“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” At least that’s what the late John Lennon had to say about things.
My friend Matt Fitch and I have had this line item on our respective to-do lists for quite some time:
- Hike Washington with Matt.
I’ve hiked the Rockpile countless times, in all seasons, at all times of day and night. I’ve hiked nearly every step of trail that graces the rocky Summit Cone. But Matt never has. So we finally synched up our calendars, rolled dice with the weather Gods, and picked a day: September 2.
Matt (not to be confused with me) is a dedicated husband, father, and business man. He and his wife recently developed a caffeinated popcorn called BioFuel. We actually ate a little bit prior to hitting the trail in the morning, and we snacked on it all day along the trail. I’m skipping ahead a bit here, but I will say that it was every bit as tasty as it was effective! As a heavy “user” of caffeine, I was quite appreciative of these delectable treats as we traversed the unforgiving terrain at the heart of the Presidentials.
As I alluded to earlier, weather is the x-factor on Washington. You truly never know precisely what to expect, although the gang at the Observatory does an incredible job predicting for the higher summits! When we arrived at the visitor’s center in Pinkham Notch, the Summit was clearly at the mercy of a large cap cloud. However, everything up to about 4500 feet looked pretty clear. With temps in the high 70s in the valley by 8am when we departed, we were quite happy to be heading toward the cool breezes of the Alpine Zone.
We made great time up to Hermit Lake. Matt was enjoying the hike, as was I. However, once we hit the Boott Spur link, the terrain changed dramatically. It turns into a craggy and rocky hand-over-hand ascent that isn’t really for the faint of heart. The trail climbs quickly above the shelters, and the hiker is able to observe at once the changing landscape in a sweeping view. Among the landmarks are the Tuckerman Ravine and the Lion Head. We took these sights in, kept our eyes on the cap cloud and pressed on through the steep gain in elevation.
Once we arrived at the Alpine Zone nearing the summit of Boott Spur, the terrain again changed. Although rugged, it felt like a true reprieve from the bouldering below. The trail was more gradual and quite a bit less rocky. Here, the views were so expansive that we could see our next waypoints more than a mile ahead.
We made the decision to head over the Camel Trail and down to Lakes of the Clouds in order to ascend Mount Monroe. While on Monroe, whose ascent was taxing but quite brief, we watched the clouds play games with the summit and eventually lift away. We fueled up on water and delicious BioFuel popcorn and made our way down the Monroe Loop, back across Lakes, and onto the Crawford Path to ascend Mount Washington.
This was Matt’s first ascent of Washington on foot. He’d enjoyed it on several occasions with his wife and two boys via The Cog and The Auto Road, but never “earned” the summit before. For him, this was a huge accomplishment. For me, well, I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve been up Washington, but this route remains one of my favorites (and it’s always an accomplishment)!
We hung around up at the top for a spell where I ate a sandwich (my first non-popcorn food of the day) and refilled water. We headed down after a while, opting for the Tuckerman Ravine Trail. We chose Tuckerman because it’s scenic, direct, and quite absent of people on Thursday afternoons. I enjoyed showing him around and pointing out the few wildflowers that remain, and showing him where the large chunk of snow and ice usually sits until mid June. We chatted about all kinds of things as we exited the Alpine Zone, headed past Hermit Lake, and made our way back to the parking lot.
Of the 12 total miles we hiked today, my first 8 or so were fueled completely by BioFuel popcorn and water. Trying it for yourself is the only way to know exactly how cool this stuff is. You don’t have to ascend Mount Washington while you eat it…but just know that you could! Visit them online at www.biofuelfoods.com
And Matt, thanks for carving out some time to do this. It was quite enjoyable living life on the trail with you today!
