Mimi
New member
Out of the 30 or so days of A1 weather every year on Mount-Washington, last Sunday stands out as the ideal one to reach its summit. Light warm winds, turquoise cloudless sky with a temperature that only required a fleece, all of which was the perfect setting for an ultra-hike.
Mount Washington was one of the 8 Presidential Mtns we set ourselves to hike on sunny Sunday. Let see, where should I begin? Well, when you team up an eager peak bagger like me, an elevation gainer like Jean-Pierre & a very fast hiker like Michel, you get the ideal hiking team to undertake the challenge: Eight 4000+ footers over approximately 20 miles and close to 8,500 ft of elevation gain in one day. Challenging indeed! But it’s all good. Except for the 3am rising up we had to do.
From Dolly Cop Campground Trailhead, we began our trek with headlamps & sleepy eyes on Daniel Webster Scout Trail. In silence, Jean-Pierre & I followed Michel’s lead for the first three hours. His flowing & extended steps had me trotting & puffing at times behind him. As the layers of clothes were being shed off & stuffed in our packs, the daylight was ever so slowly welcoming us to a magical dawn moment. Halfway towards our first peak destination on Madison, the orange morning sun did its magic on us, as it rose from the mountain tops. Dazzled by its brilliant light, we took our first pics of the day. At Osgood Jct we headed our way to Madison's summit. Our initial plan was to be at the top of Washington by 1 o’clock. From Madison, we took the scenic Gulfside Trail & traveled to Adams. At one point, we crossed path with a through hiker of the Appalachian Trail coming down from Adams’ peaks. He had a long brown beard, at least a foot long & was wearing a hiking skirt. You'll see him on the slide show attached to this thread. We talked with him & asked a bunch of questions about his adventure. He was so friendly. He gave us his web-blog address to follow him on his journey. I feel bad right now, b’cause as I'm writing this report, I can't for the life of me remember his name, but I do remember the skirt and his peaceful manners. I think hiking straight through the AT is more then a hiking journey, it’s a spiritual pilgrimage.
Hiking on Jefferson's upper spine, I was taken by the huge green ravine on Edmands Col side. What a beautiful sight, the steep bowl of pine trees! Sometime around that moment I realized that we were hiking on the open traverse of the Presidentials. A few yards from the summit, we took a brief sitting & snacking break just in front of the big cairn. This is where we met the first CROWD of the long fall weekend. Hard to believe, but the tiny summit bump of Jefferson actually had a line-up of people waiting for their turn! I skipped mine. “I have enough of the grocery & bank line-ups back home, no need to do this to myself out here in the wilderness”, I thought. From Gulfside Trail we veered upwards onto Clay Loop Mtn to visit the summit. The view from Clay’s peak gave us an opportunity to take in what we had traveled so far since 4ish am.
We did reach Washington’s peak around 1pm & met with the second huge CROWD of tourists & hikers. By then, a good cup of coffee was the only thing on my mind. Jean-Pierre treated us to coffee & ice cream. Both Michel & I greeted him with childlike Ahhhhs!!!! To the sweet surprise. God, it was so good!!! After a 45 minutes break at the resto we ploughed through the CROWD & began descending towards Lakes of the Clouds' Hut located just 0.3 miles before Monroe's summit. Looking up to see where Jean-Pierre was coming from, he was enjoying one of his several solo moments during our hike by choosing blitz of different routes to eventually catch up to us a few hundred yards later. This was a good thing, b'cause it gave him the chance to taste the mountains a little differently from the usual path. We often refer to him as the more technical hiker; if there is a slide, he wants to go on it; if the rocks are bigger away from the path, chances are, he will venture the more difficult way.
