Friday, September 5, 2008

can't stop, won't stop.....

...they don't call it the whites for nothing! aah yes, New Hampshire and the White Mountains were amazing. Hard, but worth every climb. most of the pics below were taken in the Presidential Range of the whites (Mt. Washington, Lincoln, Eisenhower, Franklin etc.) where the Appalachian Mtn Club (AMC) has a backcountry hut system for hikers who can pay a hefty sum to stay in a bunkhouse and eat some quality grub. there is a lot of mixed feelings about the system and the politics involved but it worked out for us! we got to do work for stay with other thru-hikers in a couple of huts and stealth camp the rest of the time! The other big news is that we are a day away from Maine, which means only 280 miles to go. we plan to finish at the end of this month - time has flown by! but, got a lot to look forward to in Maine. Here's the highlights from NH:




a bunch of thru-hikers waiting for the leftover food at Galehead hut. our first stay in a hut by washing dishes.

Looking up to Webster cliffs was so daunting that we decided to stop by the road for the night and stealth camp with "The Bulls" & "Rub-a-dub."

the next moring met up with the wonderful "Longwetru" & "Willow" on Webster cliffs lookout. always great to see this pair!



view of the terrain to Mt. Washington from Mt. Jackson, where the clouds would form and quickly dissipate right over the peaks.

Lakes of the Clouds hut, just 1.5 miles below mt washington. the wind was blowing like crazy all day. we heard there were gusts up to 70 mph. it made hiking difficult but more of an adventure!


Here we are working for our stay. Wiping down all the wooding with bleach water to prevent mold growth. With all these hands, it got done quickly!

The sign warns to steer clear of Mt. Washington when bad weather is present. Several people die every year here due to ill preparedness.


Hoot, Sundance, Sweet Potato, Brahma Bull, Rub-a-Dub, and Gonzo celebrating the summit of Mt. Washington!


View near Carter Notch Hut, one of the more secluded and peaceful huts we visited.


Hoot and Sundance pushing on against the wind hiking up Mt. Madison.


2 comments:

TheRagan3 said...

way to go guys! Glad to see that you have made it that far. Here's to a safe rest of the trip!
Erinn, Michael and ABe

Kevin Doll aka StinkyKD said...

so proud of you guys - now if you would just stop crushing miles and winning the AT - I might be able to catch up! would love to summit with you - but running out of days to make up the mileage - I'm in Caratunk - nero in, nero out today. guessing 3 days to Monson - then 7 days to K. If you didn't zero in Monson, and do zero or two in the Wilderness - might catch up. If not - peace and good luck on this last stretch! Blaze.