Had a hearty breakfast of all-you-can-eat cinnamon rolls then were off and rolling. The weather didn't look promising at first--fog everywhere, limited visibility--but once we had cleared the tree line, it was as if God lifted a veil and all the views were visible to us.
We hiked along the exposed ridge, passed Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, to Lake of the Clouds Hut. Walking through 50-60 mph winds had worked up an appetite, so we gobbled up all of Lake of the Clouds' cookie bars then made our way up an unforgiving and windy Mount Washington.
Our planning worked out perfect and we got a clear view from the summit, and highest point in New Hampshire (elev 6,288 feet).
Mount Washington was a zoo--cars, people, a train, people, buildings, people. To get out of the wind to eat lunch we went inside to find it overflowing with people.
We began a windy ascent down, passed Clay, Jefferson and Adams. At Madison Hut we were exhausted and stopped for the day, hoping to get a work-for-stay, but nine other thru-hikers were already there (all SOBOs). We never heard anything definite, so we just sat there playing the waiting game.
By nightfall, there was nothing the hut crew could do to us, so they let all of the thru-hikers stay (no food) on the floor in the dining area. We were ecstatic--the last thing we wanted to do was have to hike another 3 miles in 50 mph winds.
We hunkered down in our sleeping bags and enjoyed a long night's sleep safely away from the wind.
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