Last Sunday was my first hike in the White Mountain high peaks, so the views & majestic landscapes were keeping my amazement very busy. I particularly enjoyed hiking in the open rocky space of the WM ranges. Though at times, I found it a bit arduous on the plants of the feet to walk & hop on big rocks for hours on. Every hike teaches me something about myself or life: the art of equilibrium came in play on this one. The Webster dictionary tells us that “equilibrium” happens when we’re in a state of adjustment between opposing forces or actions. Well, as I was making my way on the big pointy rocks during several hours of our hike, I kept thinking: “what if I fall on my head? I can really hurt myself.” The fear of injury harbored my mind & body in joining force to keep me in balance between fear & advancement. Does that make sense to you? I later realized when Michel noticed how slow I was moving at times on the rocks; perhaps I was experiencing my own moments of “equilibrium”. The sight of any smoother patches ahead on the trail had an immediate relief effect on the tension I was holding in. By the time we reached Monroe (Clinton) Mtn around 3pm, I finally gave in & started to relax my tense & cautious walk to a more fluid-hoping-&-happy-goer.
After a short pics break at Lake of the Clouds, we proceeded to hike Franklin. The refreshing sight of a lake in the middle of the high peaks was quite a contrast with the dry surrounding I observed along the Presidential Traverse. I barely remember our passing on Franklin, but there was a definite feeling of victory from all of us on Eisenhower, our last peak of the day. Ourah! Ourah! We made it all the way here & still feel good physically! Well, that was before we began the Death March part of the hike back to the car. The Edmans Trail steep descent to the trailhead is brutal when you’re legs are not as morning fresh anymore…Outch on the quads’! It is during this last descending rather long stretch that the lactic acid made its marks. I kept repeating to myself coming down to the trailhead “It’s all good Mimi.”
All in all, our hike was uneventfully pleasant and completed over 15 hours. Plenty of laughers & joyful chats along the trek, and changing the energy of our little troop by switching the leader & the “tailer” often, was the making of a great hike. Thinking back, what did we expect from this hike? Well, when you team up an eager peakbagger named Mimi, an elevation gainer such as Jean-Pierre & a strong-fast hiker like Michel, you get "equilibrium."
Thank you to my dear fellow hikers & friends for this memorable day filled with steps towards balance & laughter in my heart!
P.S.: the next day we slept in until 10am & hiked Pierce in the afternoon before heading back home.
Here are some of the pics:http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/560557124ovciws
Mount Washington was one of the 8 Presidential Mtns we set ourselves to hike on sunny Sunday. Let see, where should I begin? Well, when you team up an eager peak bagger like me, an elevation gainer like Jean-Pierre & a very fast hiker like Michel, you get the ideal hiking team to undertake the challenge: Eight 4000+ footers over approximately 20 miles and close to 8,500 ft of elevation gain in one day. Challenging indeed! But it’s all good. Except for the 3am rising up we had to do.
From Dolly Cop Campground Trailhead, we began our trek with headlamps & sleepy eyes on Daniel Webster Scout Trail. In silence, Jean-Pierre & I followed Michel’s lead for the first three hours. His flowing & extended steps had me trotting & puffing at times behind him. As the layers of clothes were being shed off & stuffed in our packs, the daylight was ever so slowly welcoming us to a magical dawn moment. Halfway towards our first peak destination on Madison, the orange morning sun did its magic on us, as it rose from the mountain tops. Dazzled by its brilliant light, we took our first pics of the day. At Osgood Jct we headed our way to Madison's summit. Our initial plan was to be at the top of Washington by 1 o’clock. From Madison, we took the scenic Gulfside Trail & traveled to Adams. At one point, we crossed path with a through hiker of the Appalachian Trail coming down from Adams’ peaks. He had a long brown beard, at least a foot long & was wearing a hiking skirt. You'll see him on the slide show attached to this thread. We talked with him & asked a bunch of questions about his adventure. He was so friendly. He gave us his web-blog address to follow him on his journey. I feel bad right now, b’cause as I'm writing this report, I can't for the life of me remember his name, but I do remember the skirt and his peaceful manners. I think hiking straight through the AT is more then a hiking journey, it’s a spiritual pilgrimage.
