Yahtzee
09-08-2009, 00:06
Was blessed enough to have hiked the Crawford Notch to Pinkham Notch this weekend with hiking buddy, Ponyboy '03. Good gravy, what weather! Friday was about as perfect a day as one can expect in the Whites. 60s and sunny on the summits. Actually took the time to sunbathe on the summit of Mt. Eisenhower.
Took the Crawford Path out of Crawford Notch. I cannot express how much nicer this trail is than the AT. A gradual climb up to the Mizpah Cutoff. Not steep in any area. From the Mizpah Cutoff, it is nearly a flat walk to the hut. Hung out at the hut for a short time. The sun was blazing and we probably could have stayed a couple of hours just lounging in the sun but the excitement of making it to Mizpah without having the screaming climb up Webster Cliffs motivated us to push on above treeline. Once above treeline it was glorious. Freakish almost. Just kinda sauntered along. We were making good enough time that we stopped when we wanted, took a lot of pics, and never got winded. Speaking of wind, there wasn't a breath of it to be felt above treeline. Amazing. We hiked a mile here, a mile there. Made it to Lakes of the Clouds Hut around 4pm. Much earlier than we wanted but we actually needed to get out of the sun.
We had reservations at the Hut (much praise and glory to Ponyboy for my pre-wedding gift) and that turned out alright. Not gonna criticize because the staff certainly do put a ton of effort into what they do, it just wasn't our thing. More than once we thought the dungeon would have been a better alternative. Breakfast was better than dinner.
Headed out the next morning up Mt. Washington in the fog. Windier and cooler than the previous day, but still tame by both our experiences. Made it to Washington by 9am and hung out in the cafeteria until 11am and the opening of the grill. When we left it was 42 degrees with 55mph winds. But sunny. Again, past experiences taken into account, not so bad. It warmed up as the day went on and the wind lessened a bit, but remained a steady gust the rest of the day. Sunny, though. Jeffereson Plateau was crazy beautiful. The grass blowing, the sun shining. Just perfect. We had plans of heading up Adams but by the time we got there the winds had kicked up quite a bit so we decided to move on. Around this time we also decided to make it to the road a day early. We had planned on going to Osgood tentsite and meeting our shuttle the next morning but having reached Madison by 2:30, we choose to finish it out. We took the Daniel Webster Scout Trail off of Madison down to the road. Not as steep as advertised in the trail guide. The last 2.5 miles were breeze easy, but felt a little long. It was nice to walk on pine needles. Made it to the road and got a quick hitch into Gorham. The hotel that houses Hikers Paradise was the only one in town with a vacancy. We got a room and watched BYU upset Oklahoma.
Next morning we got our shuttle back to Crawford Notch. The shuttle was provided by Golden Waldo, a section hiker who finished the trail in 2000. He provided an entertaining ride back to our car regaling us with stories of his time as a hiker and shuttle driver. Told us about the kid who crapped in the pool next to the pavilion at Port Clinton. He ended up with MRSA and Waldo shuttled him for a few days back and forth from the hospital. He said other hikers told him that a day didn't go a day without that kid being ashamed of what he had done. He mentioned the girl involved had no such regrets. Funny guy, that Golden Waldo. He comes with the highest recommendation. He is listed in the shuttle directory provided by the ATC.
After that, we headed to Salem, NH to play some poker at Rockingham Racetrack. Made it deep into a tournament then made up most of the buy-in at the cash table.
A perfect weekend.
Took the Crawford Path out of Crawford Notch. I cannot express how much nicer this trail is than the AT. A gradual climb up to the Mizpah Cutoff. Not steep in any area. From the Mizpah Cutoff, it is nearly a flat walk to the hut. Hung out at the hut for a short time. The sun was blazing and we probably could have stayed a couple of hours just lounging in the sun but the excitement of making it to Mizpah without having the screaming climb up Webster Cliffs motivated us to push on above treeline. Once above treeline it was glorious. Freakish almost. Just kinda sauntered along. We were making good enough time that we stopped when we wanted, took a lot of pics, and never got winded. Speaking of wind, there wasn't a breath of it to be felt above treeline. Amazing. We hiked a mile here, a mile there. Made it to Lakes of the Clouds Hut around 4pm. Much earlier than we wanted but we actually needed to get out of the sun.
We had reservations at the Hut (much praise and glory to Ponyboy for my pre-wedding gift) and that turned out alright. Not gonna criticize because the staff certainly do put a ton of effort into what they do, it just wasn't our thing. More than once we thought the dungeon would have been a better alternative. Breakfast was better than dinner.
Headed out the next morning up Mt. Washington in the fog. Windier and cooler than the previous day, but still tame by both our experiences. Made it to Washington by 9am and hung out in the cafeteria until 11am and the opening of the grill. When we left it was 42 degrees with 55mph winds. But sunny. Again, past experiences taken into account, not so bad. It warmed up as the day went on and the wind lessened a bit, but remained a steady gust the rest of the day. Sunny, though. Jeffereson Plateau was crazy beautiful. The grass blowing, the sun shining. Just perfect. We had plans of heading up Adams but by the time we got there the winds had kicked up quite a bit so we decided to move on. Around this time we also decided to make it to the road a day early. We had planned on going to Osgood tentsite and meeting our shuttle the next morning but having reached Madison by 2:30, we choose to finish it out. We took the Daniel Webster Scout Trail off of Madison down to the road. Not as steep as advertised in the trail guide. The last 2.5 miles were breeze easy, but felt a little long. It was nice to walk on pine needles. Made it to the road and got a quick hitch into Gorham. The hotel that houses Hikers Paradise was the only one in town with a vacancy. We got a room and watched BYU upset Oklahoma.
Next morning we got our shuttle back to Crawford Notch. The shuttle was provided by Golden Waldo, a section hiker who finished the trail in 2000. He provided an entertaining ride back to our car regaling us with stories of his time as a hiker and shuttle driver. Told us about the kid who crapped in the pool next to the pavilion at Port Clinton. He ended up with MRSA and Waldo shuttled him for a few days back and forth from the hospital. He said other hikers told him that a day didn't go a day without that kid being ashamed of what he had done. He mentioned the girl involved had no such regrets. Funny guy, that Golden Waldo. He comes with the highest recommendation. He is listed in the shuttle directory provided by the ATC.
After that, we headed to Salem, NH to play some poker at Rockingham Racetrack. Made it deep into a tournament then made up most of the buy-in at the cash table.
A perfect weekend.