Up the Summit and Around (Part 3)
On Tuesday, we woke up at 6:30 to the sound of singing. That's apparently the traditional wake up call in the huts. Some folks in the cabin are in a rush to leave, so they hustle to get ready for breakfast. Those of us with less ambitious days ahead of us roll out of bed just in time to get a good seat. Breakfast was oatmeal with all the fixings, and scrambled eggs with a bacon option for those with that sort of inclination. And coffee cake... I ate a little too much.
For our hike that day, we all six went together, taking the direct route up to the summit of Mount Washington from Lakes. There's a lot of cute stuff up there, including one of the original hotels, the Tip Top House, a big visitors' center, and plenty of snacks. We took our first pass through the gift shop, and stopped to pose on the summit.
We climbed down the northern route, to set ourselves up to look into Huntington Ravine (steep!) and cross along the Alpine Garden Trail. I think the Alpine Garden was probably my favorite segment of the hike. It's a mostly level trail with patches where you can amble along without looking at every step you are about to take, and instead focus on the flowers and the butterflies.
There were bluebells, sad alpine trees, grasshoppers, butterflies, lots of stuff that was actually green! There were tons of little streams and wet patches. Being in the lee of the peak really helps things grow. If I were to visit the Presidentials again for hiking, I would want to hike that trail again.
After the Alpine Garden, we were back on the Tuckerman Crossover, which we were taking back to Lakes. It was much more pleasant the second time around, since it was sunny and I knew where I was and where I was going! I was pretty beat after that second day of hiking, my legs were protesting having to do two days of work in a row.
I had been thinking of swimming in one of the Lakes for quite a while, and one of the other hikers was going for it so I decided that I would too. OK, it was cold, but not deadly cold. An alpine lake is not an alpine stream. I even got my hair wet. It was certainly briskly cold, but not painfully... Even without soap, since you aren't really supposed to pollute such a small lake, I felt amazingly clean from just rinsing. Putting on my last set of clean clothes felt great! And suddenly, I noticed that everyone else smelled. ;)
Dinner was meaty soup, herbed bread, salad with lots of veggies, peas, and lasagna. That lasagna was amazing! Dessert was a gingerbread cake with frosting. I had a hot cocoa with dinner, yum! After dinner was more cards, we played a little spoons as well as barnyard. Dana and I got out the keychain stuff, I was teaching her how to do the weaving stuff. I am a master of those woven plastic keychains. Andrea got into it too, but I was amazed by how entranced Carolyn was with hers! She described the weaving process as "soothing". Hey, I agree. Sleeping was easier that night, since the snorers were much more moderate that evening. I also wore more clothes to bed, leggings and socks...
For our hike that day, we all six went together, taking the direct route up to the summit of Mount Washington from Lakes. There's a lot of cute stuff up there, including one of the original hotels, the Tip Top House, a big visitors' center, and plenty of snacks. We took our first pass through the gift shop, and stopped to pose on the summit.
We climbed down the northern route, to set ourselves up to look into Huntington Ravine (steep!) and cross along the Alpine Garden Trail. I think the Alpine Garden was probably my favorite segment of the hike. It's a mostly level trail with patches where you can amble along without looking at every step you are about to take, and instead focus on the flowers and the butterflies.
There were bluebells, sad alpine trees, grasshoppers, butterflies, lots of stuff that was actually green! There were tons of little streams and wet patches. Being in the lee of the peak really helps things grow. If I were to visit the Presidentials again for hiking, I would want to hike that trail again.
After the Alpine Garden, we were back on the Tuckerman Crossover, which we were taking back to Lakes. It was much more pleasant the second time around, since it was sunny and I knew where I was and where I was going! I was pretty beat after that second day of hiking, my legs were protesting having to do two days of work in a row.
I had been thinking of swimming in one of the Lakes for quite a while, and one of the other hikers was going for it so I decided that I would too. OK, it was cold, but not deadly cold. An alpine lake is not an alpine stream. I even got my hair wet. It was certainly briskly cold, but not painfully... Even without soap, since you aren't really supposed to pollute such a small lake, I felt amazingly clean from just rinsing. Putting on my last set of clean clothes felt great! And suddenly, I noticed that everyone else smelled. ;)
Dinner was meaty soup, herbed bread, salad with lots of veggies, peas, and lasagna. That lasagna was amazing! Dessert was a gingerbread cake with frosting. I had a hot cocoa with dinner, yum! After dinner was more cards, we played a little spoons as well as barnyard. Dana and I got out the keychain stuff, I was teaching her how to do the weaving stuff. I am a master of those woven plastic keychains. Andrea got into it too, but I was amazed by how entranced Carolyn was with hers! She described the weaving process as "soothing". Hey, I agree. Sleeping was easier that night, since the snorers were much more moderate that evening. I also wore more clothes to bed, leggings and socks...