Washington

“Oh baby, baby, it’s a wild world” -Cat Stevens

Beautiful morning at the top of the world today. At least you could think you were at the top until you saw Mount Washington looking over you, the top wreathed in clouds. It actually cleared up last night and we went to see if we could catch any of the meteor shower but no luck. The stars were still astounding though. It was a rugged climb up to the summit of Mount Washington at 6,288′, home to the worst weather in the United States. People put bumper stickers on their cars celebrating the fact that they managed to drive to the top, and I walked here. There’s a weather observatory, museum and gift shop up top. Unfortunately the snack bar didn’t open until 11 and there was no way I was waiting.

The ridge from Washington to Madison was six miles of boulder hopping. The trail skirted the summits of Jefferson and Adams, but it was still the worst kind of terrain for my ankle. Trekking poles are next to useless on the rocks, especially when I needed my hands to climb or ease myself down, so my leg took on more weight. My feet managed to get pretty beat up as well, maybe time for new insoles. Long story short, it took me forever to get to the Madison Hut and I was pretty much shot. The silver lining is that today contained some of the most beautiful, majestic vistas I’ve seen on the entire trail, probably my entire life, and I had a lot of time to enjoy it. I have grown very good at compartmentalizing my pain so I can still soak in the people and places I’ve been lucky enough to encounter. That may say more about the low levels of suffering I’m experiencing than about my skills in guiding my awareness.

Anyway, I reached the hut around 2:30 and realized town might not be happening tonight. The trail might ease up on me, but I could see the next section and it looked a lot like what I’d been doing all day, and then there was a steep drop down almost 3,000′ in under 3 miles. I had a brownie and a cup of coffee, hoping caffeine and sugar could help power me through to the road to Gorham, but slow was the name of the game today. I took a break half way down the big descent and somehow dropped my water bottle with the Sawyer filter. A thru hiker who I hadn’t met before, Tough Love, found it and chased me down. That would have been really bad. All water gets filtered to avoid Giardia and a whole host of scary bacteria and parasites. There are people out here who don’t filter or treat, and if you’re at a spring or somewhere with really good flow (and you’re lucky) you’ll probably be alright. Still, he saved my butt and I thanked him for it. Then he flew down the trail with his group and I felt lame for a minute. But you have to hike your own hike, even if that means taking ten hours to do ten miles some days. I stopped at Osgood tent site (-324.1) and will nearo into town tomorrow. I could have pushed and got down to Pinkham Notch just before dark, but would still need to hitch to town and have dinner after 9 if I was lucky enough to even get a ride. Plus I’d be in worse shape. Better to listen to my body and have a nice relaxing day tomorrow.

The Whites have been kicking my ass, and I’m definitely coming back for more sometime.