It is rare to have a clear day on Mount Washington in August and this hike was no different. The day started off promising, and we had a great view of the summit as we drove to the trailhead. This trip included my usual hiking partner, Hannah and one of my other daughters, Sarah. Bella joined us for another trip: she is a hiking machine.
The sun was shining and the beginning of our hike along the river made a pleasant warm up for the climb to come. The weather took a very sharp turn when we near the Lake of the Clouds hit and storm clouds moved and the thunder was rumbling. Fortunately, it was all noise and bluster and by the time we made it to the hut, things had quieted down. The clouds weren't going away though and we summited in the clouds with a bit of rain. After some pictures, lunch, and a little shopping, we were on our way as there were more storms predicted. The hike down Gulfside Trail and Jewell Trail provided us with some amazing views through the breaks in the clouds and the rather cool opportunity to watch the trains coming and going on the Cog Railway.
As usual, we met some great people along the way and finished the last bit of our summit hike with two nice gentlemen. We all encouraged each other through that last bit of our uphill climb and rejoiced when the cloud cover broke long enough for us to see we were almost at the summit.
Mount Katahdin in 2 weeks.