Written by Kim’s eldest daughter, age 14
Have you ever wondered what a sunset looks like from above the clouds? I had never really thought about it until I hiked the Presidential Traverse with my family.
We had planned on hiking the traverse from Madison Hut to Mizpah Hut. Unfortunately, due to sketchy weather reports, we only did a part of the hike.
We hiked up from the Cog Railway on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail. It only took a few hours. The rock slabs close to the top were slippery and the wind almost pushed us over at times. When we finally saw the hut, we tucked close to the wall and circled the building looking for the door. We finally found the door and walked into the welcoming warmth that is the Lake Of The Clouds Hut.
We sat down for lunch and met some nice through hikers. [Side note: When you hike the Appalachian Trail (AT), you get a trail name and we met many hikers with unique trail names. There was 52, Toothless, Tin-Man, and Survivor.] We finished up our lunch, dropped our packs, layered up, and headed to the summit of Mount Washington.
There was very low visibility and we could only see the next cairn marking where the trail was. At some points the clouds would open up and we saw blue skies, but that happened very rarely. When we reached the top we went in the observatory and signed the hiker log. We loaded up on snacks and threw out our trash then headed back to the hut.
We met a nice family from Austin, Texas and explored around the hut with them. The sunset that evening was truly beautiful. The clouds were layered and the sky was painted with brilliant orange, red, pink, and yellow. After we got ready for bed we curled up in our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep.
We woke up to the sound of a ukulele being played by one of the hut crew members. The hut crews were very kind, funny and entertaining and made the experience so much more memorable. At the classic family style breakfast they put on a play for us, The Wizard Of Obs (Obs meaning the Mt Washington Observatory). After breakfast we packed our bags and headed out to hike to Mizpah Hut.
That day we summited Mt Monroe, Mt Franklin, Mt Eisenhower, and Mt Pierce. After a long day we arrived at Mizpah Hut. We had a delicious dinner, listened to a talk about Fur Waves (at each hut they do a talk to help educate hikers about the White Mountain National Forest), watched the sunset over the wildflowers, and headed to bed.
The next morning there was another play at breakfast, this one was about a dating show (put on by one of the only all female crews in the White Mountains). We packed our bags and headed out to Mt. Jackson and then to the base.
Taking off your boots at the end of a hike is always the best and worst part. It’s comforting, but it also marks the end of an amazing experience.
When you have the chance, go and explore nature. That could mean taking a walk in your neighborhood, or going on a week long hike. Just make sure you are prepared, safe, and most importantly have fun!
Grace
