Day 112 - Saturday, July 24, 2021

Day 2 - Woke up to beautiful clear skies and bright sun. This will be a great day to summit Mt. Washington 😉.







Sunrise at the Hut…



“Lakes” in the clouds…


Today’s hike is fairly short, continuing from Lake in the Clouds Hut (1858.7 NoBo) to the Madison Spring Hut (1865.9 NoBo) equaling 7.2 miles. We began hiking around 8:30 am as we have time to enjoy all the views and spectacular sights; and it’s perfect day to hike with temperatures reaching 60° with a slight breeze. 




We leave the hut, start our way on our approach to the summit  and were greeted by this sign… 😬. The weather is known to dramatically change in the Whites, especially on  Mt. Washington, with no advance warning or notice. We are prepared as we do have our cold weather gear with us… hopefully we will not need it. 




The approach trail to the summit. 






EUREKA! 😉 


We enjoyed the views from the summit then began our descent to the Crawford trail and our hike to the Madison Spring Hut. Amazingly enough… there was not cell phone service on the summit so I couldn’t text/call Jean or Erin 😲. 


Panoramic view from the summit with the Mt. Washington Cog Railway in the background.

Mt. Washington Cog Railway




Mt. Washington Cog Railway. 






Meet Gaylen. Gaylen is a USFS ranger patrolling the trails ensuring everyone’s safety including the trails; making sure hikers stay on the designated trails not harming the endangered alpine vegetation. 




The trail was very crowded with day hikers… especially since this has been the first nice day on a weekend in 3 weeks… looks like a pilgrimage 🙏🏻. 





The Madison Spring Hut. 




This is “Chipcrusher” who left Springer March 21st. We’ve passed each other several times on the trail and I finally got his picture. “Chipcrusher” is from Ft. Myers, Florida; his family owns a screen installation and repair company. I will get the AT discount if I need an screens repaired in the condo 😉. 

Another great day on the trail, beautiful sunny day, hiking through all the President’s.  I think tomorrow is going to be an adventure, weather wise 😵‍💫.   


Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 

😋


“Acts of generosity in this wild and primitive setting…where basic amenities…are intentionally absent–are often received in a heightened sense of wonder and gratitude by hikers. These acts of generosity are referred to as “trail magic.”

                     (Appalachian Trail Conservancy)


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