It's been 2 years since we have been up Mt Washington. This time we brought a special friend and spent the night in the clouds.
Our hiking party ready to head out!
The first day predicted thunderstorms in the afternoon...our mission is to get to the hut before they arrive since we will be spending half the hike above tree line.
Talking about lightening and what to do if we get caught in a storm was a topic of discussion....with many more varied subjects to come!
We talked about what to do if you get lost...
...the changes in terrain above and below treeline and why...
...Presidents....
...peak bagging, they would get 4 (Mt Eisenhower, Mt Franklin, Mt Monroe and almost Mt Washington, 50-70 mph winds kept us just below the summit)....
....the last time we were here we left some very special ashes, wow....
...cairns, what they are for, how to follow them and keeping them maintained for others behind us....
...clouds, walking inside them...
...they walked their first section of the Appalachian Trail....
...alpine flowers...
...endangered vs extinct....
And we made it to Lakes of the Clouds Hut
30 minutes after we arrived the rain came down!
Someone fell asleep at the dinner table!
Getting a good nights sleep for the next days climb down the mountain.
Some great photos of day one by Katy Parker
coyote track
We departed the next morning with thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon again. It had rained in the night so the rocky trail was wet and slippery.
This little white throated sparrow greeted us with a beautiful song as we began. She was directly over our heads, almost close enough to touch. She followed us all day, singing, until we reached the cog railway at the bottom, 5 1/2 hours later! We love you Gram!
Scout spotted this moose scat, we also found marten scat, heard the thumping of a Spruce grouse, saw a couple American toads, coyote tracks and a dark eyed junco greeted us at the hut.
The Ammohoosic trail, the one we came down, follows the Ammohoosic stream. We talked about how water cuts through rock as we passed the many beautiful spots the water flowed through and over the rocks.
We never did get a sunny day to get the view possible, but it was still gorgeous.
The trail down was filled with spectacular faerie houses!!! And mica left faerie dust all over Scout's hands!!! We also are now able to identify quartz and mica rocks.
It was an amazing accomplishment that Scout, at 5 years old completed this journey all on her own. But don't forget, she climbed this very trail, all on her own, when she was 3!
At the bottom of the Ammohoosak ravine, a waterfall dumps into this mountain pond. Scout became the "Mountain Swimmer Girl"!
Dry clothes and we are off, 1 mile to go.
...and Scout's words of wisdom for this adventure, "always be brave."
