Day 86: Webster Cliffs to Madison Springs Hut (16.4 miles)

August 6, 2004 - Since I went to bed so early I woke up early, got over 10 hours of sleep, first time in awhile. The plan was to only go 10 miles to Lake of the Clouds Hut for the night, taking it easy since I would be going over the Presidential Mountains. Had some of the best views of the trail from Webster, Jackson, Pierce, and Franklin before getting to the hut. I got there so early, before noon, which is too early to stop for the day. So I took my lunch break and left for Mt. Washington which was just 1.5 miles away. Washington is such a big mountain that the 1.5 mile seemed a lot closer than it was. The climb took awhile since I was going straight up rocky trails. At the top there were so many people, you can drive your car or take a train to the 6300 ft summit. Washington gets the worst weather in the country; there have been winds recorded over 230 mph, so you want to go up on a nice day which I had. There were clouds’ rolling in and out, which is normal but was able to get some good pictures. After at the top for awhile I decided to move on to Madison Hut, just 5.8 miles away. Had great views the rest of the way to the hut. The trails takes you around most of the mountains and not to the summits but since you are above tree line the whole way there is no need to go up to the summits. When I got to the hut I found out that they were full of thru-hikers but decided to take an extra in since I had come so far and let the other people I had been hiking with have the work for stay back at Lake. Almost dinner time so I hope there are enough leftovers for us hikers. 16.4 miles for the day, getting closer to Maine.

Lake of the Clouds Hut