#215 Part 2 of Mizpah Hut to Madison Spring Hut -Day 135: MM1854.6 to MM1865.8
Today was a good day. I learned something today I needed to know - something I found while crossing the barren mountains in the hot sun.
9-12-2024 - Part 2
The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) crosses the tracks of Mt Washington’s Cog Railway. It’s customary for A.T. hikers to moon their riders.
I know what you’re thinking - “Did Sprawl moon the cog rail riders as they went by, or did he buck the custom and resist?”
As a matter of fact, I……
…..resisted because
A: Sprawl’s a modest kind of fellow
OR
B: Sprawl knows in today’s super sensitive cultural climate; sub-cultural light-hearted fun can land you in serious trouble.
The dry and rocky trail continues steadily downward off of Mt Washington, passing many side trails to more mountains named after other presidents on the way to Madison Spring Hut.
The trail across this range is marked by cairns each topped with a large quartz rock.
The sun slips behind the clouds for a while, which is a relief since there are no trees up here. The hidden sun gives the illusion that it is later in the day than it actually is, while hiding any indication of the true time.
The trail goes on and on, but the scenery remains consistent - a dry rocky trail before you, dry rocky mountains all around you, an occasional hiker hiking towards you, and dark clouds looming over you, with occasional tricky rock climbs.
Entering a large circular multi-trail junction, I find myself a bit confused as to where I should go. Another hiker hiking another trail comes into the circle and he’s equally confused. Remember, the A.T. doesn’t technically exist in New Hampshire, but is currently borrowing The Gulfside trail, he’s looking for Lowe’s path.
I assure him the trail he is looking for isn’t behind me. He assures me that the A.T. isn’t behind him. The FarOut App and trail signage do not seem to be much help to either one of us this evening.
I think I’ll go this way….
The sun comes back out, a little higher than expected, but the shadows are leaning sideways.
The trail is slowly dropping elevation across a the side of a tricky mountain, with its rolling rocks and dusty slippery ground.
Man, my ankles are sore and tired.
I round the mountain and see Madison Spring Hut sitting far below in the saddle of this and Madison Mountain, which will be tomorrow’s big climb.
I walk through a tunnel of gnarled trees, getting occasional glimpses of the hut and the people who have gathered in front of it.
Finally, home sweet home, I hope. I sit on a rock and pull off my boots near a large crowd of guests.
A young man and a young lady are giving a presentation about the wood-framed backpack and how the Croo gets supplies up to the huts.
For some reason I thought there was a camp area near the hut. There is one less than a mile away, but my feet and ankles are done.
I fortunately secure a work for stay spot inside the hut. Gravy is here and has secured his work for stay spot. Orange Man is also here but is staying as one of the guests.
A hammer hits a large bell, sending the universal sound for dinner time across the mountain side. The Croo yells out slowly in unison, “Dinner! You want it, we got it!”
The rest of the evening goes about like last night at Mizpah Spring Hut. Once the guests and Croo eat, and once our cleaning chores are finished, Gravy and I eat the leftovers. Lasagna, peas, and cake never tasted so good.
Lights out: the place goes dark at nine p.m. Everyone uses head lamps to get around but most of the people head to their bunks.
I stand in the kitchen eating blueberries in the dark, recovering from the long day.
With Gravy on the other side of the dining room, I sleep in between two dining tables, below an open window, where I can feel the cool breeze, see the light of the full moon, and to hopefully drown out the snoremageddon chaos of my seventy-one-year-old friend.
Today was a good day.
I learned something very valuable today, something I needed to know - something I found while crossing the barren mountains in the hot sun.
I’ll share it with you in the final chapter(s) of this book (book 4).
What I learned pulls everything together.
Today’s story was exceptionally long so I had to make it a two-part story.
I opened up post (#214 - Part 1) and this post (#215 - Part 2) for everyone to be able to read in full.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
