8/14/01
Last night's sleep didn't get much better as the night wore on. All of those folks who were well fed were up and down all night in the bathroom. The toilets weren't flushing properly, so everyone was asked to fill a bucket with three inches of water to flush. The noise of the metal bucket clanging against the tile floor kept waking me. Then at 4:45 p.m. a couple of weekend hikers sleeping a couple of tables away decided to get up and pack their gear, even though they weren't eating breakfast until 7 a.m. Then at 6:15 we were told we had to get off the tables and leave the dining area so the breakfast croo could set up the tables. It definitely was the worst night of sleep I've had since leaving Springer on March 17th. Pogo and I weren't interested in hanging around to see if any breakfast scraps would become available to us, so we left at 7:30 for the summit of Mt. Washington. The morning was crisp and clear with a 45 degree temperature and a 31 degree wind chill at the top when we walked into the visitor center. I planned to spend some time there, so I called Red Pepper, then bought some postcards at the gift shop. After writing the cards and eating some snacks, I joined Phantom and Redneck and Finn in looking around the visitor center as the midmorning crowds thickened around us. We finally resumed our hike at noon after spending four hours at the summit. With clear skies and little haze, we were enjoying views of all the Presidentials as well as views into Maine as we hiked across the ridgeline. The trail was crowded with plenty of dayhikers as we traversed Six Husbands peak and worked our way along rugged trail to Madison Springs hut. It was late afternoon when we reloaded on water at Madison Springs, then climbed steeply to the top of Mt. Madison. From the top, we said goodbye to the Presidentials, then began a very difficult, steep descent of almost 3,000' in two and a half miles. Our original goal of reaching Pinkham Notch today was out of reach with really slow hiking over the rugged terrain, so we refocused on Osgood tentsite and finally arrived here around 6:30 p.m. We found an empty double tent platform and the fab four set up our various shelters in the waning evening light. As I cooked my dinner I contemplated the hike through the Presidential range of the Whites and decided that today's hike was Pennsylvania on STEROIDS! My feet, and especially my toes, were torn up today by the thousands of boulders and rocks negotiated on the climbs and steep descents. Nevertheless, the views were outstanding with great weather. So I felt blessed that we were through the area without injury and with lots of enjoyment. This evening we entertained three small boys camping next to us as they asked numerous questions while we cooked. As has become the norm, I was too tired to journal after a rough day of hiking, so I laid back with my radio headphones and listened to music until time to go to sleep. Today's stats: low 45, high 75. Bright and sunny. Today's mileage: 10.0; cumulative mileage: 1844.3.
