I got into hammock last night around 4 or 5 and was barely out of it until this morning. So what I’m saying is I was up early and feeling great. I watched the sun rise over mount Washington as I packed up camp and basked in the water colors of blues and oranges and red it painted across the sky. 

I ate a quick breakfast and headed out. I didn’t want to dawdle knowing that today would be a bigger day. I was climbing up to mount Washington then across the presidential traverse and then up and over Mount Madison to get back into the trees. Between Washington and Madison it would be completely exposed and, as it’s above the tree line, camping is not allowed. So I’d have to make it across. 

The distance wasn’t that bad, nor was the elevation so I wasn’t particularly intimidated, but people tended to talk this one up as a tough day. I just wanted to make sure I started early so I wouldn’t get caught mid traverse as the sun started to fall. 

It was a beautiful morning as I climbed up towards Washington. The sun was shining but the air was crisp and cool. I was having a great walk and then I checked my phone. It was the text I’d been waiting for! Rocket and Babytalk had summitted Katahdin! I was so excited for them, I stopped in my tracks and sat down to FaceTime them. 

The rest of the climb up Washington was pretty smooth and I got to the top before 11am. I knew what to expect so it wasn’t alarming, but it was definitely different. I stepped off a pretty much empty trail to the top of Washington which is littered in tourists. There’s a road up to the top and train as well. 

Kids ran and around screaming about the train and people who had just climbed off the railroad rushed to climb the last 15 feet so that they could take a photo next to the sign at the summit. “We did it, we made it 6,300 ft up!” Cried one woman in flip flops. Sure. 

Mount Washington is famous for many things but most noteably it is for having the worst weather in the United States. 4 storm formations coincide at its peak and because of science, the weather there is brutal and unpredictable. It has recorded wind at 200+ mph and regularly sees days with winds of over 100mph. It gets over 300 inches of snow a year. Last year, it was only sunny 5% of the time. 

Well the rain and fog gods spared me. It was sunny when I got up (I found out later it was actually the hottest day ever recorded on the summit.). And so I enjoyed my time up there. I had a snack and sat in the shade and watched the tourists running around. Then I had a slice of pizza. And then another. But finally, I had to admit it was time to go on. To return to my sunny day of hiking. 

The traverse from mt Washington to Madison is about 6 miles. The elevation gains and losses aren’t dramatic. And so on the map it looks like a walk in the park. What the map doesn’t show you though is that the traverse is entirely above the treeline. Meaning that on a day with a bright sun, there’s no shade. There’s no where to cool off. And there’s no water. Also, the whole hike is over loose rocks. 

It started off fun and exciting. I stopped so many times in the first hour to take photos of the scenery and of the cog railroad as the train came by. (Thru hikers are historically meant to moon the rail road, but I decided to settle for just taking photos of it). But slowly, as the time unwinded and I didn’t seem to be making as much progress as I expected, I stopped having fun. 

A 6 mile walk should have taken 3 hours at longest. It was in my 4th hour of that walk when a local day hiker stopped me and asked, “so are these rocks worse than rocksylvania?” And yes they were. Rocksylvania is so bad because the terrain is fine aside from the rocks. You should be able to move on it, but the rocks slow you down and threaten to break your legs. These rocks, the rocks of the white mountains do the same. But they do it as you go up and down and up and down. It was exhausting. 

I stopped quickly at the hut before Madison. I refilled my water bottle, chugged it and then refilled it again. I soaked my shirt in the freezing cold water and then put it back on. I was hot and out of energy. A group of guys I had met yesterday tried to start conversation with me but I didn’t really give them much in return. All I could do was focus on hydrating and cooling down. I felt like I was 1,000 degrees and somehow just getting hotter.

But I hadn’t made a reservation at the hut in advance, so I couldn’t stay. That meant it was a climb up and over Madison until I found a campsite. 

Even though I was still baking in the sun, the climb up was fine. I stopped a few times to catch my breath or let out some obscenity about how hot it was but overall it was an easy enough climb up. I paused at the top to admire the amazing views. But I was still roasting, so I knew I couldn’t stay long. I kept on going. 

The climb down was not easy. It was steep and full of rocks and boulders. With the sun still beating down on me, I slowly descended that side. Trying to keep my pace above a mile an hour. And even that was a struggle. 

When we finally hit the tree line and returned to shade, I found the first campsite I could. I dropped my pack and sat on the ground. And while sitting there I decided I was just too tired. The campsite wasn’t really big enough for my hammock but I’d make it work. I also didn’t have it in me to eat dinner. I looked at cliff bar, felt sick at the sight of it. And just got into bed. Ready for tomorrow to come. 

Key stats:

Miles: 14

Elevation gained: 4600 ft

Mile marker: 1873

Dinners: 0