Hiking on Jefferson's upper spine, I was taken by the huge green ravine on Edmands Col side. What a beautiful sight, the steep bowl of pine trees! Sometime around that moment I realized that we were hiking on the open traverse of the Presidentials. A few yards from the summit, we took a brief sitting & snacking break just in front of the big cairn. This is where we met the first CROWD of the long fall weekend. Hard to believe, but the tiny summit bump of Jefferson actually had a line-up of people waiting for their turn! I skipped mine. “I have enough of the grocery & bank line-ups back home, no need to do this to myself out here in the wilderness”, I thought. From Gulfside Trail we veered upwards onto Clay Loop Mtn to visit the summit. The view from Clay’s peak gave us an opportunity to take in what we had traveled so far since 4ish am.
We did reach Washington’s peak around 1pm & met with the second huge CROWD of tourists & hikers. By then, a good cup of coffee was the only thing on my mind. Jean-Pierre treated us to coffee & ice cream. Both Michel & I greeted him with childlike Ahhhhs!!!! To the sweet surprise. God, it was so good!!! After a 45 minutes break at the resto we ploughed through the CROWD & began descending towards Lakes of the Clouds' Hut located just 0.3 miles before Monroe's summit. Looking up to see where Jean-Pierre was coming from, he was enjoying one of his several solo moments during our hike by choosing blitz of different routes to eventually catch up to us a few hundred yards later. This was a good thing, b'cause it gave him the chance to taste the mountains a little differently from the usual path. We often refer to him as the more technical hiker; if there is a slide, he wants to go on it; if the rocks are bigger away from the path, chances are, he will venture the more difficult way.
Last Sunday was my first hike in the White Mountain high peaks, so the views & majestic landscapes were keeping my amazement very busy. I particularly enjoyed hiking in the open rocky space of the WM ranges. Though at times, I found it a bit arduous on the plants of the feet to walk & hop on big rocks for hours on. Every hike teaches me something about myself or life: the art of equilibrium came in play on this one. The Webster dictionary tells us that “equilibrium” happens when we’re in a state of adjustment between opposing forces or actions. Well, as I was making my way on the big pointy rocks during several hours of our hike, I kept thinking: “what if I fall on my head? I can really hurt myself.” The fear of injury harbored my mind & body in joining force to keep me in balance between fear & advancement. Does that make sense to you? I later realized when Michel noticed how slow I was moving at times on the rocks; perhaps I was experiencing my own moments of “equilibrium”. The sight of any smoother patches ahead on the trail had an immediate relief effect on the tension I was holding in. By the time we reached Monroe (Clinton) Mtn around 3pm, I finally gave in & started to relax my tense & cautious walk to a more fluid-hoping-&-happy-goer.
After a short pics break at Lake of the Clouds, we proceeded to hike Franklin. The refreshing sight of a lake in the middle of the high peaks was quite a contrast with the dry surrounding I observed along the Presidential Traverse. I barely remember our passing on Franklin, but there was a definite feeling of victory from all of us on Eisenhower, our last peak of the day. Ourah! Ourah! We made it all the way here & still feel good physically! Well, that was before we began the Death March part of the hike back to the car. The Edmans Trail steep descent to the trailhead is brutal when you’re legs are not as morning fresh anymore…Outch on the quads’! It is during this last descending rather long stretch that the lactic acid made its marks. I kept repeating to myself coming down to the trailhead “It’s all good Mimi.”
All in all, our hike was uneventfully pleasant and completed over 15 hours. Plenty of laughers & joyful chats along the trek, and changing the energy of our little troop by switching the leader & the “tailer” often, was the making of a great hike. Thinking back, what did we expect from this hike? Well, when you team up an eager peakbagger named Mimi, an elevation gainer such as Jean-Pierre & a strong-fast hiker like Michel, you get "equilibrium."
Thank you to my dear fellow hikers & friends for this memorable day filled with steps towards balance & laughter in my heart!
P.S.: the next day we slept in until 10am & hiked Pierce in the afternoon before heading back home.
Here are some of the pics:http://outdoors.webshots.com/slideshow/560557124ovciws
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