Then Bekah and the kids went back to the car and I hiked up to a campsite. The trail was very steep and not in particularly good shape and we got a late start, so I got into camp just as it was getting dark. I slept pretty well, except that I could hear some critter trying to get my food and it gnawed a hole in my tent. The next morning I got up with the sun and started hiking very soon after. It didn't take long to get to the hut at the foot of Mt. Madison. Here's a picture.
Then I started my hike across the presidential range. Mt. Washington is in the middle and at 6,288 ft, is the highest peak in New England and also has the worst weather. The highest recorded wind speeds in the world were recorded there, 231 mph and it is regularly above gale force. Today was an exception though, the sky was crystal clear all day and the wind was hardly blowing, even at the summit.
I was pretty careful about my pack weight and my base weight was around 14 lbs. I think I can do better though. There were some last minute things I threw in, like a "Summer Sausage" I bought discounted at Mardens. I ate about 1/5 of it for a snack and it was pretty tasty, but then I kept tasting it and was wondering if it needed to be cooked, or if it mattered that it was six months past date. I also realized that the whole thing was 16 oz. I was carrying a whole pound of summer sausage, and I wasn't really looking forward to eating it again. So a few hours after lunch, I unwrapped it and jettisoned it off a cliff. It felt pretty good and probably made some raccoon's week.
The scenery was incredible. This is the hut at Lake of the Clouds, just past the summit, which was probably the best part.
Near the end of the day, other people who were hiking the whole thing in one day started to catch up with me. I met an older guy who teaches high risk kids in Maine high schools and we hiked together for a couple hours.
Then I found a tiny spot to pitch my tent right before Crawford Notch. During the night it started raining and rained on and off for the next day. I ended up hiking in my stretchy fleece tights and they were awesome. Although they got wet, they didn't feel wet and I felt warm. My patagonia houdini was less waterproof than I had hoped and I got pretty wet. Although I was at lower elevations for most of the day, I passed a few nice lakes and ponds and several waterfalls, as well as a couple more huts. Near the end of the day, I hit a few more shorter peaks, but it was rainy and cloudy so I didn't get to appreciate them that much. I also passed 3 or 4 through hikers headed north on the Appalachian Trail. Most had been out about 4 months at this point. I was pretty jealous. I almost made it to a shelter for the night, but decided to pitch my tent instead, because I figured it would be warmer and most of my stuff was wet.
The last day I got up early again and climbed up to Mt. Lafayette. Although not as high, this long ridge above Franconia Notch had that cool alpine feel with short shrubbery and rocky crags, like these.
Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so there weren't any views to speak of. I hiked down the Cascade trail and saw a bunch of waterfalls. Then I hung out in the campground for an hour waiting for Bekah and the girls. When then got there we hiked back up the cascade trail, since I lost my fleece somewhere. Here's us at the falls.
I think this sequence is pretty classic hiking with kids.
We camped in the state park that night and the next morning did a five mile hike up to a lake and down next to a stream with lots of waterfalls. We did hiking treats the whole way and it was probably Gwyn's longest hike ever. She did great.
Hiking treats. Miriam got to designing fun hiking treat place setting, like this floating one.
This is the last falls near the end. No swimming. (What is this, Japan?)
