Got up before most of the others in the hut and made a quick breakfast before packing up. Caught the tail end of the forecast over the hut radio.
40mph winds with 70mph gusts on the high peaks and ice and wintery mix possible. Luckily high peaks are not on our agenda today. However rain was predicted to continue until about noon on Monday.
The first stretch of hiking was along an old railway line so the grade was pretty flat. However the rain had turned the path into a canal of standing water.
We made quick work of the miles to the road crossing in Crawford Notch and stopped for water. I spotted an orchid near the stream!
Then we had a long climb up Mt. Webster and Mt. Jackson. The terrain varied quite a bit, from flat sections of watery mud, to almost vertical rocks that required scrambling up. Luckily the weather cooperated and we managed to get some views.
We targeted the Nauman Campground next to Mitzpah Spring Hut (Mitzpah means "watchtower" in Hebrew). It was visible from Mt. Jackson.
Checked in at the hut to get the latest weather and found K-Won, Candyman, and HOP (Horn of Plenty) inside. HOP is about to finish his Triple Crown. K-Won had stayed a few days to get good weather for Mt. Washington. Hopefully (for all of us) tomorrow is the day!
In the campground we ran into a group of University of Michigan English majors out for some summer course credit (unclear what the course was).
Kyle and I set up camp before going back into the hut to make our dinners. This one sold cookies, candy bars, and later in the evening slices of focaccia style pizza. We both partook in a little of each.
Back at camp it was already down to 4°C (39°F) so it was right into the sleeping bags for the night.
