Sept 6

Hitting the slopes

We got a hitch back up to the trail this afternoon.  Gorging on fast food burgers and fries was a terrible idea. Good to get the calories, but it's not sitting well once we started the strenuous climbing.  Initially, the trail was pretty flat, as it skirted some watery areas.  After a mile, the climb up to Wildcat Ridge began.  It was 1200 feet gained over the next mile, with some of the trickiest rock climbing we've seen so far.  Then another 800 feet up over the next seven tenths of a mile.  So far, the Cats have made us claw, climb, and crawl, using cracks in the rocks and protruding roots to make our way up the steep trail.  It took a few hours to make it up to the ridge at Peak E.  After a short bump, we arrived at Peak D, at the top of a ski slope.  There was a dilapidated ski lodge, that was boarded up, and looked like it had been out of use for decades.  The ski lift was open, but there were no chairs on the cables or in the machine room.  The small ski patrol hut was locked up, but looked like it could still be in use.  After exploring the grounds for a while, we decided to stay here at the top of the mountain for the night.  We only did 3 miles so far, but this was a really cool spot.  We had Washington and the rest of the northern Presidentials in picture perfect view.  In that direction, the views were clear, and pretty spectacular.  Late in the day, clouds started creeping in behind us, off the opposite side of the mountain.  The temperature dropped and the wind picked up slightly over night.

View of Mt. Washington with Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines.