I am so excited and also so anxious about continuing my hike today. I went home for a few days and met my work requirements to keep my job. I was able to relax a little bit with Rich, and Madi drove down to see me while I was home. Morgan is out of town on a work trip so I didn't get to see her or the grandbaby, but I had a wonderful time going to a nearby beach on the boat.
I know my acclimatization will continue to improve even if I'm off the trail for an extended period of time, but whenever I get off the trail for a few days I tend to be pretty sore afterwards. It's amazing how fast you lose your trail legs when you're not hiking everyday. On the other hand, I really needed a break, both mentally and physically; three weeks straight without a day off had really taken a toll.
I spent hours reorganizing and replenishing my supplies for the next 22 days on the trail, which will should get me to the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine before I have to return back home the first week of September for a wedding, even with my lower mileage expectations.
Dad is fully recovered from his ordeal in Massachusetts and is returning to the trail to support me through the rest of New Hampshire and Maine. The Expedition is packed to the gills with a cooler, and Rubbermaid totes filled with food and camping supplies to get me through the next three weeks. The drive yesterday took us about 11 hours, and we spent the night in Gorham, New Hampshire.
I pack everything I will need for the day which thankfully isn't very much. I was originally planning on camping on the trail tonight, but realized that the road is just a couple miles from where I intended to camp, so it makes more sense for me to slack pack today with a very light pack and meet him at the road crossing tonight.
The reason that I am anxious for the hike today is that while the ascent today is only 2,000 feet, the descent will be extremely difficult and long. I will have a 2,000 foot descent from Washington along the ridge to Mount Madison, but after climbing Madison I will have an almost 4,000 foot descent down to the road crossing! And it's a rough one, with the hardest section on steep boulder fields for over a mile. I've donebit before, and it is HARD! This is why slack packing is way more appealing for me today. I won't have to carry a 25 lb pack down the mountain, saving my knees in the process!
We go to breakfast at the Depot, where I fuel with eggs Benedict, corned-beef hash, and hash-browned potatoes before we drive to the Cog Railway Train for my return to Mount Washington.
The first train doesn't leave until 9, so I won't get on the trail until 10 at the earliest, much later than I would like to start, but better late than never! And much better than hiking up the three miles and 3,500 feet from here to the summit. Dad bought our tickets in advance, and the train is full of tourists excited for the trip.
We depart at 9 am sharp and take a leisurely 45-minute ride up the mountain. The little kids on the train are thrilled when the conductor blasts the horn at the trail crossing near the top. We file off the train go straight to the trail, where we get a picture together in front of the white blazes. Dad gives me a hug and I set off down from Mount Washington at 10 am.
The trail is extremely rocky but not too steep for the first mile. Shortly after leaving Washington I cross the railroad track and walk down the ridge paralleling the tracks until the trail veers away from the tracks towards Mount Clay. The trail is still very rocky with huge boulders mixed with much smaller rocks scattered between. I can't take my eye off the trail for a minute for fear of a fall or twisting an ankle .
I'm hoping that I will be able to wave at Dad's train as he makes the descent, but after Mount Clay the trail goes between the saddle of Clay and Jefferson, and I lose sight of the railroad.
The spur trail around Jefferson is really slow going. The rocks are small and jumbled together In such a way I have to take very small steps and use my poles to balance.
After hiking four miles I am going towards Mount Adams. The trail Is ridiculously rocky and it's very different difficult to stop step flat footed on much of anything. I am trying to negotiate a particularly bad pile of rocks when my toe gets caught on a rock and I almost face plant. My poles go flying but thankfully I'm able to arrest my fall. My hands get a little skinned up but the worst part is I think I might have pulled something in my back in the process.
As I start walking I realized that everything's okay other than feeling a little beat up from these rocks. I continue up towards Mount Adams and I am almost to the top when I trip a second time. My poles go flying and Iand on my elbow and skin my leg. A hiker in front of me heard the clatter and stops to ask if I'm okay. I reassure him that I am fine but these rocks keep jumping up and grabbing my feet!
I stop for few minutes to recover, sitting on the side of a rock and eating a snack. I don't stay long because dark clouds are starting to roll in over Madison, motivating me to get moving. I really don't want to get caught out on this ridge in the rain, but more importantly I don't want to make the descent from Madison on wet rocks.
A short time later I come to a huge cairn marking the intersection of five different trails. Even though each trail is well marked with signs, the trails are very close together. I realize very quickly I am not on the right trail. I only walked a few extra steps, so thank goodness I caught it when I did.
I arrive at Madison Springs Hut around 3 P.M and join a rather large group of thru hikers on the front patio. A couple are southbound and tell us about the trail ahead and the long water carries due to dried up streams through the rest of New Hampshire.
I go into the hut and redeem a free bakery item for a piece of peanut butter cake with thick chocolate icing. It is delicious and I sit on the patio and eat it while hanging out with the other hikers. Many of them stayed at Lake of the clouds Hut last night in the dungeon, and they said it was just as awful as all the comments describe it; dark and covered with mold and stinking of the composting toilets adjacent to the shelter. I'm so glad that I didn't have to stay there!
We all leave at the same time to climb Mount Madison and then the painfully steep and long descent down. Thunderstorms are threatening, and the clouds are getting thicker overhead.
The climb up Madison is 600 feet of rock scrambles. It's easy to lose the trail here as the cairns are pretty far really sparse and spaced far apart, but I can follow the other hikers to see which way they go.
I cross Madison and prepare myself for the long slow rock scramble down the mountain. It's very easy to lose the trail here, but it's also rather easy to gain it again if you get off the trail. I boulder hop for much of the hike, which is something I was unable to do the last time I was here because it was raining. A few times I have to throw my poles down and shimmy.
My first mile down the mountain takes an hour, which I expected. I'm not too far behind two of the girls and we are all traveling at around the same speed, so that makes me feel better.
My second mile down the mountain goes slightly faster at 50 minutes. Just as I reached the tree line I start hearing patterns of rain on the fir trees around me. The trail is dark under cover of the trees with to the heavy cloud cover enveloping the mountains.
Only minutes later the pattering turns into a deluge. I don't hear any thunder, at least. I am drenched within a matter of minutes. Thank goodness I'm below tree line but that doesn't mean the trail is any easier. The rocks are still formidable and now there is just enough dirt and duff in between them that they become quite slippery in the rain.
Water starts sluicing down the middle of the trail and a couple of times I step in puddles that go over the tops of my shoes. I catch up to one of the young hikers that was ahead of me. Her name is Incline and we sarcastically laugh about how awesome this is.
I pull ahead of Incline; it was hard to talk to each other over the noise of the falling rain. About a half mile later of knee-pounding descent I arrived at the trail junction for the Osgood Tent Site and the Osgood Trail. There is a bridge out on the Peabody River and the detour is well marked with white blazes tacked to the trees.
I have a little bit of service so I call and talk to Dad and give him my ETA. I only have 400 ft of descent over the next two-and-a-half miles so I'm hoping to be at the trailhead by 6:30. He's only 12 minutes away so he will meet me then.
As I'm walking down the Osgood Trail I hear some loud crashing in the woods that could be a branch falling, but could also be a bear, so I stay alert. I don't see anything, but a very short time later I step across a big pile of very fresh moose scat.
The trail becomes significantly easier to hike and the Motrin I took at the hut was definitely a good idea. Even with that on board my hips and my knees are really hurting, and I have badly bruised the ball of my left foot at some point in all the rock pounding today.
The two and a half miles on the Osgood and Great Gulf Wilderness Trail are some of the most amazing that I have encountered since entering New Hampshire. Not only is the trail the best blazed portion of the AT that I have seen In 100 miles, but the trail is relatively flat, and while there are plenty of roots and some rocks, it's still delightfully easy. I am hiking 20 minute miles even on tired legs.
I cross the river on a suspension bridge and arrive at the parking lot at exactly 6:30. Dad is waiting for me being his goofy self at the trailhead. I change out of my soaking wet clothes and we head into town. I'm really glad that I slack packed this section today, as it would have been so much more difficult on all the rocks with a full pack.
I am whooped and I know I will sleep well tonight!
Trail Stats: 1,878 miles, 378K feet gain
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