Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 25 – Washington, we meet again
20th August 2023
Osgood Tentsite (324.4) - Lake of the Clouds Hut (334.5)
Daily miles: 10.1
Total miles: 341.4
It was a very windy night. Not really windy around my tent but you could hear it gusting through the trees high up. If it sounds that windy down here it must be very windy up there.
My alarm goes off at 5am. It’s too dark to get up. It goes again at 05:30 and I pack up. I was pleased to find the wind had dried out my tent last night.
I stopped at the stream to get water and I was on my way up the climb by 06:20 doing a steady 1mph pace.
The start of the ascent to Madison
I see Fulkrum heading towards me – a guy I had met earlier in the trail – “Aren’t you going the wrong way?” I asked him. He said he had slept in his hammock by the tree line and because he was blown about all night and didn’t get any sleep he is turning back. He said the winds are gusting up to 90mph and it wasn’t safe to go on so he’s going back to Pinkham Notch, skipping The Whites and will continue south from wherever he gets shuttled to. I was half way up so I thought I may as well continue the climb and see for myself what the deal was.
Sure enough, when I reached tree line the wind got stronger. When I got up on the exposed ridge I was nearly blown over. I got a bit of patchy cell service and checked the weather. The forecast was for severe wind - gale force - until about 11am. I pushed on. It was cold so I put my waterproof on and a hat. The wind would blow in a load of cloud making visibility about 10 ft and then it would blow past.
The wind was blowing the clouds through
Leaving the safety of the trees
I pushed on a bit more. There was still a mile to the summit so I had quite a long way to go yet, and the gusts were getting stronger. I didn’t feel safe. I was being blown over and my pack wasn’t helping the situation as the wind was coming from the side so I was at my biggest that way and the wind was making me really unstable. Plus the grip on my shoes was practically non existent now so I was slipping on the rocks. I spent a while with 4 points of contact on the rocks – my feet and hands – and not through choice, but because I couldn’t stand up against the wind.
I turned around. My goal was to get back to tree line and out of the wind, then I needed to find somewhere sheltered I could wait for a couple of hours. I found a notch where I could potentially pitch my tent if it came to it and I lasted for 5 minutes before I got to cold and set my tent up.
Pitched my tent again at 08:30
I sat in my tent for a while. The sun was coming out so it was deceiving, and the wind of course didn’t seem as bad in the shelter of the trees but I could still hear it gusting.
After about half an hour I blew up my mat and got my sleeping bag out and lay down for a while. I was getting cold and that wasn’t good. I was shivering.
Trying to stay warm
Around 10:30 I hear footsteps and call out. “Hello? Have you just been over Madison?”
“No we are going the other way, towards it.” came the reply.
“Oh hang on!” I shout as I’m fumbling with the zips on my tent. They hadn’t hung around and I just catch a glimpse of them as they are walking away. I see they have tiny packs. Day hikers. I was pissed off with them for being so rude. What if I had a problem? What if I was laying in the injured?
So I lay for about 20 more minutes and then pack up. I will attempt to get over the summit, sand if I can’t and have to turn back then that’s what I would do.
I hike on and it was still very windy but less so than earlier. I could stand up against it at least. I push on and see 2 NOBOs and ask them what it was like. Very windy but manageable was the summary.
Above the trees again
I started in my fleece and waterproof jacket because I got so cold earlier but I was very quickly way too hot and the fleece came off. I kept the waterproof on because it was pretty cold when the wind came through.
The wind had calmed down and the clouds had disappeared – the summit is still quite far away
It might turn out to be a nice day
A rock scramble above the tree line and why I didn’t want to get blown over earlier
It took 2 hours of stumbling across rocks and getting battered by the wind but I made it to the top by 12. Of course this meant I had to alter my plans for today as I wouldn’t make it to Mizpah hut. So my new plan was to aim for Lake of the Clouds hut after Mt Washington summit.
There were a lot of day hikers around today, and lots of people doing loops and different stuff to the AT. I asked someone to get a quick picture of me at the top of Madison.
Very windy on the summit of Mt Madison
I didn’t stay long at the summit of Madison because it was blowing a hoolie and in fact it was probably windier on the way down to Madison hut than it was on the climb up. It was slow going and then there were a whole bunch of people were hanging out at the hut. I filled my water, scoffed a Twix and moved on quickly.
