Intro
In 2017 my Dad was suffering from ALS and he did a fundraising hike that included Mount Washington, NH with a lot of good friends. By this point Dad couldn’t speak, had a neck brace to lift his head, and a leg brace for support. I was away at Philmont so I didn’t have the opportunity to join this legendary hike. This past weekend my friends and family recreated that same hike in Dad’s memory. This is the story. You can check out the full ALS hike from Dad’s blog at Rick’s Hike For ALS!
This blog is more of a group effort than a typical Henry and BB8 one. On most of the hikes I’ve been on there is usually a ‘fast group’ and a ‘slow group’. That was not the case this time as people moved around so much it was sort of hard to keep track. So if I made any (these people were here at this time) errors in this regard please forgive me.
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The Plan
There was a lot of work that went into this trip! There would be 16 of us on the hike this time and the hike was spread over 3 days with 2 nights in Appalachian Mountain Club Huts. “AMC” for short. 10 people would do all three days and the rest would only hike on Saturday / Sunday. I specifically didn’t want to skip too many days of work at once. I was also wary of a lot of rain forecasted on Friday.
The packing list was like any other hike. I packed a lot, but in the event of an emergency I was ready for just about anything. Usually I bring the bare minimum and chance not dying.
I had all the “10 essentials”, BB8, 5 liters of water, a gatorade bottle, a first aid kit, 20F sleeping bag (only one I have lol), small tarp, 2 pack covers, 2 flashlights, extra batteries, a few snacks, my power pack (to charge my iPhone), cards / chess board / harmonica, safety blanket (think of the shiny blanket after a marathon), White Mountains map, wallet, cell phone, mini air horn (louder than a whistle), a NH Hiking Safety Card, and flares. Just kidding on the flares, but I’ve actually debated buying them in New Mexico.
My plan was to hike up to the Lakes of the Clouds hut on Saturday morning with Bethany. It was about 7 miles one way, but I was confident I could do it. After all, I did 12,441ft Mt. Baldy in the rain at Philmont in New Mexico! (That’s a story for some other time).
Friday
I was at work all day on Friday, but during this time the 10 I mentioned before were driving to the trailhead in New Hampshire. They would all be hiking the Crawford Path to the Mizpah Cut-off trail and then stay in the Mizpah Hut overnight. Since I wasn’t there I thought I would use a few photos that they took.
The hike started at around 11am for most people. Basically everyone parked their cars near the AMC Highland Center on the highway and proceeded up the stairs that started the Crawford Path. Did you know that this hiking trail is the oldest continuously used trail in America? A few people went a different way and summited Mt. Jackson, which is just about next door. (I know it’s the longer way to get to Mizpah.)
I’m glossing over a few details such as not all 10 left at the same time and not all arrived to the hut at the same time, but they did all get there by the end of the day. Everyone on Friday luckily got to experience the rain though!
Generally for hikes like these I like to not take any pictures and enjoy nature through my own eyes, but I do whip out my camera for a millisecond to help the blog readers get a sense of what the trails were like. I guess that wasn’t really a concern on Friday.
Saturday
On Saturday I set my alarm for 2:45 am and was on the curb by 4 am waiting for Bethany. We were carpooling to the Crawford Path trailhead and got there around 6:20 am. We were officially on the trail around 6:40am. It was hot and humid as we started.
We were on the trail maybe 20 minutes before getting a wonderful picture of the sun shining through the trees.
I’d say that all the way to the Mizpah Cut-off junction was rather brutal for me between the hardcore sweat, steep terrain, and humidity. If you know me from my various jobs you should know that I don’t handle summer heat well.
Before reaching the cut-off Jay passed us so fast I didn’t have time to recognize him. He would be pushing some fast travel times throughout the day.
Once we got to the cut-off we kept going on the Crawford Path to the top near Mt. Pierce. It was around the tree line that Bethany recognized some distinct whistling and discovered Nick hiding around the corner! It should be known that I was very close to giving up on this portion of the hike, but with very strong encouragement I kept going.
Looking in the distance I could just barely see Mom, Tom, Jenny, and Whit at the base of Mount Eisenhower. The morning goal was to catch up to the Friday team and while I had my doubts, it seemed like we would do just that. Philip and Matt were nowhere to be seen because they were pushing to summit all the mountains before the afternoon storms hit… so they were very far ahead. Nick, Bethany, Sean, and Bill also wanted to summit everything so they took off as soon as the break was over. (There were severe thunderstorms supposedly happening after 1pm.)
Meanwhile the rest of the group and I were just trying to get to the next hut before the lightning started. (Going around all the peaks.) Like a classic road trip I didn’t bother to do more than the bare minimum throughout the hike such as only drink water, never actually open my pack, and never eat any of the snacks I brought.
