Presidents

Hello Everyone! I'm in Gorham, NH getting restocked, doing laundry and about to get a burger! This morning, Dad and I hiked 5 miles to Pinkham Notch Visitor Center from Osgood Tent Site, which is at the base of the Presidential Mountain Range. It was great to chill with the Presidents, but it was one tough hike! As Dad put several times, "MAN! Even the downhills have uphill!" We began the hike up the range Monday afternoon after purchasing a new camera to take pictures. The climb to Mizpah hut was steep, and this was our first exposure to the high winds that are present throughout that section. Monday's hike was 9 miles, and we earned every one of them. The trail was steep out of Crawford Notch up to the tenting area with many rock scrambles. The White Mountain National Forest has these 'Forest Protection Areas' that are around each hut, campsite and road. There are signs that let you know not to camp 1/4 mile away from huts and established campsites, 1/2 mile from road, and 200 ft from trail. So, a quarter mile before reaching camp we saw the sign; a welcomed sight after the steep climb late Monday afternoon.

Tuesday was a fantastic day! We could not have asked for better weather. There was hardly a cloud in the sky all day. The winds were brutal at times, and that wore me down just as much as the rocky trails going over and around the 7 peaks of the Presidential Mountain Range. Tuesday's hike was above treeline for the majority of the day, 12.7 of the 15 miles! We had increadible views of the Franconia Ridge, which we had hiked the two days prior, completely inside a cloud with 40-50mph winds. It was super nice to be able to see the ranges we had already done! The view from our first peak on Tuesday was increadible (Mt. Eisenhower I think), and just got better all day! I had that 'on top of the world' feeling all day; being able to see probably 30 miles or more in every direction! Huts were spread throughout our hike, which were a welcome break from the wind. The summit house on top of Mt. Washington was a madhouse, and I didn't care for it much. I kinda wish it wasn't there at all; people running around everywhere, kids screamin, people yelling to each other, crowding the summit sign, and whatever else; and that was on a Tuesday! Could you imagine that place on a weekend? Anyway, it was nice to be on the tallest, and the wind was extremely powerful which was cool.

The rest of the day was great as well! Again, it could not have been a more perfect day weather-wise to hike. I'm a little sun and wind burned, but that is to be expected. The trail was very rocky on the north side of Mt. Washington, but also had some of the best views of the range. We finished the day hiking up Mt. Madison and down to Osgood tent sight. I have some great pictures that I'm sure Dad will post here in the next few days. It was awesome seeing Dad and Mr. Bean!; great to have company and someone to turn around to on the top of a peak to smile at and say 'Man, this is cool!' The food was good too. We tried some new things; pad thai noodles, torallini with sun dried tomatoes and parm cheese, and a rice dish I made up. Things are going extremely well! I'm sad to see Mr. Bean and Dad go. Their visit has been a lot of fun!

I have calculated the rest of my hike to Maine, and am expecting to be finished there on August 15th. The trail ahead is tough from what the SOBOs are saying (rocks, roots, mud, scrambles, elevation), but I'm ready to put out some hard miles. Hope you are all doing very well! There is so much about the Whites I done have the time to write about. It is a beautiful and challenging part of the trail, and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks again for your support and interest! Hope to talk and see yall soon

The Kid