that rapidly dissipated.
Here we are, back to five, at the start of the hike. Mount Monroe is in the background.
One of the two Lakes of the Clouds.
Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
Chip and Chris on the hike up to the summit. Mount Monroe, in the background is once again in the clouds.
Chip and me, with the summit of Mount Washington behind us. Note the tall radio masts. There is a major weather station on the summit, monitoring "the worst weather in the world." There is also a visitor center, museum, and gift shop, as well as an auto road and the cog railway. I ate ice cream on the summit!
We started out hike five days ago, and now we are on the highest peak in the northeast.
At that point, Mike left the group and hiked down to Pinkham Notch. He had a long drive home and wanted to get on the road Saturday morning. The other four of us continued - Josh out in front, then Chris, and finally Chip and me. Here is the start of trail off the Mountain - boulders and cairns. Watch your step!
The passengers on the Cog Railway enjoyed waving to us hikers.
Views into the Great Gulf Wilderness.
Chris in the foreground and Josh in the background hike down the steep slope, with the Cog Railway using coal power instead of glucose power.
Chip and I on the edge of the Great Gulf Wilderness.
Note the tiny pond in the Great Gulf Wilderness. I was not tempted to bushwhack down to it.
The Cog Railway pushes up the steep slope. Behind it is the Lakes of the Clouds Hut, with Mount Monroe looming over it.
We had the best scenery of the whole week on this hike.
Trail markers showed us that, while we had hiked plenty far, we still had a lot of rough trail ahead. Wouldn't you love to know the story behind the Six Husbands Trail?
Up high in the Whites, you better had get used to walking on rocks. One's feet sure take a pounding.
In mid-afternoon, clouds were moving in. Because we were in the shadow of a large mountain, we couldn't fully see the sky to the north, but we started to hear thunder. Above the tree line, not only are you the highest thing, but there is no place to hide. We wondered what we should do, when four through-hikers who had passed us going north a while back came scrambling south. One of them said to us, "You have four minutes to find shelter. My phone's weather radar shows a large storm coming out way." We backtracked with them, and fortunately, there was a little trail heading off the ridge line that led to a big rock outcropping. We all huddled under there as rain moved through and thunder boomed all around us.
Afterwards, we waited until we didn't hear thunder for 15 minutes before getting on the trail. It was a scary time, to be sure. I wondered how Chris and Josh fared. We had not seen them in several hours. As it turns out, they were both caught out on high exposed ridges, and kept on hiking, both thinking that they were going to die. Chip and I were lucky to be in just the right place at the right time to find shelter, plus getting the weather update from the other hikers.
The storm has moved past us at this point and is hammering some other unlucky people. Where we were caught in it is named "Thunderstorm Junction."
The high alpine zone is no place you want to be in a storm.
After a lot more rocky up and down, we reached the final descent into the Madison Springs Hut. This was the original hut in the AMC high mountain hut system, had been burned down around 1940, was rebuilt, and was completely rebuilt once again a few years ago. It was great to see Chris and Josh, and learn that they were both safe. Plus, they had saved me a lower-level bunk!
After a great meal and some time to relax, Mother Nature, who had managed to scare the hell out of us earlier by sending a thunderstorm, decided to treat us to a spectacular sunset, viewed from the porch of the hut.
So nice that your friend was able to join you on the hike.
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I really appreciated Chip making such a Herculian effort to hike with me. There was such beautiful scenery on this section. The photos do not do it justice.
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