Party Time at Lake of the Clouds Hut

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Appalachian Trail, White Mountains, NH – 8/18/12 – NaumanCampsite to Lake of the Clouds Hut – 5 Miles (5 hours)
The slight drizzle during the night tapered off quickly andwe woke to a foggy morning.  I restedhard but a little too warm, didn’t need the 15-degree sleeping bag zippedup.  Judy repacked her gear and improvedher pack stability.  (She even poured outhalf of her brandy to reduce weight!)  Wewere on the trail by 7:40 a.m., carrying a little anxiety for what the daywould hold.  The dilemma we faced waswhether to stop at Lake of the Clouds Hut (5 miles) or continue up and over MountWashington and on to the next legal camping spot (9.6 trail miles plus a 1-miledetour off the trail to the campsite = 10.6 miles).  Unless the hiking was significantly lesscomplicated than yesterday, there’s no way we were going to make it 10+ miles.
We knew that the trail would continue to trend upwards, andimmediately past Mizpah Spring Hut we met a half-mile steep climb, more rockwalls and even a ladder.  Okay, say itwith me again:  We can do this.
As we climbed higher, the trees became shorter and boardshelped us stay on the trail in the fragile ecosystem. 
Rocks line the trail to guide hikers
We were now on the Crawford Path, the oldest contin- uouslymaintained hiking trail in the United States.
Say hello to Mount Pierce (aka Mount Clinton, but don’t askme why).  
There were lots of people out this morning, most havingspent the night at Mizpah Spring Hut and hiking on to Lake of the Clouds Hut.  Tall rock cairns now appeared regularly as weemerged above tree line, and you can see in the fog why they are so necessary.
One group that we leapfrogged for a while consisted of fourteenage girls and five adults with daypacks. The girls were playing some type of memory word game, very loud, notreally paying attention to their surroundings. At a sleepover this would have been normal, but not what I wanted tohear in this glorious outdoor setting. They were faster than us, but stopped frequently.  We would let them pass, then catch up andpass them as they took many rest breaks. We lost them once when they took the side trail over Mount Eisenhower(the AT skirts around this mountain), but darned if they didn’t catch usagain.  Fortunately they planned tocontinue past Mount Washington today, so they finally hiked on into oblivion.
I don’t know the rhyme or reason for the AT route throughthis area called the Presidentials.  Thetrail goes over some peaks and skirts around others.  If you’re a thru-hiker the choice is obvious,but for peakbaggers it’s a dream:  forget the AT and hit all the summits. 
As the morning progressed the clouds played hide and seek.  This is one of my favoritephotos of the entire trip:  Judy andMount Eisenhower. 
Going around Mount Eisen- hower.
People going up and down to the Eisenhower summit
Five minutes later, clouds rolling over Eisenhower
Looking back at Mount Eisen- hower.  The wide open terrain remindedme of hiking in Switzerland and the views (when the clouds cooperated) seemedendless. 
We passed a father with his three young boys, ages 8, 6 and4.  The two older ones wore their owndaypacks and carried their own little hiking poles.  The 4-year-old scampered around like one ofHeidi’s goats.  They were on a multi-dayhut-to-hut trip.  I have never seenanything like that in North Carolina. Everyone we met during our White Mountains adventure seemed welloutfitted with proper footwear and gear, none of this stepping out of the carin flip-flops and walking 100 feet up the trail (granted, we were up at thesummits that are a challenge to reach). As for fitness, I felt like I was the “fat” person on the trails. 
The AT led us over Mount Franklin and then we caught ourfirst glimpse of Mount Washington (home of communi- cation towers).  At 6,288 feet, Mount Washington is thehighest peak in the northeastern United States and, of course, the NewHampshire state high point. 
At last Lake of the Clouds Hut came into view, but look atthe cloud cover. What was the weather going to do the rest of the day?  It was 12:30 p.m.
The five miles to LOTC was easier thanyesterday, but still strenuous, some rock surfing and slow, tedioushiking.  It took us 5 hours to go 5miles.  There was no guarantee that thenext 5 miles to the next stop would be easier, plus we would have to hurry overMount Washington without stopping to relax (and, yes, enjoy food at the snackbar).  Ultimately, although it seemedquite early, we decided to stay at Lake of the Clouds.  We resolved ourselves to enjoy the afternoonas a gift of time.
We threw ourselves on the mercy of Emma, the staff person incharge, and asked to stay in the “hiker dungeon.”  She said that was intended as emergencyshelter for late arriving hikers and they didn’t usually start accepting peopleuntil after 3:00 p.m., but when I told her I’d sit and wait until 3:00 p.m. andask her again, she relented and signed us in. The cost is $10 per person and for another $10 you can buy dinner.  Since we had lugged our food this far, weopted to cook our own dinner. 
The hiker dungeon is downstairs underneath the diningroom.  It looks like it used to bestorage.
Home sweet home
Judy and I took seats on benches in the dining room and atelunch with a view of Mount Washington out the window, in and out ofclouds.  It looked so close (only 1.4miles) yet so unattainable today. 
The dining room at Lake of the Clouds Hut. 


