Day 132, miles today - 13.5, total - 1,866.5

July 28, 2013

Mt. Washington to Pinkham Notch.

Jamey drove B-Rocket and me back to the too of Mt. Washington. The drive up Mt. Washington from the bottom took 25 minutes. It was after 9:00 am when we got there. 

We took a few pictures and enjoyed the view. It was 50 degrees and mostly clear. There's a cog train that visitors can ride to the top of the mountain. It was 10:00 when we started hiking. 

The trail was extremely rocky the first nine miles. On our way down Mt. Washington, and then in the direction of Mt. Madison, we had steep ups and downs over a boulder field. It was very difficult and slow going. Most of the time there wasn't an actual trail. There were cairns, a stack of rocks, every 100 ft. or so marking the way. We had to find the best way to get over the jumbled rocks without falling.

                                                 B-Rocket                                   South bounders we passed

By the time we had made it to Madison Spring Hut, it was 1:00 pm. They have tables with benches, drinking water and restrooms. It was a great place to eat our lunch. I saw Two-Speed at the hut. I last saw her in Virginia before trail days. She was hiking with three guys I hadn't met before. There was Bailer, Mack and Baker. Chapin and Jeremiah were there also.

When we left the hut we had to go up and over Mt. Madison. It was a very steep up and a steep down on the other side. It was covered with large rocks. It takes a lot of effort to make your way over large jumbled rocks, and to do it while going up and over a steep mountain makes it even more difficult. As we neared the top there was a strong wind. Most of the time we had a great view. We passed several south bound thru-hikers. We stopped to talk to each of them. Exchanging information about what each of us had in front of us. B-Rocket fell a few times today. For the most part, she just got a little dirty. 

Madison Spring Hut at a distance

We were even with some of the clouds as they moved pass us. At times we were within them, reducing visibility.

I asked B-Rocket how she liked the rocks, she gave it a thumbs down.

Once we dropped down below treeline there were a lot less rocks. It was pretty steep, but we were able to make a little better time. When we had about three miles left to go we stopped for a short break. While there Two-Speed and the three guys showed up. We hiked with the four of them the rest of the way.

When we reached Pinkham Notch Jamey was waiting in the parking lot. She drove us to a Walmart so we could resupply. We then went back to the cabin. In the morning she'll drop us off at the trail. At that point she will return home in Maine. She has been very helpful to me and many other thru-hikers. She has given many of them rides and on several occasions had food and drinks for any that wanted it.