Friday afternoon we dropped Tuck off at Grandma and Grandpa's and then we headed to Gorham N.H. Once we arrived in N.H. we unloaded our van at the hotel and then drove the van to the AMC Highland Center where we left it. Jamie's brother drove Jamie back to the hotel. The van would commute us all back to the start after we finished the traverse. Finally it was time to get some sleep. Before we knew it the alarm went off and we were up and going. I made Jamie and I each 3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to go along with all our other snacks. We then finished packing our backpack's, loaded up in Greg's car and drove to the Appalachia Trail Head. We met up with 2 other friends, Mike H. and Daniel B., at the Appalachia Trail Head.
We started our hike at 5:06 a.m. Mt. Madison was the first peak we had to conquer. It was a beautiful hike to the top. We then hiked to the Madison Hut where we had breakfast. The Madison hut was remodeled this past winter and is just beautiful. They did a great job. After a quick breakfast we continued on our way to Mt. Adams and then to Mt. Jefferson and then to Mt. Clay and to Mount Washington. We hit every peak, never taking the trails that dodge the peaks. Once on Mount Washington we ate lunch, filled our camleback's, used the bathrooms and then we were on our way to Lake's of the Cloud Hut. By the time we got to Lake's of the Clouds our feet were starting to feel the stress of the day. Daniel and I took our boots off and soaked our feet while we waited for the other's to stroll by. It felt so so good!!! Before we knew it we were off to Mt. Monroe, Mount Eisenhower and then to Mt. Pierce. We ended our hike at the AMC Highland Center.
By the end of the day we traversed over 8 peaks, hiked 20 miles, and our cumulative elevation gain was 8,500 feet. The weather was perfect, the views were amazing and the temperature was just right. We couldn't have asked for a better day.
Some of you may wonder how we felt after the hike. Jamie was exhausted, scraped his arm pretty good, and was badly sunburned but he was strong all day and finished without a problem. He did an excellent job. The next morning he found himself a bit sore and stiff but was proud of his accomplishment.
Greg was tired as well, burned his neck and says he might lose a toe nail. Greg also did an excellent job all day and covered the distance without a problem. I heard he was a bit sore the next day.
Daniel moved quick the whole day which might have caused his left knee injury. But I am happy to report that as of today (three days after the hike) his knee is already feeling better. Daniel was born to hike. He is a crazy hiking machine.
Mike (or Sneaker's the thru-hiker-man) made the hike look like nothing. He wore his sneakers, a small pack and I didn't even see him eat much food. He had lots of energy all day and probably could have run the whole distance. I did hear him say that his knees were bothering him at the end of the hike.
As for myself, well I felt great the whole day except for the rather painful blisters that I developed on both of my heels. My energy felt great and my legs felt pretty strong. I was exhausted though and really found out how exhausted I was the next day. Let's just say I might have taken a nap the following day. :-) I also burned my neck and the back of my legs. I woke up the next morning feeling stiff and ready for more sleep. I was able to get back into my training without too much trouble.
We can't wait to do the hike again some day. Who wants to join us????
Smiles, Alicia
Two years ago Jamie and I attempted to do the Presidential traverse but were discouraged from even starting the hike since the clouds above were throwing inch thick chunks of hail down at us. The weather can change so fast on the Presidentials. It's a great idea to have a couple back-up plans just in case.
No comments:
Post a Comment