Day: 120
Date: Tuesday, 22 August 2023
Start: Ethan Pond (AT Mile 1850.5)
Finish: AMC Lake of the Clouds Hut (AT Mile 1863.9)
Daily Kilometres: 20.6 (Ascent 5098', Descent 2927')
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 3050.7
Weather: Cool to mild, sunny and windy.
Accommodation: The Dungeon (Emergency shelter under AMC hut)
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Pop tarts
Lunch: Pastries and trail mix
Dinner: Rehydrated meals
Aches: Dave - left knee sore and the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported
Highlight: We couldn't have asked for better weather for our hike along the main ridge of the Presidential Range (5000+') in the White Mountains. This is one of the most anticipated sections of the whole Appalachian Trail, but it is also infamous for its bad weather and many hikers don't get the views. The air was clear and we could see scores of miles in all directions.
Lowlight: None really.
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
After a cool night we were hiking by 6:30am anticipating, and a bit apprehensive about, a big day. We were going to climb onto the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, famous for its challenging trail, scenery and bad weather.
Lucky for us, the weather was looking good and after our first four miles, two of which were steeply uphill, we reached our first viewpoint, Webster Cliffs, and some breathtaking views over Crawford Notch.
As we climbed higher, often on some very challenging rockfaces, hand-over-hand in places and scary in some, we had lots more views and in more directions. The air was crystal clear revealing wave after wave of silhouetted mountains reaching into the distance. After Mt Webster we climbed Mt Jackson before descending to the AMC Mizpah Hut where we had lunch augmented by some of the pastries available to thru-hikers and spent some time enjoying the warm sunshine out of the very cool breeze.
After the hut we climbed Mt Pierce and then remained above the treeline in a strong wind for the rest of the afternoon, feeling on top of the world and savouring the visual feast.
Our target for the day was the AMC's Lake of the Clouds Hut where we knew there was an emergency shelter, known as The Dungeon, where thru-hikers could stay, but we also knew that there were only six bunks there. (To actually stay as paying guests in the hut would have cost $A500+ for the night.) If there were no bunks available then we would have had to hike down to below the treeline and camp, which would have been a pain in the butt. Lucky for us, there were still four bunks available (none now) and we paid our $10 each for the privilege.
After a surreptitious wash in the hut bathrooms we cooked our dinner outside in very cold conditions but were able to bring it inside to eat. We could have paid another $10 each to eat the dinner leftovers after the paying guests, but would have had to wait until maybe 8:00pm and expect it to be lukewarm.
After our dinner we stayed in the warmth of the hut until 8:00pm before adjourning to the cold unheated dungeon for the night. Tomorrow we summit My Washington, the highest point in the Presidential Range (6288') and the weather forecast looks good. Can't believe our luck.
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