Views towards Mt Washington
Summit selfie
Descending to Madison Hut
Next was the long ascent to Mt Washington. The weather cleared up a bit and the sun came out and it was actually pretty hot for some of the day. Some of the trail was quite nice – it was made up of rocks laid in a way that almost made them flat – and other parts were more challenging and more of a scramble.
Looking back at Madison Hut
The path towards Mt Washington
What a beautiful day
Spotted the train
There it is!
Took far too many photos today
There’s the summit
Misty
Looking back
It just kept getting better
Mt Madison in the distance
The train tracks
It took me 4 hours to do 6 miles to the summit. On the way I saw so many people, only a handful of thru-hikers and the rest day hikers. I saw the train chugging it’s way up the mountain and then as I approached the summit I could see the train and a bunch of cars because there is a road which you pay about $35, or something like that, to drive on.
The summit of Mt Washington was a complete circus. There were so many people! It was also a giant construction zone; a big digger and orange cones and tape everywhere. They have made a real mess of it up here.
Construction zone
Summit was a building site
The people waiting for the train
The cropped view
The actual view
There was a queue of people waiting to get their picture taken with the sign, so I joined it and the lady in front of me asked me to take their picture so she returned the favour for me. It was pretty windy up there but I’m so glad I pushed on and didn’t turn back. I was lucky to be able to get cell service this morning because I could see the wind was dying down in the afternoon, and it did.
The queue to get a photo with the sign
Had to join the queue didn’t I!
Facts
In fact, it ended up being a really beautiful day and according to others this is one of the few days this year Mt Washington hasn’t been covered in cloud.
I went into the visitors centre to use the loo and then got out of there as quickly as I could. There were just too many people around, and some pretty rude too.
Happy in my hoody
I made my way down and I was caught up in the middle of a group of Québécois guys who told me to go first because I was quicker. One guy kept pace with me and asked me loads of questions about thru-hiking and the PCT as he has aspirations to do it one day. We chatted for the whole mile and a half down to Lake of the Clouds hut.
Descending to Lake of the Clouds Hut
Looking back at the summit of Mt Washington now in the clouds
I knew the work for stay would already be taken so I asked if there was room in The Dungeon. There was so I paid my $10 and was directed to the emergency shelter underneath the hut, known as The Dungeon. It has 2 x 3 tier bunks. There were 3 people already in there, 2 in the middle and one on top. I took the other top bunk and then one more guy came in and had a bottom one.
The Dungeon is pretty gross. It’s wet. The walls are wet. It stinks of fuel and it’s dank. The fact they have started charging for this is surprising. As thru-hikers we are lacking any other option. We aren’t allowed to camp. The hut is also fully booked - with tonight being over subscribed by 2 people - there is no way of booking or turning up and paying to stay in a bunk because you don’t know exactly when you’re going to be there.
Anyway. I have a place to sleep and that’s the important thing. The people I’m sharing with are cool too which helps. All NOBOs but relaxed friendly NOBOs. Not “thru-holes” which is a term one of them used and is now one of my favourite hiking terms. You should be able to work out what it means!
The entrance to the Dungeon
Inside the Dungeon
The view from the Dungeon
We went to sit in the dining hall where it was warm and dry - unlike The Dungeon - and hoped there might be some leftovers but there wasn’t any. I ate a bunch of random food. Tuna, Doritos, a brioche roll and a Luna bar. Honestly I wasn’t that hungry and I could have gone without eating, but I also wanted to lighten my food bag. I’m sure I’m carrying far too much food. The guy I hiked down with came and said he had left me a present next to my pack in The Dungeon - it was a beer which I then gifted to another hiker. The thought was lovely but I don’t like beer.
Sunset
Trail magic
About 8pm we all the inmates retired to The Dungeon. We have left the door open a crack to prevent us all from asphyxiating on the weird fumes.
It was actually a pretty fun evening and now, tucked up in my sleeping bag, it isn’t as cold as I feared it would be. We are however right underneath the dining area and they must be dancing up there or something because it is very very noisy!
In the top bunk
It’s the first day I’ve had dry feet all day on trail. What a treat! But my shoes have blown out now on both sides.
