Mt. Washington Hike Trip Review - Part II
1130AM - At the extra fast pace that we were going, NOT being in the best of shape, my heart racing, I simply just had to rest with just .4 of a mile to the summit, STORM or NO STORM. We sat, rested, and had some healthy snacks (carrot sticks and grapes). Two college girls easily passed us who didn't even break a sweat.
1148 AM - We arrived at the Mt. Washington Summit. The FOG was extremely thick and it was somewhat windy. The Tuckerman's trail crosses the Mt. Washington auto road (or actually ends). I was somewhat concerned about crossing the auto road and getting hit because you could not really see clearly down street with the thick fog. Once crossing the street, believe it or not but climbing up the stairs seemed more painful than the rocks. The two college girls who passed us earlier were already starting their descent.
At the top of Mt. Washington there is several buildings, structures, cafeteria, lookout point, etc.
The actual summit is a very small rocky hill. There was many, many people (who mainly drove up in their cars or on the Cog railroad) waiting for their time at the top. Some people were actually complaining that there was NO stairs to the top. It was windy at the top but nowhere as windy as Mt. Chocura trip we took in 2007, however it was chilly. We decided to eat lunch within the cafeteria area since there was absolutely NO view on the mountain.
After buying Austin a "This Body Climbed Mt. Washington" we started out decent to get ahead of the storm.
1245PM - Our descent started off very cloudy but as time went on it cleared right up. About 15 minutes down it was totally clear. The threat of the thunderstorm must have been false. It was very tempting to hike back up to take additional pictures and get the full view of being on the summit be we proceeded on. We could see the AMC hut Lake of the Clouds nearby on our decent. It was also tempting to complete the short .3 (mostly level) hike to that location but we passed on that as well.
200PM - We chose to take a different route down. We headed through the Lions Head Peak. It was somewhat wet in the short "Christmas-tree" like forest area which lasted for only about .2 of a mile. At the Lion's head peak, we sat and enjoyed the view, took some pictures, had a snack and removed our sweaters. It was starting to WARM UP! People were passing us left and right (both on the trail and while we rested)! We were going slow.
313PM - We finally maded it to where Lions Head Trail merge's Tuckerman's ravine ()(near Hermit Lake). From here on down, fortunately the trail was MUCH easier. Less steep and more managable and less painful to walk on. We were able to pick up the pace and I don't believe anyone passed us from here on.
428PM - We finally made it to Pinkham Notch Base and then drove back to Danforth Bay for the evening!
1 Week later - My legs are finally back to normal. I was in pain for a good couple of days!
Things we did right:
1. Freeze some water bottles, provides for COLD water on the later part of the trip.
2. Packed some nutrious snacks such as fruits and granola bars.
3. Bring a camera! Great Photo oppurtunities.
4. Start out EARLY!
5. Even though it was WET in many sections of the park we DID NOT twist our ankles, slip, or fall. The only item we needed in our first aid kit was motrin for sore knees and sore feet. It really didn't help.
Lessons Learned:
1. Do not pack yogurt as a trail snack. I ended up spilling part of mine - also way too much trash! Bring a trash bag with you!
2. Bring an extra T-shirt or two.
3. Train ahead of time. Good intentions this summer gone bad.
4. Check in with Ranger station about weather. Don't trust hear-say on the mountain.
5. Food is actually reasonable at the Mt. Washington cafeteria. Example. A bottle of diet coke was $1.50 and hot dog was around $2. I believe they even had clam chowder for $3.
6. Bathrooms at Tuckerman's Ravine (real flush toilets) are actually clean. Use the Hikers bathroom at the Mt. Washington summit if you don't want to wait.
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