After resting a bit and eating and inspecting the facilities(composting toilets and treated water), we decided to climb the mountain nextdoor that the AT had skirted around, Mount Monroe, as a consolation (thus webagged another 4,000-footer).  Again,loads of people plus some well-behaved dogs were going up and down thismountain. 
On the summit of Mount Monroe 
Looking down at Lake of the Clouds Hut - Mount Washington totally obscured by clouds

Judy seemed to be doing okay on today’s hike, not astreacherous as yesterday, and she wanted to do a little more hiking.  I was happy to just return to LOTC, so shedescended down the far side of Mount Monroe and circled back on the AT.  A little down time was good for both of usand I was glad to see her enjoying herself. (Side note:  when she got back toLOTC she reported that the descent was rocky and unstable and never to let herdo that again – haha).  I noticed thatin talking with people she complained about the difficulty of the rocks andthat she no longer wanted to finish her goal of section hiking the entire ATbecause there was more of this terrain ahead and she felt it was too dangerous. I empathized greatly with her because I hated crossing snow fields in the Grand Tetons and never got comfortable with it.  It is my fervent hope that with a little time for contemplation she willrenew her goal.  And I remember that after summiting Mount Whitney I was sure I never wanted to do anything remotely asstrenuous ever again – and yet here I was in the White Mountains, which felt a lot like Whitney butwith oxygen.  In the meantime, during ourNH adventure I tried to be vocal that although we ain't in Kansas anymore (i.e. different terrain than back home) I was having a different experience and felt okay with it. 
Back at the LOTC hut I sat outside on a bench and struck upconversations with fellow hut guests. Most were surprised to hear about the hiker dungeon accommodations.  When Judy returned, we chatted with a manwho, upon hearing we were from North Carolina, told us about a hiker friend ofhis in Tennessee that he had originally met at the New Hampshire huts.  He’s been to Tennessee to visit and has hikeda little bit in the Smokies.  Then hedescribed to me a great guide book he picked up there, saying he would likelynever get to do any hikes from the book but felt it was so well written that hebought it to read for fun.  Had I everheard of an author named Danny Bernstein? Small world again.
One gregarious fellow we chatted with several times went bythe trail name of T-Bone.  He has hikedall around the White Mountains for many years. We told him our trail names were Heartfire and Smoky Scout, and fromthen on he called us “Heart Throb” and “Smoky Princess.”  If you like socializing at the end of theday, try hiking in the White Mountains. 
Judy and I got out stoves and our backpacker meals andcooked near the benches at the front door. My cuisine is made by Mountain House but Judy dehydrates her own meals. Thenwe enjoyed another brandy toast for Day 2.
Hut staff prepared a turkey dinnercomplete with homemade bread.  Yeah, myMountain House pasta primavera tasted dee-lish. 
After eating, I sat inside and looked through the hut’sguest books (they have all of them dating back to when the huts first opened –you can go back and find what you wrote in 1974).  The staff made a big display of introducingthemselves and explaining how the hut works, and it was apparent that thesestaff jobs are valued and much sought after. It felt like being at summer camp. Outside, Judy was talking with some young thru-hikers who were doingwork-for-stay (in exchange for cleaning up after dinner and breakfast theywould be allowed to sleep in the dining room for free).  One of the thru-hikers, a young law student named Blind Faith,would be sleeping in the dungeon with us.  Judy came in to tell me that the sunset was looking spectacular and Ijoined her outside.
The other hut guests drifted outside to see the sunset, too,and it was breath- taking. 
Smoky Scout at sunset
Judy’s sunset photo
Then the guests went back inside to play cards and boardgames in the dining room, and after hanging around a short time we headed toour basement bunker directly beneath the action.  Loud voices and thumping around couldn’tcompete with my state of exhaustion plus ear plugs and I fell asleep soon.  Sometime during the night Blind Faith creptquietly into his bunk above me.  And at1:00 a.m. I went outside for a bathroom break and was nearly knocked down bythe stars.  I felt like I could reach outand grab the handle of the Big Dipper. 
When I admire the wonders of a sunset orthe beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.  ~Mahatma Ghandi