Light rain made taking down the tents a chore, but we were able to make our breakfast in the hut. There we reviewed the weather report. The "summits outlook" was of interest because we were planning to cross Mt. Washington. Looked chilly, but we had a schedule to keep.
HOP was waiting out the rain but Candyman and K-Won had gotten an early start.
We took off a little late but it turned out to be a good choice.
The rain was light and eventually stopped, leaving us with plenty of the now familiar fog.
As the day went on the sun began to peek through. By the time we reached Lake of the Clouds Hut there was a layer of clear air allowing a decent view.
We popped in the hut for a snack and found K-Won, Candyman, and HOP again.
They first two had gotten soaked in the early morning and were drying out.
We said hello but didn't stay long.
Headed up Mt. Washington next which was draped in fog and covered in ice and snow. As we hiked up we saw an ominous sign warning about the conditions. Mt. Washington holds the world record for highest wind speed recorded by man at 231 mph. We felt confident in our gear and proceeded on. This area is part of the alpine tundra and has a delicate, cold ecosystem so we stuck to the marked trail as best we could in the conditions.
At the top was the observatory, radio station, and visitor's center. Tourists can take a train to the top or even drive up when the weather is good. We did it the hard way. Everyone was rewarded with beautiful views as the weather cleared over the next hour. It is impossible to capture the majesty of this place with a photo, you should go visit.
Kyle and I treated ourselves to snacks at the visitor's center before heading down to the Great Gulf Wilderness. This area had lots of hiking above the treeline, but luckily not much snow. The trail was marked with stone cairns.
We decided to take a detour to climb Mt. Jefferson which also offered stunning views with our new and improved weather.
To end the day we had to walk a bit off trail to a shelter: The Perch. Camping up above the treeline is not allowed so the shelter and campsite were downhill quite a bit. Back in the trees, the sun out, and a big summit behind us, we both felt pretty good.
The shelter was full of some more University of Michigan students using it as a base camp in the area. Filling a shelter with a group and using it for multiple nights is frowned upon. Don't do this.
Kyle and were happy to tent, being in good spirits from the best day yet in the White Mountains. We even got some sunset colors to top off the day.
