I’ve been watching the weather every day in order to time my traverse of the Northern Presidentials on the best day possible. It hasn’t been easy because the Mount Washington Observatory forecasts change constantly. Two days this week saw nasty storms hit the AT above the tree line, a potentially deadly situation for hikers. I had an inkling that today would be a good choice for me to try this challenging hike and preemptively took the day off, packed my car and got on the road by 0600 this morning. Used I-91, VT/NH-25, River Road, NH-10, US-302, NH-116 and US-2 to reach the hiking zone. (Just after passing through Littleton, I experienced a brief delay because the police/fire departments were trying to keep people away from a dead bear (hit by a car) that was laying on the edge of the road.) Got breakfast at McDonalds in Gorham at around 0800 and then continued south on NH-16. I was able to reach the staging area at Pinkham Notch Visitors Center for the daily (first come, first served) Mount Washington Auto Road shuttle with time to spare and was riding up the mountain by 0915. This was only my second drive to the summit and first in 46 years! In the meantime, the formerly gravel road got paved, small sections at a time, and this was rye first season with blacktop all the way. Our (there was another hiker couple with me) driver, Dexter, told us he’d made over 11,000 round trips on the Auto Road since 1980 but I’m not sure that was enough reassurance - I’ll admit that my heart jumped pretty high whenever he took his hand off the wheel to point out a landmark near the VERY narrow road... Eventually, we reached the top and found that a cloud bank had attached itself to the mountain during our drive. As a result, we had 50 degree temps, high winds and lots of moisture. Because I knew that the conditions were better near 5000 feet, I immediately (1000) started downhill on the Trinity Heights Connector (AKA NOBO AT). There were a few other people on the mountain and it was fun to poll them all for their itineraries - from the answers I got, it seemed that a lot of people were trying a full Presidential Traverse (north to south). They’d obviously started much earlier than me because they were almost half way just as I started... Another popular response was “Peak Bagging” - this was good because the section I was hiking had a series of over-4000 peaks to summit. Strangely, though, the AT only crossed one (the rest required detours on side trails) and I reluctantly decided to skip all the extra climbing and focus on the AT. The result of this choice was that I was basically the only non-NOBO-Thru on the route - and those were in short supply (I only met three all day). I plodded along the trail, at first in fog, and ended up crossing the Cog Railway track. Three of the trains passed the area about 10 minutes later but I was already almost at the bottom of my first descent: the base of Mount Clay. Skipping the summits didn’t mean I didn’t have to climb - instead, I used the “shoulder” of each successive peak. I could see LOTS of people on the top of each hill and it reminded me of several “48 4K Achieved” posts I’ve seen on social media recently… After Clay, I got another descent and then started a climb up Mount Jefferson. Again passing via the shoulder, I found myself in the blazing sun for the first time. This was another risk - I’ve got the tendency to burn, regardless of the amount of sunscreen I use. I did my best to save my skin from cancer and kept going, resisting the urge to stop for food. One group delayed me - a couple told me how they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with a series of hikes. When I congratulated them, they proceeded to tell me the secret of a successful marriage (I could barely hear it above the heavy wind). Continuing on, I started to encounter people who were (for lack of a better term) lost. For the rest of the day, I had to give trail Intel to almost everyone I passed. Where is the trail junction? Where can I camp? Do you know how to Slackpack the Wildcats? Usually, I actually knew the answers! When I wasn’t talking with the other hikers, I stopped a couple of times to look down into the Great Gulf - it was well named. Some people I met had climbed the steep walls of this deep valley to the ridge - wow! After I “shouldered” Mount Adams, I reached Thunderstorm Junction and could see my nemesis, Mount Madison, in the distance. By this point, I was getting tired of all the climbing, boulder scrambling and exposure but I had to (at least) reach the Madison Springs Hut to get some shade. Fortunately, I met up with several members of the Hut Croo and they escorted me down to their home-away-from home in the clouds. Actually, they were so euphoric (laughing, shouting, hooting) that I couldn’t match their energy. But it was an uplifting time. At the Hut, I ate and drank and rested - it felt good to stop walking. But a little bit later, I resumed the hike and climbed my steepest peak (all the way to the top!) of the day: Madison. From the windy summit, I could see every landmark of consequence, along with a rather harrowing preview of the long descent I still had to do. Actually, I almost got lost myself at this point because the AT just “disappeared” over a cliff! Fortunately, I noticed a small step and clambered over until I saw the ubiquitous cairns that led the way down to the tree line. Thus began about a five hour ordeal that I can’t easily describe - except maybe to say that it was like the Mahoosuc Notch in miniature. I carefully watched every step and, thankfully, never fell off any big rocks. Eventually, I reached the tree line but the going was SLOW. I’d been making good time on the ridge but my pace slowed to almost a mile an hour - this was actually intentional, so I’d reach my car. The next 4-5 miles was a blur. Temps had climbed into the mid 80s as I was on the ridge and I eventually ran out of water. Every step got me closer to my car but the whole day flashed before my eyes and I wondered: should I have listened to the several folks who told me this wasn’t a good idea? I’d sacrificed the option of staying out on the trail for the night because I wanted a lighter pack with more water. Doubts crept in and it wasn’t until I FINALLY reached the Auto Road crossing (two miles from Pinkham Notch) that I felt better - because I’d already hiked this section twice! The trail got easier and I saw a series of SOBO Thrus starting their climbs up to Madison. Suddenly, my lot in life didn’t seem so bad… I reached my car by 1930 (it was actually getting dark), 9.5 hours after leaving the top of Washington (~13.5 miles). Despite being exhausted and drenched in sweat, I experienced some of the CROO youngsters’ euphoria. However, I was also so tired that I didn't want to think about driving home - if only I'd made a lodging reservation! Beggars can't be choosey so I accepted the insanely high rate (made online reservation) at the Rodeway in Gorham. Arrived at around 2000 and checked into my room. Soaked in the tub for a long time and then read until I was tired. Bed at 2200. VERY glad to be done with these peaks - now the snow caps can return! AT Today = 11.5 miles / Grand Total AT = 1984.2 miles / AT Left = 201.1 miles / NH 4000 Footer #16 of 48