The route around Eisenhower would’ve been a lot easier if I had brought the bare minimum and not 45Lbs of gear with me. I was lagging the whole way. My style of hiking for this trip was to go about 50 feet then rest for a minute. This was how out of shape me did most of the hike.
Once we got around the mountain it was relatively easy going to the base of the other side of Eisenhower. That’s were we discovered Ted, Nick, Bethany, Sean, and Bill taking a pack off break.
A ‘pack off’ break is where you get to lounge without your backpack on and rest for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. A ‘pack on’ break is you are usually standing with your pack strapped to you still and you have a quick 5 – 10 minute water break. (That’s my experience at least.)
Almost everyone except me had some sort of hiking support such as hiking poles. I’ve never understood the hype behind them so in the pictures if you see me without poles that is why. The main benefit I see with them is being able to set up a temporary shelter with some nylon rope and a tarp for if it rains. (Over the years my 500ft of nylon cord has diminished to about 10 ft. It’s one of the few things I didn’t bring on this trip.)
After Mt. Eisenhower it was a short half mile to the top of Mt. Franklin. Right before the summit I noticed that my leg muscles were spasming as if they were about to collapse. That was a bit concerning so I decided to stop and drink some water / rest. It was around this time that I met Justin and his girlfriend / wife (I don’t know.) Justin offered me an electrolyte drink mix to put in my water and I gratefully accepted. It tasted sort of grape flavored and about 10 minutes later I felt a lot better. Justin said that they had come up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail earlier in the day and got bored at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut so they decided to try Mt. Eisenhower before the storms hit.
After Justin / his wife and I parted ways I noticed that Mom, Tom, Jenny, and Whit had gone ahead. I’m currently aware that hiking solo is extremely dangerous, but usually I don’t have a choice on my adventures so when I discovered I was alone it didn’t really bother me much overall because I’m used to it. It was not long after these thoughts that I discovered Whit waiting for me! He was adamant that we shouldn’t hike in the lightning so I pushed on ahead and soon we caught up to Mom again.
At this point the trail evened out a lot and I was able to regain my usual New Mexico hiking pace all the way to Mt. Monroe. While Mom and the rest of the group rested around the other side of Franklin I continued on alone towards the Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
On the way there I met the “Little Foot” hiking group. They are a group of people following a 6 year old through the 48 highest peaks in New Hampshire. Pretty neat, but kind of crazy idea in my opinion.
Throughout the hike there had been numerous ‘false peaks’. These are spots where I’d say to myself “Nice that must be the top yay” and instead be hit with a “lmao nope try again” basically every time. This was the case at Monroe. To pass Mt. Monroe I first had to go around Little Monroe as Philip called it.
Going around Monroe was really annoying because it was a very narrow rocky trail that happened to also be wet and slippery in places. I wanted to get to the hut as soon as possible so I kept the breaks to a minimum here. Just enough time to get an awesome selfie.
After I got off the outer edge of the Mt. Monroe section of the Crawford Path the trail evened out a bit and I walked along a small creek until I got to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut. Before arriving at the hut I passed Ted who was on his way back to check on our progress.
The Lakes of the Clouds Hut
The last time I stayed in a hut was during the Boy Scout trip to the Zealand Falls hut over a decade ago so being back inside one was pretty cool! All of us except Sean were in our own private bunk room. The bunks were stacked 3-4 high and featured a pillow, a thin (foam?) mattress, and 2 thin wool blanket. I decided to not use my sleeping bag since it was going to be sort of hot that night and I just knew I’d suffer in it.
There was a small store, compostable indoor bathrooms, a dining room, and the bunk rooms. Outside there were of course the well known lakes. A bunch of our team went for a dip in the lake such as Phil, Matt, Bill, Jenny, and a few others. They said the water was freezing cold, heh!
Dinner was turkey, gravy, salad, pumpkin soup, bread / butter, and a lemon bar for desert. It was all very good I thought except the soup. (I don’t like pumpkin). Apparently they had a vegetarian pot pie at Mizpah that I missed out on. So glad they didn’t whip out something like that here because it would be such a bummer to go 7 miles then have to starve.
After dinner a bluegrass music group played until quiet hours. It was both great and kind of not at the same time. You see, the music was excellent but because of the violent weather outside there was nowhere else except the bunk room floor to play cards. Not the end of the world though! I ended up going to bed pretty early. Anyone who went to bed later got to listen to a symphony of snores.
The Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail
I would just like to mention that everyone except Marty, Meghan, and Eamon went up the Crawford Path. They went up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail instead since it was the most direct route. Just because a trail is shorter doesn’t mean it is less challenging so it is commendable that they did that one after it rained. To me, it seems like it would literally be a river after a rain storm. I’d just like to share a few pictures from that adventure before we continue into the Sunday portion of the blog. -all photo credit goes to Meghan
Hope this picture montage gives you an idea of the fun adventure that Marty, Eamon, and Meghan had!
Sunday
On Sunday morning a few of the guys decided to wake up with a cold splash in the lake again. I slept in only to be woken up by a loud violin played by a hut croo member. It was glorious!
After packing up most of my things I went to the dining room to have breakfast. Breakfast was sausage, oatmeal (nope from me), coffee (nope from me), and barely edible scrambled eggs. The more you ate the eggs the worse they got.
After breakfast I finished packing and right before I went outside I decided to switch my cotton socks for my long Boy Scout wool socks. It was probably the best choice of the morning.
The trail to the summit of Mount Washington was much easier than the ascent on Saturday. We passed the swimming lakes and made our way towards the Tuckerman Ravine Trail junction. Since everyone in the hut left at relatively the same time that meant we got to follow lines of people like you would see in pictures from Mt. Everest. I decided to go first since I knew everyone else would catch up to me anyways and I didn’t want to waste any time.
Phil caught up to me rather quickly followed by Matt and Bill. Eventually everyone else passed me while I was busy enjoying the views.
I really wanted to find the perfect spot for a BB8 picture. I need to have the perfect “featured picture” in every blog after all!
Lakes of the Clouds to Mt. Washington is only a 1.6 mile hike so about halfway I caught back up with the Mom, Tom, Jay, Jenny, Meghan, Marty, and Eamon group. Jay offered to carry Mom’s pack since he didn’t have his on. He was going to summit then hike all the way back down to the parking lot! Wow!
I kept looking for the most flat cairn to put BB8 on so he would have a level picture and I had to go almost to the top to get the intended shot. On the way I met some more hikers, who thought it was a very cool idea. I think a couple also thought I was nuts, but I encounter that often and it doesn’t really bother me anymore.
It took me 2 hours to reach the summit. Once there I had no time to rest as everyone wanted to take a commemorative group photo with the summit sign. It came out perfectly. Top left to right: Tom, Phil, Sean, Rick (photo Sean is holding), Matt, Bill, Whit, Ted, Jenny, Nick, Bethany. Bottom left to right: Jay, Meghan, Marty, Mom, Me, Eamon.
After that I got my BB8 sign picture. I want to take BB8 to the top of all the (48) 4,000ft peaks in New Hampshire.
After pictures I was free to explore. I went to the gift shop to get a patch for the souvenir drawer at home, then checked out the clouds surrounding Tuckerman’s Ravine, then checked out the clouds covering the trail I had just come up, and finally rejoined the group over by the cog railway station.
Our train boarded at 11:45am, but most people wanted to try to go down earlier since there really isn’t a whole lot to do at the top. I thought we should wait because Mr. Rogers and Deb were coming up on the railway to meet us. It would be a shame to come up all that way just to immediately turn around and go back wouldn’t it?
Tom, Mom, and I ended up waiting for Mr. Rogers and Deb. Once they got to the top we all set our packs to the side and I got to take another glorious picture next to the Mt. Washington sign. After that we each sort of went our separate ways to explore for a bit before our train showed up. I had a slice of pizza with Tom in the cafeteria with a view of clouds out the window. After the snack it was about time to board the train and so I shouldered my pack once more and off we went.
It’s been over a decade since I took the cog railway down and nowadays they have a diesel engine in addition to the historic steam powered one. There was a Break Master in our train carriage and he talked about how we could still get down the mountain without the engine.
There are two wheels in the front of the train that control the brakes of the train car. By spinning each wheel at the right times, the Break Master could delicately drive the train car down the mountain by itself. It sounded way more exciting than the simple chug chug chugging down the mountain like we were doing. At the bottom we parted ways with Tom and headed to Sean and Julie’s house for a post hike cookout. (I’m avoiding last names in the blog. I home you don’t mind.)
After The Hike
I think this was a story for the ages and I’m very glad I could make it. Dad’s memory lives on in all us with this hike. He was someone who loved the outdoors and took me on many camping trips with the Boy Scouts. I’m glad I got to experience at least a slice of what he must’ve felt while hiking Mt. Washington a few years ago. ALS is a terrible disease and if you feel like donating for a cure it would be much appreciated. I’m planning to go on a few more hikes with BB8 (solo of course) before winter comes so stay tuned. That’s it for this post.
Trip Stats
- Total miles hiked by Henry: 12mi (30k steps)
- Backpack weight at the start of the hike: about 45Lbs
- Worst food item: eggs at Lakes of the Clouds Hut (some say the veggie pot pie at Mizpah, but I wasn’t there for that.)
- Total wildlife seen: 40 slugs
- Cell service on the hike: almost all day
- Number of falls on the trail by Henry: 0
- Nice hikers: Many!
- Lakes of the Clouds Hut to Mt. Washington summit trail record: 27min by a croo member barefoot
- Most useless thing in my backpack: Nothing. Everything was useful.
- Did I suffer: Yes!
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